Facilities Management is a leader in creating welcoming spaces on campus. We’ve proven that we’re committed to helping accomplish CSU’s vision of a physically welcoming campus. Please explore the information below to learn more about our past efforts, recent projects, and what we have planned for the future.

Frequently Asked Questions

What  facilities are coming soon?

The following welcoming spaces are funded and in process; some have recently been completed; others are anticipated to be completed in 2025.

• Providing 4 more covered transit shelters (Concrete pads added Fall 2024; shelters anticipated for completion end of March 2025)
• Updating or adding vertical plate-style automatic door operator to various buildings on Main Campus for improved physical universal design:
  • Completed mid-March 2025: BSB; Computer Science; Eddy; Lake Street Parking Garage; LSC – Transit Center and south entrances; Microbiology; MRB;  Scott Bioengineering; TILT;  Weber
  • Completed November 2024: Student Recreation Center; Alder Hall (north entrance); Plant Growth Facility; NESB  

What are recently completed facilities on campus?

• Renovated existing lactation room 337 in LSC to add accessibility improvements (Completed Fall 2024)
• Added an accessible building entry and ramp to the south side of Morgan Library (Completed August 2024)
• Updated various ramps and sidewalks around Main Campus for improved ADA accessibility (Completed August 2024)
• Updated the elevator in Gifford, to modernize and improve accessibility (Completed July 2024)
• Added restroom and break room facilities at the CSU Composting Facility on Foothills Campus (Completed Spring 2024)
• Added another lactation room in the Lory Student Center (Completed Summer 2023)
• Renovated 10 existing showers that can be utilized by the entire campus community (through secure key card access), across Main, South and Foothills Campus. Structural changes, key card readers, and pull cords within the showers have been installed. (Completed Summer 2023)
  • Behavioral Sciences Building (BSB) – 2 showers
  • Canvas Stadium
  • Coop Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) (Foothills Campus) – 2 showers
  • Diagnostic Medicine Center (South Campus)
  • Durrell
  • Lory Student Center
  • Rockwell West – 2 showers

• 6 additional covered transit shelters were installed (Completed Spring 2023)

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What are the existing facilities on campus?

• Lactation rooms: As of July 2024, there are over 30 designated lactation rooms across Main, South, Foothills and Powerhouse Campuses for employees and students to use.  There is also a lactation room in the Vida building at the Denver CSU Spur Campus. Most lactation rooms are designed using CSU Design Standards. Lactation rooms are unlocked at all times unless in use. No formal key request is needed. Lactation rooms typically have a table, comfortable chair, and locks from the inside showing vacant or occupied status on the exterior of the door. For more information, on scheduling, usage, and other guidelines, visit the lactation room webpage.

• Reflection rooms and spaces: Found in the Lory Student Center, the Health and Medical Center, the Michael Smith Natural Resources Building, Morgan Library, and the Nutrien Agricultural Sciences Building, these spaces are available to the University community and visitors for meditation, prayer, and quiet reflection. The Morgan Library also has a group (community) reflection room.  For more information on how to schedule these spaces, accessing their locations, and guidelines for use, visit the reflection rooms and spaces webpage.

• Adult changing tables: As of May 2024, CSU has four adult changing tables on our Main Campus (in the LSC and in Canvas Stadium – motorized tables; Occupational Therapy building and Facilities Management North building) and one in the Temple Grandin Equine Center on Foothills Campus – motorized table. The Vida building at the Denver CSU Spur Campus also includes a motorized table. Many people are not familiar with adult changing tables. Many children and adults have disabilities that require them to have a caregiver to assist with sanitary needs. Standard “baby” changing tables are limited in the length and often can only hold a person up to 40 pounds. Adult changing tables provide accommodations for children and adults above these height and weight limits. CSU’s commitment to physical universal design also extends to our visitors. To ensure visitors who need an adult changing table have one, we have located these in family restrooms to provide a private space. CSU also has a standard sign to communicate to people which restrooms have this type of changing table.

• Break Rooms: Break rooms allow employees to safely store, prepare, and consume food, without the requirement or added expense of traveling away from the workplace to meet this need. Break rooms eliminate the necessity for redundant microwaves and mini-fridges in employee offices, consistent with the Climate Action Plan and universal design goals of CSU. Further, some employees do not have a workspace to eat at or they are not allowed to eat and prepare food at their workspace while food preparation in a restroom is unsanitary. Having a standard for break rooms ensures that the elements in the break room are accessible to all (including sinks, counters, and furniture that are ADA accessible). Some buildings on campus already have break rooms. As new buildings, building additions, and remodels occur, more break rooms will be implemented with this standard.

• For more information about physical universally designed spaces on campus: Scheduling rooms varies by location. Many of the rooms can be scheduled using the Calendar functions through your University Outlook email account. If you don’t have Outlook available to you, contact the building proctor to assist you with scheduling. You can find specific building proctors on the building proctor webpage.

Is there a map of the existing spaces on campus?

You can find many of these inclusive spaces listed on the online university map.

Why aren’t there physical universally designed facilities in all the buildings on campus?

The university is faced with limited space and funding, and tries to responsibly and thoughtfully balance academic space needs with all the other space needs on campus, including physical universally designed spaces. We have a philosophy that we share resources across campus, and thus with limited space and funds, we acknowledge not every building can have a lactation room.

Our strategy is to minimize the distance people may have to walk or travel to a lactation room or shower, and try to plan to have welcoming spaces in one building that can serve as a shared resource for people in nearby buildings. As new buildings, building additions, and remodels are planned, we consider what inclusive facilities exist in nearby buildings to consider how and if such spaces can be planned within the building project. Master plans that show proposed locations and appropriate walking distances for lactation rooms, showers, and reflection rooms were created to help guide where such inclusive facilities should be incorporated into buildings as plans are being developed to remodel those buildings. To view the maps  that show these proposed locations, go to the CSU Planning, Design and Construction Standards webpage and scroll down to “Additional Documents” and then “Maps.”

What is Facilities Management’s role in providing physical universally designed spaces on campus?

A variety of Facilities Management groups contribute to such spaces at CSU, such as Capital Planning & Design, Engineering & Capital Construction, Campus Planning, Operations, Remodel and Construction Services (RCS),  among others. There are also employees representing Facilities Management who serve as members of the Inclusive Physical and Virtual Campus Committee, which helps oversee these spaces on campus.

• Facilities Management has developed  standards that include provisions for inclusive spaces such as lactation rooms, reflection rooms, showers, and break rooms as well as accessibility within our facilities. These standards apply to remodels of a certain size, new buildings and building additions. These standards can be found in the CSU Planning, Design and Construction Standards – Part II Design Standards – Chapter 06 “Requirements by Space Type and Use.”
• Capital construction project managers and the university architect incorporate physical universally designed spaces into building plans. This ensures everyone feels comfortable and welcome in the CSU built environment. The project managers (PMs) also set up and communicate accessible detour routes around construction sites and ensure each building has an accessible access during construction. They ensure ramps and crosswalks meet and exceed the minimum requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. The PMs collaborate with the CSU Student Disability Center during project design and construction, and receive on-going training and communication to learn about industry best practices for removing access barriers.
• Building Services helps ensure that buildings are well maintained to provide safe and accessible spaces.
• Customer Services facilitates announcements about route closures and accessible detours.
• Outdoor Services helps to clear sidewalks and roadways of snow and debris to enable physical accessibility for the campus community.
• The Building Department help to develop Physical Building standards to ensure such spaces are incorporated into new construction projects.