Washburn University is located on a spacious, attractive campus in the capital city of the state of Kansas. Washburn is a municipally supported, state assisted university comprised of five major academic units: the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Law, the Brenneman School of Business, the Hines School of Nursing, and the School of Applied Studies. There are approximately 6,000 students enrolled in traditional undergraduate degree programs, two-year associate degree programs and professional graduate programs in Law, Business, Psychology, Education, Social Work, Criminal Justice, Liberal Studies, Communication and Leadership, and Nursing. Washburn University is governed by an appointed, independent, 9-member Board of Regents. For more information about Washburn, visit: https://www.washburn.edu/

Special Facilities

Listed below are brief descriptions of special facilities available at Washburn. For information on classroom buildings, visit the Campus Map.

The Andrew J. and Georgia Neese Gray Theatre, seating 330, features an acoustically-designed thrust stage, and is the site of sophisticated plays and musicals, from classical to contemporary both the University Theatre Department and Community groups.

Carole Chapel was moved to campus in 2004. The building was located at the former Menninger Foundation site in northwest Topeka. The chapel has numerous functions for students, faculty, staff and the community, including hosting meditation classes and special events. Further, the facility is a practice and performance site for music students, as it features a piano at the west end of the chapel, along with several chairs for observers. Alumnus John Whitfield designed the stained glass window in the chapel.

Lee Arena is home to the Washburn men's and women's basketball teams, as well as the volleyball team. Multiple Ichabod teams who played in the arena have won national championships, including men’s basketball in 1987 and women’s basketball in 2005. The 2021 volleyball team finished as the national runner-up. The building, which holds 4,150 people, features two large video boards, offices and meeting rooms. Lee Arena opened in 1984 and is named after former Washburn baseball player and coach Bob Lee and his wife, Sallee. The building also serves as the location for commencement. A Hydroworx aquatic therapy pool is located in the Washburn Natatorium south of Lee Arena.

Yager Stadium is a 7,200-seat facility and home to the Ichabod football and women's soccer teams. It serves as one of the finest stadiums in NCAA Division II. The facility, built in 1928 and originally named Moore Bowl, exclusively hosted football until the addition of women's soccer in 2006. The Bianchino Pavilion Suites were constructed in 2002 as an area to host boosters and alumni before and during games. The football team began play in 1891 and has won several conference titles since 1974. Washburn played in the first college football game to include a forward pass and the 10-yard first down requirement in 1905 during an experimental game against Fairmount College.

Gahnstrom Field is home to Washburn’s softball team, which won the MIAA Conference championship in 2022 and 2018. The Ichabods play in a 500-seat facility that includes two fields with the fence 200 feet from home plate down the left- and right-field lines and 210 feet from center field. Then named the Washburn Softball Complex, the facility opened in 1970 and has undergone renovations in 2000, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Gahnstrom Field, named for benefactors Bill and Emilie Gahnstrom, has a press box, concession stand, training tables and a turf field.

Petro Allied Health Center is a multi-purpose facility for the training of students majoring in Kinesiology and Nursing. The Kinesiology Department focuses on the study of movement and has a wide array of potential career pathways, from sports management and coaching to rehabilitation of sports injuries to teaching physical education. The Harmony J. Hines School of Nursing offers several pathways for students to earn their Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing, including articulation pathways for current practical/vocational nurses and registered nurses. The school provides two graduate degrees. The Washburn Athletics Department also is located within Petro.

Bradbury Thompson Alumni Center houses the operations of the Washburn Alumni Association and Foundation. The building was designed to serve the needs of alumni and Washburn University, as well as provide meeting space for many community groups and organizations.

Charles Bennett Computer Center, completed in 1988, houses the main offices of Information Technology and Services.

International House, located near the center of the campus, is a Spanish-style structure, built in 1931 by Dr. and Mrs. Parley P. Womer. It was the private residence of the former university president and his wife. The office of the College of Arts & Sciences has moved temporarily to this building. The College team supports 17 departments and the Mulvane Art Museum.

