FAQs

The Institutional History Museum (IHM) was conceived in 2018 and is included in both Washington and Lee’s Strategic and Campus Master Plans, which were approved by the Board of Trustees in 2018 and 2022, respectively. The museum will serve as an educational resource for the W&L community and the broader public, telling the full and rich history of the university, its people, traditions, and impact throughout the arc of the nation’s history. 

The IHM will augment existing galleries in University Chapel, the Reeves Museum and Washington Hall, allowing Washington and Lee to expand the number of stories of the university’s history that we share in these educational spaces. It will also provide much-needed storage and conservation space for the university’s many historical artworks and artifacts. 

Development of the museum has been led since 2022 by a Museum Working Group (MWG) consisting of W&L faculty, staff, alumni and trustees. The MWG selected Quinn Evans as the museum’s architect and Gallagher & Associates as the museum’s consultants. The group worked with Quinn Evans to identify the proposed site of the museum and to develop preliminary floor plans and renderings. The MWG is now working with Gallagher & Associates to engage with stakeholders across the university and local community. That work, which will include a community survey and focus groups in early 2025, will lead to the development of the museum’s visitor experience plan.

The University is also developing a master plan for its various museums, historical sites on campus, explanatory and contextualizing signage, and treatment of other areas or items of historical significance.  Final approval of the plans for the IHM rests with the Board of Trustees. Once the museum is open, the university will establish an IHM Advisory Board consisting of trustees, faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

• Steve McAllister, Vice President of Finance and Administration (Co-Chair)
• Bill Payne ’88, Trustee and Chair of Board of Trustees’ Resources Committee (Co-Chair) 
• John Case ’86, Trustee
• Matt Davis, Director of the Institutional History Museum 
• Isra El-beshir, Director of Art Museum and Galleries
• Stephan Fafatas, Professor of Accounting 
• Michael Hill, Director of the DeLaney Center and Professor & Chair of Africana Studies
• Tom Kalasky, Executive Director of University Facilities
• Mike McGarry ’87, Past president of the Alumni Association and member of the 2017 Commission on Institutional History and Community
• Barton Myers, Professor of History
• Helen Sanders ’04, Trustee
• Jessica Willett ’95, Vice President of Communications and Strategic Initiatives
• Susan Wood, Vice President of University Advancement 

The current plan calls for a facility of approximately 40,000 gross square feet that will have multiple galleries, with space for professional exhibits that span the university’s history, including George Washington and Robert E. Lee’s historical legacies and respective contributions to education and to W&L, as well as student exhibitions, a seminar room, a multipurpose community meeting room, collections storage and conservation, and administrative offices. Plans will be finalized in the coming months as the MWG completes its assessment of the needs for the facility.

After evaluating 10 potential sites across campus, the MWG and Quinn Evans recommended that the IHM be built on an area of campus located near the intersection of Jefferson St. and Washington St., at the northern end of what is currently the Corral parking lot. This site offers many advantages, including a highly visible proximity to both town and campus, multiple connection points via pedestrian networks and roads, multiple areas for university functions, proximity to University Chapel, and an opportunity to expand parking. More information about the site can be found in the story on the University’s website.

As planning continues, a final timeline for the construction and opening of the museum has not yet been set. Updates will be provided through official W&L communication channels.

Inquiries about object donations can be made to the Institutional History Museum staff.  They can be reached at (historymuseum@wlu.edu).

The placement of specific pieces within the university’s history museum spaces, which include the Institutional History Museum, the Chapel Galleries, and the Washington Galleries, will be determined as part of the museums master plan referenced above. When complete, these museum spaces will include exhibitions that fully contextualize the university’s history using artifacts like the plaques and paintings that have been relocated from the chapel auditorium and other locations on campus, the orrery,  the original Old George statue, exhibits about the contributions of George Washington and Robert E. Lee to the institution; the history, evolution and uses of campus buildings; and many other topics, including notable contributions of alumni, students, staff, workers, administrators, and benefactors.

If you would like to receive a link to the Institutional History Museum survey, please email historymuseum@wlu.edu with your name, email address and affiliation with the university.