Washington and Lee University will tear down the Early-Fielding Memorial Building and construct a new building: Founders Hall. It’s possible thanks to a $30 million donation.

The new building will consolidate three major departments on campus into one building. The Office of Financial Aid, the Office of Admissions and the Johnson Program in Leadership and Integrity will be housed under one roof. This will streamline the admissions process for prospective students and families, according to the Columns.

Sally Stone Richmond, vice president for admissions and financial aid, says university officials have recognized the need for a new space for quite some time.

“I didn’t really have to advocate for this because it emerged as a sort of known reality,” Richmond said. “Anyone who’s ever come into Gilliam House has seen that we have outgrown our space.”

The Gilliam House holds Washington and Lee’s admissions office. The financial aid office is located at 216 N. Main St. and the Johnson Program operates out of the Ruscio Center for Global Learning. 

Coordinating between those spaces has proven to be difficult, Richmond said. University officials say they hope that having these offices in one place will help streamline the admissions process for families.

“It’s a very competitive environment, so we want to make sure we are presenting W&L as thoughtfully and as genuinely as we can the moment families arrive on campus,” said Richmond.

Johnson Scholar Annabelle Sutliff, ’27, thinks the addition will strengthen university admissions. She also thinks, however, that the systems in place at Washington and Lee have value as is.

“There’s something special about having your interviews in classrooms you’re going to be in next year,” Sutliff said about her interview for the Johnson program in CGL. “There is value there, but I’m curious to see what they are creating.”

Just like Johnson Program interviews in CGL, meeting spaces for prospective families are borrowed from other departments. The admissions office holds information sessions in Leyburn Library’s Northen Auditorium.

Demand for space keeps growing.

Since Richmond began her time with the university 10 years ago, she said she has seen a 30% increase in the number of students who receive need-based financial aid. The growth demonstrates the wealth of opportunities at Washington and Lee and highlights the need for more space and resources, Richmond said.

Founders Hall will also house conference spaces for alumni and meeting rooms for the families of prospective students, she said.  

“What Founders Hall allows us to do is have that cohesion amongst our division but then also the opportunities to engage the multitude of events that we have on campus,” she said.

The designers of Founders Hall want it to serve as a bridge between the university and the greater community.

“It will literally be at the corner of Washington and Lee Streets, which is quite a wonderful and serendipitous outcome of that location,” Richmond said.

Washington and Lee students agree with Richmond. 

“I think it’s going to be really cool at the front of campus,” said Emily Bradley, ’26. Bradley works in the Financial Aid Office and said she thinks this expansion is exciting. 

The $30 million donation challenges university donors to contribute $10 million to the Founders Hall fundraising effort. Richmond credits the generosity of Washington and Lee alumni and families for leading the change monetarily. She said the university’s advancement office and the president’s office have handled the logistics.

“The folks have the faith and the commitment to see that future students enjoy their experience,” Richmond said.

The university is also planning other construction projects, including an expansion to the science center, a footbridge between Leyburn Library and Woods Creek Apartments and renovations to Huntley Hall, according to the university’s master plan.

Many students at Washington and Lee do not mind the new developments on campus. In fact, some of them welcome this new change. 

“Early-Fielding is just outdated,” Parker Wilkinson, ’27, said. “If it goes, and it’s going to be a new admissions building, I think that’s great. I think it’s an improvement.”