Laura Cruickshank\u2019s name doesn\u2019t appear in huge letters on any UConn buildings, but as the University\u2019s master planner and chief architect, her immeasurable expertise is embedded in academic, residential, and research structures throughout its campuses.<\/p>\n
Cruickshank, who joined UConn in 2013 after eight years as Yale\u2019s university planner and 20-plus years in private practice, has left such an imprint on Connecticut\u2019s structural landscape that she was inducted<\/a> this fall into the Connecticut Women\u2019s Hall of Fame<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fewer than 150 women have been selected for the distinction in the Hall\u2019s nearly 30-year history. Cruickshank was inducted in a four-person class with the theme of \u201cWomen Who Build,\u201d recognizing those who have blazed trails in traditionally male-dominated fields.<\/p>\n \u201cIt really is quite an honor, and she is in amazing company there,\u201d says UConn Board of Trustees member Marilda Gandara \u201978 JD, who chairs the board\u2019s committee on building, grounds, and environment, which oversees the areas in which Cruickshank leads the University.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are very selective in who they choose for this distinction,\u201d Gandara said of the Hall of Fame. \u201cThis is a very proud moment, both for Laura and for UConn as the beneficiary of all of the incredible work that she has accomplished.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to serving as UConn\u2019s master planner and chief architect, Cruickshank is its associate vice president in charge of University Planning, Design, and Construction (UPDC), which leads billions of dollars\u2019 worth of projects throughout UConn\u2019s campuses.<\/p>\n Cruickshank\u2019s role places her as a guiding force in the immediate and long-range planning for projects under the Next Generation Connecticut program, the most recent iteration of the UConn 2000 and 21st Century UConn campus transformation plans; UConn\u2019s annual and long-term capital improvement projects; and its management of real estate, space allocation, and other duties.<\/p>\n Some of UConn\u2019s largest projects completed under Cruickshank\u2019s stewardship include the 198,000-square-foot Science 1 building<\/a>, which opened earlier this year; the Innovation Partnership Building<\/a> at the UConn Tech Park (2018), the Peter J. Werth Residence Tower<\/a> (2016), formerly known as NextGen Hall; the new Engineering & Science Building<\/a> (2018); the Student Recreation Center<\/a> (2019); and many other renovations, expansions, and infrastructure improvement projects.<\/p>\n \u201cMany architects and planners have a talent for holistic views of large properties, and many have a special flair for the small details. In Laura, we are fortunate to have someone whose talents cross the spectrum,\u201d UConn President Radenka Maric says. \u201cShe has truly left her mark on UConn and the state of Connecticut in a way that will benefit students and residents for decades to come.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the hallmarks of Cruickshank\u2019s career at UConn, and the project that is closest to her heart, is the renovation and expansion of the old Hartford Times building into the UConn Hartford campus<\/a> (2017).<\/p>\n \u201cThat project was not just about a building. It was really about transforming an entire campus,\u201d she says. \u201cIt involved using a wide range of skills to consider the academic needs, the architecture and historic preservation of the site, its importance to the city and the region, and all of the other considerations, and it really turned out to be quite beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n In determining the look and functionality of UConn buildings, Cruickshank and her staff balance many considerations that require them to collaborate with on-campus partners along with multiple companies, organizations, and government agencies at the local, state, and federal levels.<\/p>\n The planning is multi-faceted and includes meeting the needs of the people who will work or live in the spaces, and ensuring the amenities and design won\u2019t become quickly outdated. They also must complement nearby structures or land forms, meet budget and schedule expectations, and reflect the campus zeitgeist of honoring UConn\u2019s history while setting the stage for its future.<\/p>\n \u201cAs an architect, I\u2019m very visually oriented and I have the look and the feel of these projects built in my head long before they\u2019re actually built on the ground,\u201d says Cruickshank, whose interest in architecture was first piqued at age 12 when her engineer father built an addition to their house.<\/p>\n Cruickshank\u2019s family split its time between the Westchester County and Catskills areas of New York as she was growing up, exposing her to differences in the development trends, building design, and cultures of suburban and rural areas.<\/p>\n As the oldest of seven children, Cruickshank grew up knowing how to bring order to situations with various personalities and priorities. She also attended an all-girls high school and a women-only college, and learned through participating in drama productions that consistent practice builds confidence.<\/p>\n Cruickshank says she considered career possibilities as varied as pre-med, English literature, and creative writing before deciding to pursue architecture.<\/p>\n From the start, she has never considered her gender to be a hindrance in the profession — though she is also keenly aware of the pressures that women face in the traditionally male-dominated fields involving planning, design, and construction.<\/p>\n In fact, Cruickshank says, she considers her pragmatic management and personality style to be somewhat androgynous, without worrying whether that directness may be viewed as too stereotypically male or whether some people might expect her to soften her approach.<\/p>\n She was surprised and honored to be selected for the Connecticut Women\u2019s Hall of Fame, she says, adding that it brought her back to memories of her earliest female role model: the eye doctor she started seeing at age 10, the first professional woman she met and who took the time to talk with her about her interests and aspirations.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was a role model for me,\u201d Cruickshank recalls. \u201cIt took me some time to accept the idea of myself as a role model, but I kept getting more and more feedback from others who said they were watching and learning from my work, particularly in design and construction.<\/p>\n \u201cAs I got more comfortable with the idea, I realized it comes with certain responsibilities, and it\u2019s brought me a lot of joy to be able to encourage and support younger women on their own journeys,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n She also has hired and mentored female workers at UPDC, which has a nearly equal balance of men and women in those roles — higher than in many other colleges and universities, and far above averages in the industry as a whole.<\/p>\n Cruickshank received her bachelor’s degree in urban studies from Mount Holyoke College and her master\u2019s degree in architecture from the University of New Mexico\u2019s School of Architecture & Planning, which invited her back in 2016 to deliver its Commencement address.<\/p>\n While in New Mexico, Cruickshank met her now-husband K. Bradley Mehrens. They have been married for 47 years and have an adult daughter and son, the latter of whom is a UConn alum.<\/p>\n After about 20 years in private practice, Cruickshank joined Yale in 2002 and directed planning and design on its central campus, including new structures to house its schools of management<\/a> and environment<\/a>; a major expansion and renovation uniting three historic buildings of the Yale Art Gallery<\/a>; and many others.<\/p>\n