Colgate University Announces Lower Campus Initiative, $105M in New Gifts for the Student Experience

Colgate’s comprehensive Third-Century Plan, launched during the University’s Bicentennial celebration in 2019, includes the completion of the Residential Commons system and the Lower Campus as initial priorities. Currently, first- and second-year students reside in one of four Residential Commons on top of the hill. Extending that residential life experience for juniors and seniors — ensuring that their living spaces provide the opportunity for community and for the development of independence that will serve them well after graduation — is the vital next step.

“When President Casey began working with the faculty, administration, and trustees on the Third-Century Plan, that really grabbed me — recognizing that it’s not going to be done overnight,” says Kellner, reflecting on his gift and the change he hopes it will bring to Colgate. “I wanted to do something that really would have an impact on the University.”

Different forms of Colgate student housing, built over many decades, currently line Broad Street and College Street. In spite of their proximity to campus and to each other, these buildings can seem distinct and distant from Colgate’s physical and historic core. The building program, launched with unprecedented levels of support from alumni and parents, will form an intentional campus neighborhood.

A reenvisioned Broad Street will demand extensive new construction. New residential units will be added to this part of the campus. Among the new residential units will be Fox House at 70 Broad Street and Hurley House. The Social Center, named in recognition of Conte’s gift, will draw the community to Lower Campus for events, activities, and other programming.

“My Colgate experience helped me achieve my personal and professional dreams, as both a first-generation student and the son of immigrants, by providing me with an education that continues to serve me today,” Conte says. “The new Conte House will be a vital gathering place for students of all backgrounds, and supporting future generations in this way is nothing short of an honor for me and my family.”

North House and South House, two large residences, will be attached to the Social Center. Nearby, two studies will provide spaces for seminars, individual and group study, and other projects. The Walk will form a common pathway and communal place throughout the lower campus. The Park will provide a green anchor, located on an extension of Taylor Lake.

Buildings in the Lower Campus will be designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA) and other architects, and landscapes will be designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA). Both firms have worked extensively with Colgate: MVVA is completing initial work on Peter’s Glen, also funded through a gift from Kellner, and RAMSA most recently completed Bernstein Hall, which opened in fall 2024.

Renovations to Greek and theme houses will take place alongside construction. This work has already begun at 66 Broad Street, and it will continue at 70 Broad Street this fall. The current house will be removed, and a new house will be constructed and named for Fox.

Once construction and renovations are complete, juniors and seniors will move into Lower Campus theme houses, fraternity houses, sorority houses, apartments, and townhouses. This renovation and construction work will ensure all future seniors will have the option to live in single rooms, if they so choose, and approximately half of the junior class will also have the option to live in singles.

“Residential life at Colgate plays an important part in the education of our students,” says Vice President and Dean of the College Paul McLoughlin. “In their first and second years, they build community with their classmates. In their junior and senior years, we want that experience to continue even as they build the skills to live independently and to be good citizens after they graduate. I am so grateful for the gifts that have made it possible for Colgate to achieve this vision.”

Now in its sixth year, the Third-Century Plan is just beginning to guide the University’s long-term development and secure its place as a leading national liberal arts institution. To support initial priorities within the Plan, Colgate launched The Campaign for the Third Century in 2022, setting a goal of $1 billion — the largest fundraising effort by a liberal arts university of Colgate’s size.

“This moment is of great significance for Colgate, and will allow us to complete a 200-year-old campus,” Casey says. “These projects — and the creation of a new part of the historic campus at Colgate — will set the trajectory of Colgate for decades to come.”