The Future is Now

Two years ago, a new recital hall was still a dream, the School of Law was finalizing plans to vacate its 50-year-old building and millions in fundraising were still needed to move forward with Henderson’s major renovation.

During this time, JuliAnn Mazachek started as Washburn president, and everybody knew these projects, and others in the works, would get the boost they needed and would be just the beginning of the transformation on Washburn’s horizon.

“When President Mazachek took her role, we started talking about future plans, what the next projects might be and discussing how we really should put all the different thoughts and ideas on paper so we can talk about it cohesively and share that vision with others,” said Eric Just, assistant vice president, facilities services.

Mazachek, Just and a team of others did that, creating Washburn’s new master plan that looks at projects five years out and others beyond five years. The board of regents approved the plan in their October 2024 meeting.

“These are the things we anticipate will be the future of Washburn,” Mazachek said. “There are lots of opportunities right now, and these are our best plans, given what we know today, to offer students the very best opportunities now and in the future.”

Master plan projects for the first five years – some already underway – include the Dr. James Hurd Recital Hall, the old law building’s renovation into Plass Learning Resources Center and Henderson’s renovation into Advisors Excel Hall. Among the other five-year plans are upgrades to the baseball stadium, Lee Arena upgrades, Washburn Tech East’s second floor renovation and a Washburn Tech manufacturing center in North Topeka. With enrollment growth, an addition to Stoffer Science Hall will meet the demand for lab space and a student housing study will determine if additions are needed to existing residence halls.

Beyond five years, plans include the Institute for Healthcare Excellence, a new soccer stadium and interior renovations to Memorial Union and Garvey Fine Arts Center.

“We’ve been thinking about our academic programs – which programs are growing, which programs have we excelled at through the years – and thought about what their needs are and the types of experiences our students expect to learn and be ready to go out into the workforce,” Mazachek said.

Those factors drive which projects are at the top of the list. Another factor is funding, and most of the items in the master plan have fundraising associated with them.

“We’ve been very fortunate because donors have helped us accomplish major projects in the early stages of the master plan. They’re helping us transform our campus,” Mazachek said. “And they’re interested in upcoming projects. People are very excited about the directions we’re going for the future.”

As Henderson, the largest classroom space on campus, comes offline for about 18 months starting this summer, the classes, faculty and staff will need temporary homes. A domino-like order of events must happen for everything to fall into place. Nearly every building and department on campus will see changes due to the master plan. Just and his team make sure the physical spaces remain in place for Washburn to carry out its mission of education for all who wish to seek it, despite the changes and disruptions that will occur. That means active spaces remain accessible, classroom and office space are ample and foot and vehicle traffic can move efficiently.

“Our mission in facilities services is to provide the spaces faculty, staff and students need to be prepared for the future,” Just said.

One of the major changes people will notice is the overall landscape on the main campus. Benton Hall will be coming down and Plass is becoming a central hub for student services. Seemingly simple things like the paths people take to cross campus and where people prefer to park will change.

“I know there are a lot of people who are really sad about Benton Hall because they have such wonderful memories there,” Mazachek said. “That building was built at a time and for such a purpose that it doesn’t really work for classrooms and offices anymore. But it is going to be replaced with beautiful green space for students and anyone who visits campus. And they are going to love it.”

“There’s going to be a mix of nostalgia as alumni come back to campus and think about the places they used to have classes or spend a lot of time, but also those places will be changed on some level,” Just said. “I think they can expect to be wowed when they see the results.”