Abstract
At various points in the history of any community, one can point to critical decisions that influence sustainability outcomes. The university as a community is no different. Over the span of its lifetime, there are a variety of factors that matter including finances, faculty hiring, and priorities of the student body. In the university setting, sustainability outcomes are dependent on how the interplay between physical, financial, and curricular and non-curricular systems is managed. Nowhere in the university is this interplay more visible than in a university’s master plan. The Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) Master Plan is a formal statement of its development goals embedded in a five-year, state-mandated process whose goal is to plan for the educational infrastructure. Since its inception, the FGCU Master Plan has influenced the direction and extent of the university’s actions toward sustainability, both creating and limiting opportunities. This chapter assesses the evolution of master plans at FGCU through a sustainability lens. It will document the planning process, critical decision points, and sustainability-related outcomes. This chapter will also assess planning initiatives that were taken outside of the master planning process to better understand the role of students, decision-makers, and leaders in planning for the sustainable university.