Lange became the university’s chancellor in 2021. In addition to handling university operations and strategy during the early stages of the Covid pandemic, she had also inherited the legacy of a particular kind of expansion strategy the university had employed since it first opened its doors more than 35 years ago. Instead of having a traditional campus, the university has historically bought up empty buildings — many of them leftover from Tacoma’s industrial past — in the surrounding area, and converted them into classrooms. The 22 buildings the campus now owns are spread over 46 acres.

Now, that’s all changing. Complete with new buildings, the university is pursuing a central campus design meant to (literally) center student life and further its stated goal of reaching 10,000 full-time undergraduate and graduate students.

But a design focused on student life doesn’t necessitate siloing the students from the wider community. Instead, the design intentionally keeps specific corridors and sightlines open and introduces significantly more greenspace to foster community connection and connection with nature. It also preserves significant older buildings on campus, alongside creating new ones to expand student living and dining options.