“The master plan for Winston-Salem State University’s 117-acre campus will provide a roadmap for strategic long-term growth over the next 20 years,” said Constance Mallette, vice chancellor of finance and administration for WSSU, in a statement. “Guided by the 2016-21 Strategic Plan, this document supports the growth of academic programs and advances the living/learning concept, which focuses on creating facilities that support high-impact teaching practices and enhanced student learning.”

The plan’s key elements are: Four new academic buildings to support science, allied health and graduate programs in the emerging Science District; the renovation and expansion of Hall Patterson, R.J. Reynolds Center, Hauser Hall of Music, and the Physical Plant (Arts + Visual Studies Department) to support liberal education; and the construction of two new residence halls and an expansion of Atkins and Martin-Schexnider residence halls.

Other components include expanded athletics facilities, two proposed multi-tiered parking garages, a mixed-use North Campus Gateway Center that would provide office space and a renovated library.

During the course of the nine-month “visioning process,” which began in June 2017, staff from Sasaki Associates met with WSSU administrators, faculty, staff and students to pinpoint targets for improvements, she said.

Mallette added that out of those meetings, five main ideas were incorporated as part of the vision:

• Supporting Liberal Education and Graduation Programs: Support the growth of graduate programs by developing in the Science District, with new buildings as well as social learning spaces.
• Engaging Communities & Enhanced Connectivity: An overhead pedestrian crosswalk to improve pedestrian safety and connectivity along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Also, two primary accessible routes through the core of campus.
• Environmental Stewardship: Nearly $25 million in utilities and infrastructure improvements — electrical, steam, chilled water, technology — over the next five years.
• Restore the Core: Enhancing existing open spaces to connect core activities and facilities to make the campus even more memorable.
• Vibrant Campus Life: Creating more on-campus amenities and jobs, especially late night and on weekends, to build more of a support system and community on campus.

WSSU currently has about 5,100 students and nearly 1,000 full- and part-time employees. The master plan, which cost $450,000 to put together, prepares WSSU for 12 percent growth over the next five years. That equals about 650 additional students — divided between 441 undergraduate and 208 graduate students.

The master plan projects future construction totaling $556 million in current dollars. Nothing outlined in the plan currently has funding associated.  A committee of 32 faculty, staff, administrators and students advised on the plan.

The last master plan — also created by Sasaki Associates — was laid out in 2011. Since that time, WSSU has added more than 200,000 square feet of new and renovated spaces, with another $80 million in construction underway, and an additional $30 million that is designed but waiting on state funding.

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According to a master plan released on the university’s website, the initiative, entitled Rutgers 2030, is a comprehensive re-envisioning of the campus that includes recommendations for “the functional, physical and psychological connections within and between campus districts as well as to the surrounding community and natural ecosystem.”

Rutgers also plans to update its transit student centers, housing, athletics facilities and on-campus transit hubs in an earth-friendly manner within the next 15 years.

“As far as construction, we adhere to the U.S. Green Building Council’s guidelines for LEED-rated Silver buildings, which are integrated into our design standards and construction guidelines, and collectively serve to reduce our overall carbon footprint,” said Frank Wong, assistant vice president of University Facilities and Capital Planning to the Daily Targum, a local news service. “We source materials within a 500-mile radius, and seek to use recycled materials in construction.”

As Wong explained, the university, which was originally founded as Queen’s College in pre-revolution 1766, has committed to installing 33 acres of solar panels on campus as well as promoting a variety of carbon-neutral transportation alternatives like bicycling. Moreover, initiatives are afoot to better use open space adjacent to nearby Raritan River.

The university sought input from a broad array of stakeholders while devising Rutgers 2030. About 8,000 members of the surrounding community were surveyed, likewise, more than 30 presentations and town hall meetings were conducted. Ditto meetings with administrators, faculty and groups, including the University Committee for Sustainability, which includes student representation. Energy Conservation Manager Michael Kornitas continues to meet with student groups regularly as well.

Diminishing the use of fossil fuels in relation to the campus is also on the agenda. Since such energy sources produce carbon emissions, the university’s master plan outlines the redevelopment of transportation infrastructure with an emphasis on non-vehicle transportation like biking and walking to help shrink the carbon footprint.

The master plan consulting team included New York-based Robert A.M. Stern Architects and Toscano Clements Taylor, Massachusetts-based Sasaki Associates and VHB, and San Francisco-based Buro Happold.

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