Over $49M in Student Funding Allocated to Modernize and Transform Campus Facilities

More than $49M in Academic Facilities Maintenance Fund Assessment (AFMFA) student contributions will modernize facilities, enhance teaching and learning environments, and address deferred maintenance on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus in the next round of projects to begin this year.

Facilities set to receive significant renovations and improvements from the AFMFA program include the Armory, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Mumford Hall, Freer Hall, and the Veterinary Teaching Hospital – Small Animal Clinic (see the complete list below). Other revitalization work will focus on multiple building upgrades for restroom renovations, roof replacements, HVAC upgrades, and masonry repairs.

AFMFA is the primary resource for implementing consistent deferred maintenance projects on the Urbana campus. The annual funding complements facility renewal achieved through periodic unit and departmental construction and renovation projects.

Interim Associate Director for Project Planning Brad Klein said, “AFMFA revitalizes campus spaces and addresses critical facility issues that directly benefit the overall student experience. Committee representatives did a tremendous job of developing a balanced work portfolio that will help to achieve excellence in the university’s higher educational environments by enhancing shared spaces and locations, restoring infrastructure, strengthening energy conservation initiatives, protecting historical building features, and updating accessibility and life safety requirements.”

The capital improvement projects were selected and approved by the AFMFA Oversight Committee, composed of university students, faculty, and staff. Proposal criteria for the 19 reviewed projects were evaluated on programmatic impact, deferred maintenance backlog reduction, visibility, emerging learning and teaching methodologies, economies of scale, and building system analysis. The committee also conditionally approved allocating an additional $11.2M in future funding toward a comprehensive renovation of the Transportation Building and window replacements at Mumford Hall, which are part of separate projects.

Since the start of the program in 2007, more than $296M in student funds have transformed the campus for notable renovation projects, including the Chemistry Annex, Carle Illinois College of Medicine/Medical Sciences Building, Natural History Building, Main Library Reading Room, Mechanical Engineering Building, Noyes Laboratory, Smith Memorial Hall, and Altgeld Hall.

More information on AFMFA is available at http://go.fs.illinois.edu/afmfa.