“In a world of diminishing resources, it makes less and less sense to demolish and replace even a difficult and controversial piece of architecture like Rudolph’s old Carney. But the fact that a building was designed by a famed architect doesn’t mean you have to treat it as a sacred object, either. The Carney offers an important lesson: that often the best way to get a good new building is to grab a great old one, give it a good hard shake,and reinvent it for another era.”
– Robert Campbell
Introduction & Overview of Campus Capital Plan
In May 2013 UMass Dartmouth launched into a strategic planning process – UMassDTransform2020 with the goal to position the campus to meet the needs and aspirations of the community and the Commonwealth at a time of accelerating change in the higher education environment. The strategic planning process will yield a blueprint for academic program development, student services, revenue enhancement, enrollment, research, community engagement and other facets of the University’s mission.
In parallel and conjunction with UMassDTransform2020 robust and vigorous discussions are occurring concerning the current state of our facilities. The formation of the FY2014 – 2018 Capital Plan Priorities included the following steps:
Formation of a capital plan steering committee to review the FY13 priorities and engage the University Community;
- Presentations to university constituencies (Including Faculty Senate, A&F, SGA, Student Affairs, and Dean's Council for review, comment and incorporation of feedback);
- Development and distribution of a survey to the University Community that received approximately 400 responses and the incorporation where appropriate;
- Presentation to Senior Leadership on 11-June where this plan was considered, motioned, voted on and approved as the priority list for the FY14 submission.
The FY2014 – 2018 Capital Plan update for UMass-Dartmouth demonstrates a continued commitment to transform and provide capital renewal to the main campus and strategically invest in satellites by recognizing the need to prioritize critical deferred maintenance, infrastructure, sustainability and energy reduction projects. As the Dartmouth campus nears the 50th anniversary of the construction of the majority of its’ facilities the Basic Infrastructure must be addressed in order to lay a new foundation and backbone to allow us to achieve the current and future goals and aspirations.
The UMass Dartmouth Capital Plan Update for FY2014-2018 presents a capital spending plan for thirty six prioritized projects of $234M in the next five fiscal years.