Chris Morett

I am a consultant and researcher specializing in campus planning, with a focus on space planning and utilization, classroom design and strategy, and academic scheduling. I help institutions leverage these domains to increase equity, efficiency, and excellence in the student experience and boost institutional operational and fiscal health. My approach is shaped by the concept of an Ecosystem for Learning, in which physical and virtual spaces and digital platforms -- along with content, programming, networks, and cultures -- are part of an interconnected landscape on which the student academic and developmental experience occurs. These connections and the system they create are powerful but too often neglected levers for excellence and innovation. I strongly believe architects, planners, and facility managers need to get in the same room more frequently with IT and other colleagues who shape the student digital experience as well as with faculty, instructional designers, experiential learning leaders, and students. In addition to strategy, planning, and custom research and data dashboards, I offer guidance on: -Change management and organizational communications; -Needs assessment, procurement, development, and implementation of systems and applications - particularly space/facility management software and academic/event scheduling systems; -Institutional data strategy and deployment; -How campus planning can support pedagogical transition, such as the design and usage of active learning and outdoor spaces. I work directly with institutions and join other experts on larger project teams. My recent work has also included teaming with ed tech vendors on product development and marketing. I offer a quarter century of experience from multiple vantage points within higher education, bridging academics and operations and integrating faculty, staff, and student perspectives. I have extensive relationships with institutional colleagues as well as vendor-based experts. After obtaining my doctorate in sociology and Master’s in public policy, I served as a faculty member before transitioning to a leadership role in academic administration. I was previously the Director of Academic Scheduling and Space Management at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and President of the Higher Education Facilities Management Alliance, a group of professionals from Big Ten and other institutions. I serve on the Mid-Atlantic Council of the Society for College and University Planning, and am an active member of the Learning Spaces Collaboratory.

Education

• PhD, MPP State University of New York at Albany (1997 — 2005)
• B.A. Rutgers University (1992 — 1996)
• Eastern High School (1988 — 1992)

Companies

• Director of Academic Scheduling and Space Management Rutgers University (2011 — 2021)
• Instructor International School of Management, France (2010 — 2011)
• Assistant Professor of Sociology Fordham University (2005 — 2010)