Looks aren’t everything, but, according to a recent survey, a majority of college students think that looks count for a lot—at least when it comes to buildings. That could be good news for UVA, which has about 20 renovation and new construction projects planned, according to the Office of the Architect. Last week the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that almost 30 percent of students “spurned a college because it lacked a facility they thought was important,” and another 26 percent surveyed by the Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers turned a school down because they found key facilities to be “inadequate.” And no, it wasn’t cafeterias or student unions that mattered most. Students were keen on “buildings to support [their] major and open space.”
University Architect David Neuman is probably relieved to hear that, since the majority of projects on Grounds are academic in nature. Cooke Hall, for instance, which houses classrooms and offices for the College of Arts and Sciences, is in the midst of a $6 million repair. And though the $30 million Medical Education building revamp does not yet have a start date, once it gets going it will “add 60-65,000 square feet of space designed to accommodate an array of new teaching methods shown to vastly improve how students learn.”
While students were most concerned about academic facilities, they were not oblivious to other aspects of campus living. Men, in particular, were especially interested in seeing varsity athletics facilities when touring prospective colleges. All of which suggests that the new John Paul Jones Arena will be a must-visit site on any UVA tour.—Cathy Harding