Campus

Washington and Lee is the only top-tier liberal arts college in the country with a nationally-accredited undergraduate business program. The Williams School of Commerce, Economics and Politics is distinctive among its peers, offering a business education within a liberal arts curriculum. Regardless of major, most W&L students take at least a few courses in the Williams School. Huntley Hall is the most heavily utilized classroom building on campus; its classrooms are overscheduled and have limited flexibility to support interactive teaching, collaborative co-curricular activities and new technologies. W&L is constructing a new building on Washington Street—on the former Baker and Davis dormitories site—to provide the Williams School with facilities befitting the quality of its educational programs. A complete renovation of Huntley Hall will follow.

The Lindley Center for Student Wellness supports success at Washington and Lee by caring for students’ physical and mental health. The facilities in which staff do this critical work are indispensable assets to W&L. First-year students are learning to manage their health with less parental oversight. Many students are managing pre-existing chronic conditions, while others are coping with emergent mental health issues. The current Student Health Center averages 9,000 student visits each year, and the Counseling Center typically receives more than 3,000 visits annually for individual or group sessions. The new Lindley Center for Student Wellness will consolidate medical, counseling and psychiatry services in one location, supporting a team approach to caring for students in a setting that is easily accessible.

A comprehensive, modern museum located steps from Lexington’s historic downtown will share Washington and Lee’s many stories while highlighting the university’s connections to American history for the campus community and public. The museum will better display many of the university’s notable and historical works of art, such as the Charles Willson Peale portrait of George Washington and pieces from the university’s collections that are not permanently displayed due to space limitations on campus. With more convenient and centralized access to these works, faculty and students will more effectively incorporate them into classroom discussions, academic research and additional educational programming.

Admissions and Financial Aid is the front door to the university for prospective students, many of whom will visit Washington and Lee with their families or as part of group programs, including the Johnson Scholarship competition and our three annual Diversity and Inclusion Visit Experience (DIVE) weekends. While these campus visits are a key to W&L’s successful admissions strategy, their volume strains the capacities of Gilliam House. A new center—strategically located on the corner of Washington Street and Lee Avenue—will bring the offices of Admissions and Financial Aid together, facilitating interviews, tours and information sessions. A dedicated conference center with a large central hall, breakout rooms and easy access to food services will support admissions programming, conferences and events that serve students, faculty, staff and alumni.

Washington and Lee last renovated its science facilities in the mid-1990s. Over nearly three decades, STEM majors have increased by 28 percent, and we have added faculty to meet this demand. Our 21st-century science programs require more space, more flexible classrooms and substantial improvements to learning spaces and research labs. The renovated Science Center will be the largest and most complex capital project ever undertaken by the university. The project includes expansion of the technology available in the IQ center, W&L’s instrument-rich teaching and research suite that serves STEM students and faculty as well as those from disciplines across campus.

Washington and Lee is the only member of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference that does not offer softball, one of the most popular sports in the country. The inception of a new softball program — W&L’s 25th varsity sport — will create new opportunities to attract and retain female student-athletes. The university will build a softball field equal in quality to its other outstanding athletic facilities and hire a coaching staff to launch this important new program.

Wilson Hall has outgrown its current footprint in the thriving Lenfest Center for the Performing Arts. The university will add two large rehearsal rooms to provide improved acoustic environments for choral and instrumental ensembles and meet the increased demand for rehearsal and performance spaces. The addition will also provide essential climate-controlled storage space for instruments and equipment.