First Plan 1905
The first planning document for The University of Iowa was a narrative report prepared in April 1905, by the Olmstead Brothers, Brookline, Massachusetts. No maps were referenced or found that graphically portray this plan. Old Capitol and Schaeffer Hall are the only buildings remaining on what is now called the Pentacrest that were present at the time of the Olmstead plan.

Comprehensive Plan 1965
The first contemporary plan was prepared in 1965. The Plan was prepared in three reports with an additional married student housing report issued a year later. The 1965 plan differed from the 1905 plan in that it included maps and drawings that showed buildings, streets, parking areas, etc., in detail. Enrollment projections were used as a basis to predict facility requirements that in turn predicted buildings, parking and other needs. Overall enrollment projections were close, but distribution assumptions proved to be incorrect. A three-fold growth of The University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics and a great increase in health sciences research space were not anticipated.

Framework Plan 1972
The 1965 plan was updated in 1972 to respond to immediate planning needs not addressed in the 1965 plan. Based on failure to accurately predict future growth and space needs, the 1972 effort recommended the University not develop another traditional campus plan such as the 1965 Plan. It instead was recommended that it would be better to develop a planning process that would achieve the objectives of traditional planning, but would be flexible enough to respond to change and be easily updated. The new planning approach was based upon the concept that it is possible to develop a framework within which planning could occur. The framework provides as much overall guidance to development as possible on broad issues such as streets, parking, utilities, green spaces, and building locations, while allowing incremental decisions to be made within the framework as new development issues emerge.

Framework Plan Update 1978
In 1978 the Lindberg Task Force, with assistance from a consultant, prepared a planning update that incorporated a number of studies and concepts developed after the 1972 plan. The "Lindberg Report" established planning goals and objectives in each of the planning functional elements of land use, circulation, and open space. The campus also was divided into seven functional areas, based on similar existing building functions and land uses that form cohesive planning sub-units. This plan introduced the implementation strategy that the entire functional area encompassing a building site is to be considered when a new building is designed for location within the functional area. In the ensuing twelve years, the "Lindberg Report" continued to be an effective document guiding campus development and providing much of the foundation for the 1990 update.

1989 Strategic Plan
The University's strategic plan "Achieving Distinction" was completed in 1989 and was written as a flexible document that encouraged departments, programs, colleges, and administrative units to work within an integrated whole. Each unit subsequently developed its own strategic plan as a complement to the University-level plan. The plan established institutional mission, goals, objectives, and strategies. Embodied in the plan are goals, objectives and strategies that address the physical environment by providing focus on rebuilding and improving the physical infrastructure. The plan gives priority to classroom and laboratory facilities and computer workstations and networking of computer capabilities are mentioned specifically. The plan also recommended that to remedy substantial erosion of physical infrastructure over the prior ten years, more attention must be directed to increasing classroom availability and improving research and laboratory space.

Campus Planning Framework 1990
In 1990, the Campus Planning Framework continued and strengthened the format begun in 1972. The 1990 Plan flowed from the 1990 Strategic Plan and provided a framework for improving infrastructure while allowing flexibility to respond to needs as they emerge from funding alternatives suggested by the Strategic Plan. The planning framework acknowledged existence of primary elements such as buildings, roads, parking facilities, utilities, natural features, and historical considerations. While it suggested alterations to some elements, it recognized that a specific development proposal must respond to the established framework of primary elements. The framework approach to campus planning provided assurance that incremental decisions would be consistent with long-term goals and planning principles.

The Campus Planning Committee plays a major role in assuring incremental decisions are consistent with the planning framework through review of all plan updates and changes. When specific detailed plans are proposed for a project, they are reviewed by the Campus Planning Committee as well.

Campus Master Plan Status 1995
The 1995 Report to the State Board of Regents provided a review of campus planning over time and outlined what had occurred since the 1990 Campus Planning Framework. Review of development since the 1990 plan included land acquisition and leased property, site and circulation/parking improvements, building sites utilized, and utility improvements. The review also included discussion of the Strategic Plan, Campus Planning Framework, enrollment and the Five-Year Capital Plan, and area studies either underway or proposed.

A Strategic Plan for the University 1996
The 1996 Report to the Board of Regents reaffirmed the mission and goals set forth in the 1995 Strategic Plan, Achieving Distinction 2000; presented 1996 additions to the plan: Core Values, Indicators of Progress, and Strategic Focus Areas; and highlighted recent progress toward institutional goals.

Iowa City and The University of Iowa Campus

The following is an abbreviated history of Iowa City and The University of Iowa campus with an emphasis on the beginnings of both. Complete history information can be found in several documents such as A Pictorial History of The University of Iowa, John C. Gerber, University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, Iowa, 1988.