Student Success: Built by Design

Creating Community: Performing Arts Spaces as Academic Catalysts

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode of Student Success: Built by Design, our host Jeff Johnson is joined once again by Dr. Joel Peterson, and for this episode they also welcome new guests Matthew Austin, Ben Dalton, and Patrick Goforth to discuss the effect of the design of performing arts spaces on academic performance and community.

Matthew is a design principal for architecture and urbanism with HGA Architects. Ben is partner and design lead with Miller Hull Architects, and Patrick is design manager with PCL Construction Services.

They examine how the built environment supports Student Success through performing and visual arts projects funded by the San Diego Community College District’s $3.5 billion Measure HH. This episode they talk about applying Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to arts facilities, balancing foundational requirements like safety, clean air, accessibility, durability, and maintainability with higher goals such as belonging, beauty, meaning, and self-actualization.

Four case studies are highlighted: renovations at the Educational Cultural Complex and City College’s Seville Theatre, modernization and expansion of Mesa College’s Performing Arts Center with visual arts integration, and a new Miramar College Performing Arts and Humanities complex including a highly flexible black box theater with advanced acoustic technology and “third space” community areas. Listen now to this engaging conversation and subscribe to hear every new episode!

Episode Guide:

01:29 Performing Arts Spaces Focus and Guest Introductions
03:19 Four Arts Projects Overview
08:41 Maslow and Arts Facilities
10:05 Designing for Emotion
12:12 Community and Collaboration
14:40 Durability and Teaching Labs
18:03 Audience Performer Connection
19:23 Mesa Theater in the Round
21:27 Miramar Third Space Concept
24:21 Safety and Universal Access
27:11 Why Modernize and Future-Proof
32:05 Aesthetics Gateway and Comfort
35:43 Favorite Moments
41:52 Closing and Next Episode

The Student Success: Built by Design is a production of San Diego Community College District and is produced by University FM.

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Episode Quotes:

Why performing arts spaces are designed differently

10:18 [Matthew Austin] Classroom is really designed to transfer knowledge. A performing arts building is designed to help transfer emotion and help these students to discover new forms of confidence. That's a fundamentally different design challenge. A classroom is supporting human instruction. These buildings are supporting music, dance, theater, public speaking, and visual arts, every form of human expression, not just instruction. The buildings must comfortably support everything from quiet individual practice to energetic rehearsals to performances with hundreds of people. And in that respect, these buildings become instruments themselves. As opposed to a library where the mechanical and acoustical systems stay hidden in the background, in these buildings, these technical systems become part of the educational experience.

How the arts build courage, connection and belonging

13:35 [Matthew Austin] I think in supporting the lower end of Maslow's pyramid, that is really important, and that happens every day. At the high end of the self-performance, it's also we're putting on performances. These students are—that are like high-end athletes. And so there's a team or a company sense at the end of the performance. So if you go to a musical theater, for example, all of the disciplines might be represented in that one moment. There's oratory skills. There's actors connecting with the audience from an emotional level. There's visual arts in the stage craft. There's musicians in the orchestra pit that are setting the stage and the mood for each scene. And so it's in those moments where not only do the students need to be courageous, but the more they're able to work together, the more they're able to come as one entity or one company, that really shines in that final performance. We're excited about it from both ends, being able to bring these different disciplines into one structure.

What happens when a theater brings everyone closer?

19:41 [Ben Dalton] When we set off to design the main theater at Mesa, we wanted to blur the line between performer and audience. Rather than placing everyone sort of mechanically in rows looking at a distant stage, we want to gather people around the performance so that the room itself becomes part of the experience. So when we stop thinking about rows and seats, we imagine people gathering around a storyteller. We imagine a campfire experience. And that simple shift changes the entire character of the room, where every seat matters.

