About the Deferred Maintenance Project

Investing in the Care of our Campus

From its founding in 1908 as the University of California farm, UC Davis has matured into a university with a remarkable diversity of programs, students and locations across California and the globe.

As UC Davis readies itself to meet growing demands, we are drawing a roadmap to repair, maintain and build the space needed to accommodate more students, faculty and research space over the next decade.

With more than 5,300 acres, 1,200 buildings and 130 miles of infrastructure that serve more than 36,000 students – nearly 25,000 from California – UC Davis has a unique but aging campus that supports some of the world’s leading research and teaching programs.

Guiding Principles

Capitalize on opportunities with the greatest return on investment by making annual stewardship investments that ensure expensive building and infrastructure components remain in good working order. This is accomplished by instituting proactive operational practices that extend the life of expensive building components like HVAC, electrical systems and roofs. Investing in Facilities Conditions Assessments and Preventive Maintenance programs will reduce deferred maintenance backlogs and save money in the long run.

Address needs before they become urgent to avoid systematic failures by making investments in replacing or refurbishing facilities and infrastructure in order to extend or prolong their life cycle until a full renewal is warranted. Proactively maintaining systems helps avoid the accumulation of repair needs and costly failures.

No new facilities or major renovations will be approved without a long-term funding plan for maintenance. The university is committed to ensuring the DM backlog does not continue to grow. New policies will be implemented to ensure that all capital investments – new facilities and major renovations – include appropriate set-asides and investments for ongoing maintenance. Further, the campus’ building program will now consider lifecycle costs and sustainability goals to ensure adequate long-term stewardship of our physical assets. The university has decided to take poor performing facilities offline to forego expenses and reinvest resources into better projects.

Strive for sustainability by ensuring that all construction projects support the campus’ environmental stewardship goals where possible.

Improve the campus appearance by routinely “refreshing” buildings and their adjacent landscapes, specifically by performing repairs and deep cleaning high-traffic areas and first floor public areas (e.g. hallways, elevators, lobbies, and restrooms). These aesthetic improvements will help prevent deferred maintenance and attract students, faculty and staff.

Improve work spaces by instituting a comprehensive multi-year capital plan that addresses not only Deferred Maintenance, but also gives campus leaders the ability to prioritize departmental requests to modernize their spaces. When considering making investments in a building, functional use is of critical importance.