The University of Wyoming has been working on a Campus Master Plan (CMP) that will span over 20 years and update almost all areas of campus.
Campus Architect Matthew Newman said that this new plan is a revision and update of the previous Long-Range Development Plan that was created in 2010.
“A welcoming campus is a key concept of the CMP,” said Newman. “The plan promotes an outward approach to building statewide community and facilitating collaboration between UW and its constituents to address complex social, economic and environmental challenges.”
The plan works from the inside out by having a key focus on the core campus.
“The CMP provides a vision for strategic renovations of a number of core campus buildings to modernize systems and provide universal accessibility.” said Newman.
Students and faculty play a large role in the interworking of the core campus. The Campus Master Plan looks to help improve the campus community and interrelations of key people.
“Co-location of key student service functions has been identified as a physical change we can make to improve the student experience,” said Newman.
Although there are other big differences being introduced with the Campus Master Plan, Newman says the biggest difference will be the reintroduction of student housing to the core campus.
From where Wyoming Hall is now, new residential buildings will be built within the next 20 years including repurposing a section of Knight Hall.
Newman also said that the Campus Master Plan emphasizes the need for increased interdisciplinary collaboration spaces.
These interdisciplinary spaces will be so much more possible through more cohesive campus mobility. Pedestrian-friendly projects in key areas of campus such as Fraternity Mall and Lewis Street look to improve movement throughout campus.
“These projects emphasize improved campus mobility through a strategic framework of; vehicular, pedestrian, bicycle and transit systems,” said Newman.
There are five ideas that will be used as focus areas to execute the Campus Master Plan: “discovery and learning,” “residential roots,” “student life experience,” “pedestrian-friendly qualities,” and a “welcoming campus.”
Along with these five ideas, there are six goals of the plan, including ensuring “academic success,” creating a “vibrant campus life,” celebrating “Wyoming culture,” and reinforcing a “cohesive campus.”
The presentation states that the method to achieving these goals through renovation, construction, and demolition spanned over 20 years of phased development.
With any new changes to campus, there is usually some type of pushback or concern. However, there is a lot of confidence that the Campus Master Plan will be widely accepted and liked.
“We were very fortunate in that we had a great turn-out from our student body who were engaged in the planning process through workshops, open houses and surveys,” said Newman. “Student feedback was key in the planning process.”
Student input and feedback was very important to the Campus Master Plan creative team. Surveys, open-house planning sessions, and public forums were all utilized to get student perspectives and opinions.
As the Campus Architect, Matt Newman said he is hopeful that the Campus Master Plan will be well-received by the new incoming president, Ed Seidel.
The presentation that was presented at the 2020 board meeting is still a draft. The final draft of the plan will be released soon.