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Crafting Experience: Elevating Education through Architecture and Design - Self-Actualization Needs

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode of Student Success: Built by Design, our panel of experts sits back down to continue their series of discussions about the hierarchy of needs, this time focusing on the fifth layer of Maslow’s pyramid, self-actualization needs. Checking back in with Dr. Joel Peterson, Andrea Stalker, Jennifer Gibb, and Jeff Johnson, who bring a variety of industry-based perspectives on how built environments, facilities management, and inclusive design all contribute to better educational outcomes.

Their discussion explores how the built environment can enable the potential growth of students and their meaningful experiences through academic, artistic, and athletic endeavors within the San Diego Community College District’s Measure HH program. The discussion examines the premise that higher needs depend on foundational needs being met, and the group describes self-actualization as purpose, meaning, connection, awe, and pinnacle experiences that can be supported—or hindered—by design.

They highlight facilities such as performing arts venues and athletic complexes where performer and audience experiences are interdependent, note how the pandemic exposed the limits of artificial substitutes in situations, and stress the importance of creating spaces that foster belonging, mastery, inspiration, and celebration. The panel closes the episode by sharing personal examples of transformative moments for them shaped by architecture. Listen now to this engaging conversation and subscribe to hear every new episode!

Episode Guide:

00:00 Podcast Introduction
01:28 Self-Actualization Focus
02:54 Maslow Explained
06:04 Design Supports Success
08:30 Performance Spaces Awe
11:05 Pandemic Audience Lesson
15:29 Inspiration And Messaging
17:05 Everyday Awe Examples
25:11 Personal Peak Stories
31:59 Wrap Up And Next Episode

The Student Success: Built by Design is a production of San Diego Community College District and is produced by University FM.

Show Links:

Episode Quotes:

What pandemic taught us about human connection

11:05: [Dr. Joel Peterson] We actually saw this. We said, "What happens if we were to go ahead and just allow someone to have that pinnacle of performance as an athlete or a musician, but not in an interactive environment, not where there was an audience that was going ahead and interacting?" Well, we did that experiment. It was called the pandemic. And so, when people were doing these performances, and they tried at first it, they realized there was some kind of an issue, so then they tried to create these artificial environments where they put little screens and sort of had all these people. But nowhere did anyone think that that even came close to replicating. What it really says is that it underscores and probably supports very tactically Maslow's theory that we are these beings that have these needs and that many of these things are very, very socially interconnected, that we end up generating these things.

Architecture that says you belong here

15:57 [Andrea Stalker] The great question of, like, should the building be a blank canvas or something that has content and a message and to be a point of inspiration. And I think there's a time and place for both. But at a community college, it is very relevant to say, like, architecture can inspire, and it should have a message, right? It should have a message to the students that you belong here, that you are respected. I think it can highlight those that have gone before, right? So to highlight alums that have been successful or, or even to highlight the values of the community college district. They value sustainability and stewardship of resources and all of those things that say, who we are, right? And are embodied in this message of a building. And that can inspire students then onto levels of creativity or to witness a problem and want to solve it, right? To tackle it, to say, "Oh, this is what someone did before me? Well, I want to take it to the next level and do the next thing."

On finding meaning, connection and awe through self-actualization

05:27: [Dr. Joel Peterson]] This is what self-actualization is talking about, is those fundamental things of finding meaning, finding connection, finding a sense of awe, and finding those pinnacle experiences that make you feel like that life itself is fundamentally worth it.

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Spaces that Assist in Mastering Skills, with Security in Mind - Psychological Needs Part 2

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode of Student Success: Built by Design, our panel of experts sits back down to continue their discussion of the third layer of Maslow’s pyramid, the psychological needs for community and belonging. Checking back in with Dr. Joel Peterson, Aurora Ayala, Andrea Stalker, Jennifer Gibb, and Jeff Johnson, who all bring industry-based perspectives on how built environments, facilities management, and inclusive design all contribute to better educational outcomes.

