The Master Plan is the physical expression of the values shared by the campus community and its neighbors. It restores the pastoral character of the campus, creates a walkable campus, and concentrates the buildings at the campus core to foster a sense of community.

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Campus Re-greening

The campus green, quadrangle and courtyard are essential elements of the traditional campus setting. The notion of a green and pastoral campus is deeply rooted in NDNU's own history identity; in 1923, the Sisters moved the college from San Jose to Belmont not only to have room to grow, but to create a true campus retreat away from the city. The master pan enhances, improves, and increases the natural and landscaped areas of the campus to create a traditional university environment conducive to learning.

Pedestrian Campus

The master plan returns the NDNU campus to a traditional collegiate environment that emphasizes pedestrian and bicycle use over the automobile. By removing students, faculty, and staff from the isolation of their cars, the master plan creates the opportunity, necessity, and inevitability for them to "intersect," to meet as members of a vital learning community. The campus is designed to be comfortable and accessible to pedestrians and bicyclists, while vehicular access and parking are strictly limited.

Campus Community

The university recognizes the educational benefits of student and faculty interaction outside the classroom. The master plan generates, supports, and reinforces the notion of campus community by providing places and facilities that encourage academic and social interaction, including information recreation and play. The campus enviroment provides varied social experiences with spaces ranging from the very personal, reflective and instrospective to the highly social, playful, vibrant and energized.