The BAMA Experience
Our Vision – Your Future
The campus master plan for our university embodies a visionary outlook that seeks to create a campus community that is highly connected, collaborative, inclusive, and safe. The plan seeks to create an environment that fosters innovation and discovery, enabling students, faculty, and staff to reach their full potential. In short, the 2024 UA Master Plan aims to create The Bama Experience.
Connection & Collaboration
The 2024 UA Master Plan’s first theme, Connection and Collaboration, prioritizes aggressive capital renewal and stewardship of facilities to foster dynamic and interactive experiences for students, faculty, and staff. The plan focuses on reinvesting in existing spaces that are flexible, functional, and promote collaboration, aiming to create interconnectedness among individuals within the university community. The Bama Experience highlights the significance of open space systems in facilitating connection and collaboration at UA, building upon the principles established in the 2007 plan. By maintaining traditional relationships between buildings and functions through a primary open space system, the plan extends the learning experience beyond classrooms and encourages student engagement with their surroundings. The campus design will integrate with its surroundings, visually and physically connecting with neighboring elements while enhancing the core of the campus, thus contributing to the overall expansion network that ties together different campus components.
Student Success & Retention
The second theme of the 2024 UA Master Plan focuses on Student Success and Retention, recognizing their crucial role in realizing the Bama Experience and fostering a campus environment that encourages collaboration and experiential learning beyond academics. The plan prioritizes diverse learning opportunities for students, aiming to create a sense of belonging and community while providing robust support systems. To achieve this, UA plans to heavily invest in existing academic buildings, transforming them into cutting-edge laboratories and classrooms that facilitate hands-on learning. These upgraded facilities will serve as hubs for innovation and entrepreneurship, offering students access to mentorship, workshops, and funding opportunities to pursue their ideas and passions.
Safety & Well-Being
The third theme of the 2024 UA Master Plan focuses on Safety and Well-Being, recognizing their crucial role in fostering an environment where academic, social, and personal growth can thrive. The plan aims to create both indoor and outdoor spaces that prioritize safety and comfort, while preserving the campus’s beauty. UA will invest in enhancing campus security systems to ensure the well-being of students, faculty, and staff. Additionally, the plan includes renovations to improve accessibility by meeting ADA standards, making the campus more inclusive for everyone. Prioritizing health and well-being, the plan invests in resources and services that promote mental and physical wellness. The Student Health Center and the Faculty-Staff Clinic will continue to provide access to medical care, wellness programs, psychological services, and counseling resources in a professional and confidential manner. Furthermore, the plan includes expanding recreational facilities to offer new fitness equipment, larger gym spaces, and guided exercise opportunities.
Innovation & Discovery
The fourth and final theme of the 2024 UA Master Plan is Innovation and Discovery, as fostering a culture of innovation and discovery is essential to preparing students for success in an ever-changing world. To appreciate all the generous investments that have been made into the physical campus since the 2017 Master Plan, UA will continue to invest in research infrastructure such as new and renovated laboratories, equipment and technology. The adaptive reuse approach to existing buildings will ensure state-of-the-art research facilities for students and faculty to pursue cutting-edge discoveries in their fields. This will also create new spaces for innovation and entrepreneurship to provide students with resources such as mentorship, workshops and funding opportunities to pursue their ideas and innovations.