Their discussion explores how to plan, design, and construct spaces while balancing several considerations of both helping students master skills better, and also providing them places that are safe and secure from potential natural dangers and natural disasters. They explore the milestones associated with a project, and how they might look different than you would expect. Looking in from the construction perspective the conversation looks at how to help campus buildings fit into their sense of space, using similar design, local materials, and utilizing native plants to create an authentic and ecologically-minded space. Listen in to hear how Bond Measure HH has been and continues to be instrumental in these amazing improvements.

The Student Success: Built by Design is a production of San Diego Community College District and is produced by University FM.

Episode Guide:

02:02 Panel Introductions
03:09 Maslow’s Psychological Needs Explained
05:26 How Spaces Can Support Skills Mastery
07:44 Design Helping Students Feel Safe and Considered
10:16 What do Success Milestones look like in Construction
15:30 Removing Unnecessary Distractions
17:02 Varying Spaces for Different User Types
20:51 Ways to Minimize Uncertainty and Fear
23:58 Making Sure Spaces are up to Code
26:05 Fitting Buildings Into the Sense of Space
28:54 Using Native Plants and Local Materials
30:37 Measure HH’s Use in Projects
33:39 Conclusion and Closing Remarks

The Student Success: Built by Design is a production of San Diego Community College District and is produced by University FM.

Show Links:

Episode Quotes:

Safety starts in the parking lot

21:15: [Aurora Ayala] It's lighting corners where there's no visibility. It's even the location of planting and furniture that we don't have any hidden areas. That's all designed with intent, right? We're making sure that everything that we do, that we're keeping our students, and just anyone that's in that area safe. When you were talking about the basketball game, I was thinking about the locker rooms and how it starts in the locker room, it starts in the parking lot, it starts in the showers when they're getting ready. It starts with our team making, and by our team, I mean on the facility side, making sure that every area that our students touch and our visitors touch is clean, it's well-maintained. The locker rooms, they're prepped before they get out there, that those areas are, are a sense of identity.

Designing spaces for pure mastery

15:29: [Dr. Joel Peterson] We also try to remove the distractions. We take away the variations of, say, wind or noise or some of these other parts. Concert halls are perfect for that. We don't have windows in those places because glass doesn't reverberate in the right kind of way, and the light changing can do things with combination of acoustics and, and other type of interior lighting. So those are just examples of how we design to help to support the mastery, the acquisition of it, the demonstration of it, and the appreciation and recognition of it, and that is what the design space, I think, really reflects. And then the added sort of icing on the cake, to Jennifer's and Aurora's point, is that once we have these things built or in the process of it, we can start reinforcing these things by bringing people in to celebrate, to feel like they belong, that they are masters of the process itself and included into that whole process.

Designing the campus haven

08:19: [Aurora Ayala] Every intent of design, every intent of maintenance is really to give the student a sense of feeling like the classroom, the open environment, the outdoor environment is their safe haven here.

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Designing Spaces Where Students Feel They Belong - Psychological Needs Part 1

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 14:00:00 +0000

In another episode of Student Success: Built by Design, our panel of experts sits down to discuss the third layer of Maslow’s pyramid, the psychological needs for community and belonging. Once again joining the discussion are Dr. Joel Peterson, Aurora Ayala, Andrea Stalker, and Jeff Johnson, who bring unique perspectives on how built environments, facilities management, and inclusive design contribute to better educational outcomes.

The conversation covers how campus design influences student connectivity, trust, community, and belonging. Dr. Peterson reminds us how unmet lower needs show up later when they hinder higher ones and that these needs can be met simultaneously. They draw connections from these ideas to planning environments that feel welcoming rather than surveilled. The panel talks about designing spaces at multiple social scales, from intimate nooks to larger gathering areas, and notes how building character, cleanliness, and maintenance affect student behavior and comfort. They also describe intentional construction communication and community engagement that builds ownership.

Episode Guide:

02:24 Maslow Social Needs Explained
04:34 Designing for Trust and Belonging
05:32 Spaces for Connection at Every Scale
10:47 Food Services and Student Centers
12:24 Athletics vs Housing Social Energy
14:17 Stewardship Maintenance and Broken Windows
16:21 Branding Wayfinding and Pride
17:51 Construction Engagement and Campus Staff
21:57 Modern Student Housing Community Design
26:24 Maintainability Lessons and Wrap Up

The Student Success: Built by Design is a production of San Diego Community College District and is produced by University FM.

