Priority 4: Building Campus Infrastructure for Tomorrow
A quarter-billion-dollars of investments in our physical and digital infrastructure will create spaces where 21st-century learning thrives and position UMW as the intellectual and cultural hub of the region.
New Theatre
At the intersection of campus and city, we will create the region’s premier venue for performance, innovation, and community gathering. This new state-of-the-art $80 million teaching facility will prepare students for Broadway and beyond. It will feature cutting-edge technology in a creativity laboratory where students produce performances and experiences yet to be imagined.
Arts Renaissance
Our historic properties—duPont Hall, Pollard Hall, and Melchers—will be transformed through $60 million renovations to house world-class facilities where architectural heritage meets technological innovation—in modernized studios, practice spaces, and galleries equipped for digital creativity in music and art.
Library for the Future
In an age of infinite information and AI-powered search, Simpson library must continue its growth as a dynamic knowledge creation center. UMW will complete a feasibility study on the future of the library to create plans for the library of the future which support its evolution into an even stronger resource for our community.
Campus Environment Enhancement
Beyond individual buildings, we will invest in the spaces between—creating a campus that inspires, connects, and sustains: thoughtfully designed outdoor spaces for informal gathering, study, and play; enhanced landscaping that celebrates our natural setting; sustainable infrastructure including energy efficiency, water management, and carbon reduction; and furnishings and amenities—benches, lighting, wayfinding, wireless access—that enhance daily experience.
In addition, utilizing and enhancing existing campus assets will ignite opportunities for engagement: this could include enhancing the usage of the Underground, the Amphitheatre, and Alvey Green, the top of the CRUC, and other spaces to increase opportunities for engagement and events, and as spaces to promote connection, belonging, and daily interaction.
Physical and Digital Accessibility
UMW is committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive. There is an ongoing accessibility project at Ball Hall to create accessible rooms and install an elevator. Ramps are also being installed at Ball and Madison Halls. UMW will utilize the remainder of the $11.25M in state funds to make improvements in other locations across campus informed by the work of a building committee including experts from across campus. UMW will also continue to invest in supporting digital accessibility across all its platforms.
Digital Infrastructure
A modern Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system will create a dynamic system for institutional intelligence that integrates systems, brings best practices to administrative functions, maximizes predictive analytics, harnesses the power of the AI revolution to support decision making, increases efficiencies and cost-savings, and supports student success.
Energy Infrastructure
Upgrading UMW’s energy infrastructure is a needed investment that leads to direct annual savings. The university plans to upgrade lighting to LED fixtures, improve building envelopes to prevent heat and energy loss and institute better ways to track utility usage across campus that will provide more concrete information where we need to increase efficiency. This will be a multi-year process as we identify the most impactful projects across campus.
Athletic Facilities
Championship-caliber facilities demonstrate our commitment to student-athlete success: New locker rooms at the Battleground Athletic Complex; modernized baseball and softball facilities, enhanced press box and spectator amenities, and infrastructure supporting new and emerging sports.