KBI Forensic Science Center is a state-of-the-science facility on Washburn's campus that includes more than 10,000 square feet for academic use. Building spaces specially designed for Washburn students include a vehicle bay for in-depth study of crime scene processing, an outdoor laboratory for forensic anthropology study, a dedicated laboratory space for each concentration area (digital forensics, forensic anthropology, forensic chemical science, and forensic investigation) near the KBI scientists of the same discipline, and state-of-the-art interactive classroom and laboratory spaces.

KTWU is a non-commercial television station licensed to Washburn University and a member station of Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It began broadcasting in 1965 as the first public television station in Kansas. KTWU’s broadcast center is located at 19th & Jewell Ave. on the Washburn Campus. KTWU offers five digital destinations for unique content: KTWU (PBS) in High Definition on Channel 11.1; KTWU/MHz Worldview on Channel 11.2; KTWU ENHANCE on Channel 11.3; KTWU.ORG, online; and KTWU MOBILE TV.

The station serves a 70-mile radius in northeastern Kansas as well as a 30-mile area in southeast central Kansas. In addition, other communities in Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Missouri receive the KTWU signal over various cable systems. More information about KTWU is available on-line at www.ktwu.org.

The Robert J. Dole Hall, which opened in July 2023, houses the Washburn University School of Law.  The School has been in continuous existence since 1903. The School was admitted to membership in the Association of American Law Schools in 1905 and in 1923 was one of 38 law schools (from among some 150 then in existence) on the American Bar Association’s first approved list of law schools. For more information please visit www.washburnlaw.edu.

The Law Library for Washburn University School of Law is located in the law building on the southeast corner of the campus. The National Jurist (March 2010) ranked the library 40th among 198 U.S. law school libraries using a mix of categories measuring collection, facility and staff resources. The library contains over 406,000 volumes, including titles in microfiche, video, and digital formats. It is an official depository for materials published by the U.S. Government Printing Office and Kansas state agencies. Appellate case reports and statutes from all fifty states are available as is an extensive collection of briefs from the U.S. and Kansas Supreme Courts. The online catalog provides direct access to selected Internet full text documents as well as to the holdings of the University Library and the 200,000 volumes held by the Kansas Supreme Court Law Library (located a five-minute drive from the law school in the Judicial Center).

The Memorial Union serves as the hub of campus life, providing cultural, social and recreational services integral to your campus experience. Dedicated in 1952 as a memorial to Washburn students and Shawnee County residents who lost their lives in foreign wars, it serves today as the “living room of campus.” Washburn added the Union Café food court in Stauffer Commons, which connects to the Living Learning Center residence hall, in 2001. The Union is home to numerous offices, student organizations and spaces for students, faculty and community members. You can purchase books for classes and Washburn gear in the Ichabod Shop or grab lunch in the Café or Union Market.  Fifteen conference rooms of various sizes and numerous comfortable lounges guarantee the Memorial Union is the favorite meeting place for campus and public gatherings and student leisure activities.

Washburn Student Government Association offices are also located on the lower level of the Union as well as the Washburn Student Media. The Student Involvement and Development Office is located on the main floor of the Union.

The former home of the University Libraries, the Mabee Building, is now home to the School of Applied Studies.

White Concert Hall serves as the nucleus for the arts in Topeka. It is home to all music department concerts, Topeka Symphony Orchestra, Community Concert Series, Festival Singers, Sunflower Music Festival and countless university and civic events. It is considered to be one of the finest concert halls in the country, with incredible acoustics and a 1,200-person seating capacity. The iconic hall has hosted performances by Broadway star Jeff Kready, b music ’04; rock band Kansas, which features former Washburn students; jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie; and conductor Leonard Slatkin.

The Mulvane Art Museum, founded in 1922 with a bequest from Joab Mulvane, is one of the oldest museums west of the Mississippi River. Accredited by the American Association of Museums in 1988, the Museum houses a collection of approximately 4,000 objects from around the world including paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, photographs and decorative art. While international in scope, the Museum’s collection focuses on the works of artists from Kansas and the Midwest and has a concentration in American art of the 20th century. In addition to showing works from the collection the Museum also hosts traveling exhibitions.