Show Links:

Episode Quotes:

Designing for choice creates real community
26:01 [Andrea Stalker] Different individuals need different amounts of privacy or desire different amounts of privacy or separation. So having an option where you can be alone almost all the time, apartments or suites where you have more interaction. So having a choice is super beneficial for allowing someone to feel comfortable in their home environment and space, and then establishing that what we call that floor mate or that floor community, and having that, you know, 30 to 40 people that you can really relate to at a given time, and it's your support group. It's your immediate community that you go to, while still feeling like you're a part of that broader community and recognizing that broader community is supported by many of the amenities that you're providing in the space like your outdoor courtyards that are gathering spaces or places where you can go for multipurpose events or larger, broader community-oriented things that bring everyone together. And that establishment of really those three layers allows you then to develop different levels of relationship that are so important for someone's sort of personal and social success.

On designing a space built for students
10:09 [Aurora Ayala] I think we've seen it across all of our projects, that when we design with intent, when our spaces really do say you belong here, and our students feel it, like we, you can tell because they linger. You can tell because they will intentionally stay in a place and just have conversations, and that's their spot during their breaks. They enjoy the environment that they're in because we designed it with intent.

People maintaining the building is a crucial component of belonging

20:56 [Dr. Joel Peterson] We train our maintenance staff and our custodial staff and our ground staff to be friendly and professional, that they greet the students, that they greet faculty members...And the fact that we have buildings at night that have custodial staff makes people feel less alone and potentially, when they're feeling more vulnerable in an evening sense, and they know when they've got people that are there working on the building or around the building. So this isn't just the design, but it's the people that will occupy it in maintaining it, our crucial component of this belonging.

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The Foundation – Exploring Physical Needs in Design

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Thu, 21 May 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Welcome back to Student Success: Built by Design, where our panel of experts discuss the overlap of architecture and education, and how both intersect in the multifaceted concept of Student Success. Joining the discussion are Dr. Joel Peterson, Aurora Ayala, Jennifer Gibb, Andrea Stalker, and Jeff Johnson, who share their unique perspectives on how built environments, facilities management, and inclusive design contribute to better educational outcomes.

In this episode, we dive into the foundational levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs - both the Physiological needs and the Safety needs. Including how clean air, water, shelter, lighting, accessibility, and secure circulation all contribute to the creation of both real safety and also the perception of safety, which can be equally as important. Our experts share real stories from their years in the field of instances of these sorts of challenges that they had to address. Examples include motion-sensor lighting and fencing to address hidden, dark campus areas, and learning lessons in HVAC/air-quality, such as HEPA filtration balanced against staffing and lifecycle maintenance constraints.

The group highlights crime prevention through environmental design, district design standards, and joint collaboration among architects, builders, facilities, and campus police to ensure constructability, code compliance, and maintainability without accidentally creating “bunker-like” spaces in the process.

Episode Guide:

03:01 Meet the Panel
03:34 Maslow’s Basics
05:38 Safety by Design
09:27 Construction Reality Check
12:15 Pandemic Air Quality
16:12 HVAC Lessons Learned
27:07 Balancing Building Codes and Creativity
32:11 Collaboration and Quality Control
37:13 Maintainability Matters
40:57 Final Thoughts and Conclusion

The Student Success: Built by Design is a production of San Diego Community College District and is produced by University FM.

Show Links:

Episode Quotes:

Safety as the foundation of SDCCD facilities

06:19: [Aurora Ayala] The foundation of everything that we do, from the interview of the architects that we want to select. That is literally what our chancellor looks like. How will you incorporate design? How will you think of the design when you're thinking of design? Like, how do you incorporate safety? And by that, it's minimizing hidden spots by proper lighting, minimize how to install cameras by how you place the common areas so that there can be line of sight. When we're looking at where we place trees, when they're fully grown, are they going to obstruct lighting? Do we put bollard lighting? Do we put wall stanchions? JJust, like, everything that we think about from the beginning of a program, we're thinking of the safety of the students.

