The Peabody Institute is proud of its history as the oldest conservatory in the country, and our beautiful, historic campus is testament to our more than 160 years of deep dedication to excellence in performing arts training.
We are also a vibrant, innovative, and changing organization facing an ever-wider gap between our growing programming and enrollment and the ability of the campus to support that vision. We recognize the need to address our facilities concerns in order to continue attracting top-tier students and faculty and supporting their artistic endeavors.
Accordingly, and because we are committed to enhancing the student experience and increasing our engagement with the surrounding neighborhood and community, the transformation of the Peabody Institute’s Mount Vernon campus is a central priority of the institute’s new strategic plan. With the goal of cultivating an environment that meets the needs of a highly creative community of 21st-century artists, Peabody has begun work to significantly upgrade and expand student housing, develop new and expanded programmatic space to improve the educational experience, and address long-standing deferred maintenance needs across the campus.
Peabody has made great strides over the past ten years to stabilize and strengthen its financial base. Now from a solid financial footing, and with support from the university, we are able to fund this campus transformation through a combination of institutional investment and philanthropic contributions. And, having completed multiple rounds of study in collaboration with both internal and external experts, we are moving forward with the most cost-effective solutions that meet our needs.
Given the critical strategic importance of creating a campus that supports Peabody’s mission-driven programming and activities, fundraising for these projects will continue to be a top priority.
The Peabody Institute has made significant investments in recent years in many other strategic priorities – expanding and creating new programs; dramatically increasing financial aid for undergraduate and graduate students; ensuring competitive faculty compensation; and establishing foundational financial stability. Those investments have put us on solid financial footing and a trajectory of growth that is quickly outpacing what our beautiful, historic Mount Vernon campus can accommodate.
With support from Johns Hopkins University and our philanthropic partners, Peabody plans to invest $163 million in this campus transformation initiative, an initiative that is critical to our future strength and growth.
Given the strategic importance of creating a campus that supports Peabody’s mission-driven programming and activities, fundraising for this and related capital projects will continue to be a top priority.
The dining hall will continue to serve students and the Peabody campus community while renovations are completed at the Waterloo property. After students have moved into the new housing (projected in the fall of 2026), we will move forward with renovating the current housing towers and reimagining the dining experience on the Peabody campus.
Johns Hopkins Dining will continue to provide food services at Peabody throughout all phases of the project.