Introduction to the Campus Master Plan

Initiated by University President Michael K. Young in 2005, the Campus Master Plan will give physical form to the University’s mission to engage, prepare, and partner with our neighbors, national and international friends, and campus students, faculty, and staff.

The CMP will analyze:

• Land use
• Landscaping
• Formal and informal open space
• Pedestrian and vehicular circulation
• TRAX and public transportation
• Parking
• Predominant building use
• Utility infrastructure
• Land ownership
• Campus edges and community interaction, design features and opportunities 

The University has hired Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP (SOM), San
Francisco, to assist in the development of the Campus Master Plan.

“VISION” for the Campus Master Plan

Since its establishment on the present campus in 1900, the University of Utah has grown dramatically in response to a wide range of factors including enrollment growth, trends in education, research and funding opportunities. The campus will continue to grow, accommodating previously unforeseen uses and users and integrating new interdisciplinary modes of learning, instruction, and research.

The goal of the University of Utah Campus Master Plan (CMP) is to guide future growth and development over the next 20 years, and to provide a physical campus framework that embodies the University’s mission.

During the Discovery Phase of the Campus Master Planning process, a series of planning principles have been created to capture the “VISION” of the University Community for the University’s future development.  This “Vision” arose from over 100 meetings involving Students, Faculty and Staff; University and Community Stakeholders.

To guide the Master Planning process these seven
planning principles have been defined:

1. A lively campus; a magnet for student, faculty, staff and public life;
2. State of the art facilities to support the university’s mission for teaching, research and public life;
3. A setting to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and interaction;
4. Campus as a destination for the public;
5. Functional and sustainable transportation;
6. Capitalize on the natural landscape setting; and
7. Leadership in environmental stewardship