Dive Brief:

• Colleges and universities are experiencing a post-recession construction boom, according to the Associated Press.
• New spending on construction is led by private institutions, which aren’t limited by state budgets.
• Schools are spending on new construction in an attempt to attract new students and keep them.

Dive Insight:

The construction boom reported by the AP is anecdotal — it would be interesting to see national figures on campus construction spending to get a better big-picture perspective. Notre Dame’s 220,000-square-foot research building under construction — the largest building project ever for the school — is cited as one example of the new wave of projects. Other examples of universities expanding are Yale University, the University of Texas, and the University of Kentucky.