Join this dynamic discussion on the current landscape and future outlook for campus infrastructure and capital investment in higher education. The session will delve into the latest trends, opportunities, and challenges shaping the market, including how institutions are navigating financial constraints, evolving campus needs, and the demand for sustainable, resilient infrastructure. Explore innovative financing structures, partnership models, and strategies that are driving successful project delivery and long-term value creation for colleges and universities.

Jeff TurnerPresidentBrailsford & Dunlavey

Check back often for updates.

In 2020, San Diego State University purchased the stadium site in San Diego's Mission Valley community, just three miles from its College Area campus. Since then, the university has completed site and infrastructure work, built an expansive river park and the new Snapdragon Stadium. It has also utilized a P3 delivery model to execute agreements with residential and affordable housing developers who have started construction on hundreds of residential units, with more projects in the queue. SDSU leadership will share how the project has continued to progress despite challenging market conditions, what has worked well and where they have had to pivot in order to maintain momentum. 

Adam ChristianSenior Director, Government & Public SectorErnst & Young Infrastructure Advisors, LLCModerator Agnes Wong NickersonVice President for Business and Financial Affairs and Chief Financial OfficerSan Diego State University Bob SchulzUniversity ArchitectSan Diego State University Gina JacobsAssociate Vice PresidentSan Diego State University

Learn more and submit your application today: P3 Higher Education Awards

Check back often for updates. 

Deferred maintenance is often framed as a budgeting trade-off—but in today’s campus environments, it is increasingly a strategic risk with compounding financial, operational, and reputational consequences. This session explores how prolonged underinvestment in critical campus assets—from parking facilities and central energy plants to student housing and dining infrastructure—can erode value, disrupt operations, and undermine institutions' long-term success.

Using real-world examples, we will examine how deferred maintenance manifests differently across asset classes. In parking systems, aging infrastructure can lead to safety concerns, reduced capacity, and unexpected capital outlays. In energy infrastructure, delayed upgrades to central plants and distribution networks can lead to inefficiencies, increased emissions, and increased resilience risks for institutions. Within student housing and dining, deferred reinvestment can directly impact student satisfaction, occupancy rates, and revenue streams.

Importantly, this discussion will move beyond problem identification to practical solutions. Attendees will explore leading practices for quantifying deferred maintenance risk, integrating lifecycle planning into P3 agreements, and aligning incentives between public and private stakeholders to ensure sustained asset performance.

Whether you are evaluating a potential partnership, managing an existing portfolio, or planning long-term capital investments, this session will provide a clearer understanding of the true cost of waiting—and actionable strategies to address it before it becomes a crisis.

Universities have long been engines of research and discovery — but increasingly, they are also becoming anchors for dynamic economic ecosystems that extend well beyond their campuses. Innovation zones represent a powerful evolution in how higher education institutions leverage public-private partnerships to create physical environments where industry, academia, and government converge to accelerate commercialization, workforce development, and regional growth.

This session brings together university leaders to explore how their institutions are designing, developing, and managing innovation zones — and the critical role P3 structures play in making them viable. Whether your institution is exploring its first industry partnership or looking to scale an existing innovation district, this session offers practical insights and peer perspectives on one of the most compelling P3 strategies in higher education today.

Adam AccolaExecutive DirectorDunn Economic Development Denise ChristensenDirector of Real Estate DevelopmentArizona State University Magesh Rajan, Ph.D., P.E., MBAVice President of Research and InnovationPrairie View A&M

Transforming the Campus Footprint

Public Private Partnerships have traditionally focused on delivering and funding student housing, amenities, and campus infrastructure with private development partners.   In today’s world where capital is more expensive, construction costs are escalating,  and colleges, universities, healthcare organizations, and other institutions have multiple priorities for their limited resources, Wexford Science + Technology and GMH Communities are building on their decades of experience as a trusted partner to these institutions and delivering real estate solutions tied to core university objectives like attracting and retaining faculty and student talent, expanding the campus life experience, and  building industry collaborations that drive new revenue and innovation opportunities.  The Wexford + GMH approach is rooted in trusted partnerships that develop high-performing facilities in dynamic mixed-use communities that attract partners and talent, elevate the campus environment, and drive strategic institutional outcomes.  Wexford + GMH bring a diverse real estate, community building, and capital toolkit to develop customized solutions for each partner, including research labs, offices, clinical facilities, housing, and amenities that drive a high quality of life. 

This panel will discuss how and why these partnerships have evolved and been successful over time.  The panel will draw from specific campus experiences to show how they achieve a broader range of strategic goals than traditional P3 projects, particularly in today’s institutional landscape.  And the discussion will highlight a variety of different partnership and capital structures to accomplish the strategic goals.   

Check back often for updates. 

Check back often for updates. 

Check back often for updates. 

Check back often for updates. 

Check back often for updates. 

Listen to employees’ actual experience transitioning from a university employee to a 3rd party operator and the importance of understanding the unique sensitivities of each employee. Retaining the operations team and ensuring their enthusiasm, interest and excitement is critical to a successful transition. The importance of open communication to university employees is critical to developing trust with the new 3rd party Operator. CenTrio’s VP of Corporate Development will moderate the session to facilitate hearing directly from CenTrio employees that transferred from the University to the 3rd Party Operator. The panel will include CenTrio’s HR Manager to round out the discussion from the 3rd Party Operator’s perspective.

Andres ArbizuVice President of Corporate DevelopmentCenTrioModerator John HouseDirector of OperationsSyracuse University Nathan PriorSenior Vice President of ConcessionsCenTrio Randy EarleLead Energy MechanicSyracuse University Tatjana ZunjicManager, Human ResourcesCenTrio