aerial view of Western's campus at night, with golden lights surrounded by dark trees

Campus strategic planning open house to be held Feb. 26

Western’s recently completed Capital Development and Strategic Vision Plan, the result of eighteen months of community outreach, engagement, and analysis, will serve as a flexible guide to capital development over the next 10-15 years.

Western’s recently completed Capital Development and Strategic Vision Plan, the result of eighteen months of community outreach, engagement, and analysis, will serve as a flexible guide to capital development over the next 10-15 years, as well as a transparent communication tool to campus constituents. 

The plan will be shared with the campus community at an open house in the Viking Union Multipurpose Room on Wednesday, Feb. 26, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. All students, faculty, and staff are welcome to attend. The results of the study, the final report, and other materials will be available for review, and the architects from NAC Architecture and Walker Macy landscape architects who worked on the plan will be in attendance to answer questions.

Extensive engagement with the campus community began in September 2023. The heart of the planning effort lay in broad and varied stakeholder engagement, to supplement and expand on the background research and analysis into how Western uses its facilities. The goal was to engender broad participation and transparency to ensure that everyone at the university interested in participating in the planning had the opportunity.

The plan evaluated programmatic space and facility needs across campus, assessed the suitability of existing facilities, and established a project sequence for the next several biennia. It also strategized the creation of spaces that may accommodate, temporarily or permanently, programs which are currently housed in buildings marked for major renovation or modernization work. The needs assessment focused on:

  • Vision, initiatives, and strategy
  • Evolving academic programs
  • Enrollment, capacity, and space utilization
  • Existing campus conditions
  • Strategic adjacencies
  • Access, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI)
  • Community health and well-being
  • Student, faculty, and staff collaboration
  • Goals related to sustainability, climate impact, and resilience
  • Partnership and development opportunities beyond main campus, including at satellite locations
  • Landscape and open space
  • Parking and transportation

Join your colleagues and classmates to learn about the future of our campus and participate in its planning. Lunch will be served.

For students interested in participating in conversations about the future of campus housing and sharing their experiences of living on or near campus, NAC is holding a series of focus groups the evening of Feb. 26 in Viking Union Room 460. Please use this housing focus group link to sign up for one of the sessions.