Following a tornado in 1966, that destroyed most of the buildings on campus, the present complex was built. Due to the nature of the Mulvane Trust, the original building’s native limestone exterior was unchanged; however the severely damaged interior was gutted and connected to the new Garvey Fine Arts Center which also houses the Art History, Music and Theater Departments. The Mulvane Art Museum underwent another renovation project, completed in 2006, that increased exhibition space to 5,000 sq. ft., provided secure storage for the collection, art preparation areas, and significantly enlarged the art education program with the creation of ArtLab, a 1,500 sq. ft. hands-on art experience center and the renovation of four education classrooms.

In 2015, the Mulvane Art Museum received a significant donation of paintings, drawings, sculptures and archival material representing the lifework of Kansas artist Rita Blitt. Those pieces are on display at the Rita Blitt Gallery and Sculpture Garden. Sorting through and cataloging the hundreds of works is a monumental task that creates unique opportunities to engage students and communities in the research, interpretation and development of exhibitions and educational programs for many years to come.

The Museum’s education program provides extensive community outreach to children at after school sites, public and private school classrooms and preschool centers throughout the region. In-house art classes, public lectures, family events and community educational experiences for people of all ages and abilities are also offered. Admission to the Museum and ArtLab is free and open to the public.

Completed in 2025, the Dr. James Hurd Recital Hall stands next to the Rita Blitt Gallery and Sculpture Garden, just north of White Concert Hall. The hall boasts a suite of state-of-the-art livestreaming and recording technology, and a smaller space suited for more intimate performances than those hosted at White Concert Hall.

Student Recreation and Wellness Center, SRWC, facility components include a rock climbing wall, indoor track, gymnasium, cardiovascular and resistance training area, multi-purpose room, wellness suite, and locker rooms. Program offerings include informal, intramural, group exercise, climbing and wellness opportunities.

Plass Learning Resources Center: Plass Learning Resources Center is the physical home of the University Libraries, Career Engagement, Aleshire Center for Leadership and Community Engagement, Washburn Transformational Experiences, Study Abroad, the University Honors Programs, the Department of Education, the John and Barbara Stauffer Learning Center, which includes the Philip H. Etzel Immersive Classroom, a twenty-first century learning space that allows instructors and students to create the learning environment that best serves their needs and the Richard E. Shermoen Math Learning Lab, designed to promote student success in undergraduate mathematics, and the Center for Student Success and Retention, which includes the following offices: Academic Advising, First-Year Experiences, First Generation Student Success Services, Military Student Success, ITS Help Desk, TRIO: Upward Bound, Azura Financial Literacy Program, International Student Success Programs, Student Success Coaching, and the Center for Prior Learning and Testing.

The University Library: The University Library is the intellectual and cultural heart of the university. Its staff offers a wide variety of services, with a special focus on educational programs that promote the intelligent use of information resources and information literacy, including an Information Literacy Minor. The Library has four floors: the first level is a quiet study space that also houses the Washburn University Archives and Special Collections, while the second floor is a mixed space that serves the Washburn Community as a learning commons – a space for faculty and students to engage one another and the world outside the formal classroom. The third level contains the Curriculum Resources Center, a space for aspiring Pre-K – 12 educators to access the information resources they need to prepare for becoming educators. The stacks are located on the fourth floor.

The Library website or digital branch (www.washburn.edu/library) features the Encore search tool that allows researchers to access the collections of the Washburn University Libraries, the Curriculum Resources Library, the Washburn School of Law Library, the Kansas Supreme Court Library , and the Kansas State Historical Society Library. In addition to an extensive number of books and print journals, the Library also provides access to electronic resources. Librarians provide an online subject-specific set of help tools(http://libguides.washburn.edu), which extend public services beyond the 88.5 hours each week that in-person research assistance is available.