On designing campuses students feel they belong

24:43: [Auro Ayala] What we want is our students to know that this is their area, their community, and if there's anyone that's there, it is because they're there for the same purpose, to take a course, to take advantage of our community college and the community environment that we've worked so hard for.

Student success is built on meeting the human needs

04:42: [Dr. Joel Peterson] Student success is built upon a foundation of meeting the underlying human needs that must be met, or to the extent that we don't meet them, it can get in the way of student success. And at the very basic level are just the most physiologically necessary components. We all must breathe. We need air, and we need clean air. We need to have water and food. We need to have shelter. And those things get brought into the very basic level of design.

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Big Picture – Student Success: The Lens We Look Through

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 02:26:07 +0000

In this inaugural episode, our panel of experts in both architecture and education delves into the multifaceted concept of Student Success, focusing on various dimensions such as personal, academic, and social achievements. Joining the discussion are Dr. Joel Peterson, Aurora Ayala, Jennifer Gibb, Andrea Stalker, and Jeff Johnson who share their unique perspectives on how built environments, facilities management, and inclusive design contribute to better educational outcomes.

Their conversation covers theoretical frameworks like Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, practical insights into maintaining and constructing effective educational spaces under San Diego’s Measure HH, and evidence-based design principles. The episode emphasizes the importance of creating safe, sustainable, and inclusive environments that foster student success.

Episode Guide:

00:00 Introduction and Overview
01:09 Meet the Panelists
05:39 Defining Student Success
09:39 The Role of Physical Environment in Student Success
13:14 Challenges and Considerations in Design
15:27 Maslow's Hierarchy and Student Needs
19:34 Using Measure HH Funds
23:43 Case Studies and Real-World Applications
34:34 Success Stories and Impact
35:51 Conclusion and Closing Remarks

The Student Success: Built by Design is a production of San Diego Community College District and is produced by University FM.

Episode Quotes:

The launchpad for transforming generations

34:18 [Dr. Joel Peterson] We have clearly been the launchpad and the initial important trajectory that has set people to not only transform their lives, but to circle completely back and start being part of the process of transforming the next generation of student lives. And those are not apocryphal rare stories, they are quite a lot.

SDCCD leading in student return on investment

36:38: [Andrea Stalker] What is so inspiring about San Diego Community College District is you guys are already doing it so well… [37:01] Your three conferences, colleges ranked second, third, and fourth in the state for return on investment for your students.

On removing the architectural roadblocks to learning

20:12 [Dr. Joel Peterson] The things that we do probably do not have a direct link to student success. But the things that we do can have a direct link to stopping student success. If we don’t make it safe, if we do not make it inclusive, if we do not give it a sense of creativity, you know, then no matter what that teacher does in the classroom, no matter what the teaching tools are, how strong the microscope, you know, how good the planetarium, that we can block that learning, that success, that fulfillment and achievement from happening.

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Introducing: Student Success: Built by Design

team@ventures.fm (University.fm) — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Student Success: Built by Design - a podcast about how the built environment contributes to several aspects of academic success and what those factors look like. We will explore these topics one by one, following a framework along Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, in discussions with a panel of experts across the fields of Higher Education, Architecture, Construction, and Design.

Dive deep into the issues that affect how students live and learn. Join Dr. Joel Peterson, Aurora Ayala, Andrea Stalker, Jennifer Gibb, and Jeff Johnson each episode as they discuss the issues, examine case studies, and unpack the key ingredients of Student Success.

Subscribe to Student Success: Built by Design wherever you get your podcasts and don’t miss the first episode available in April, with new episodes on the third Thursday of every month!

The Student Success: Built by Design is a production of San Diego Community College District and is produced by

University FM.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.