Attractive, well-maintained, and safe campuses are essential to the excellence of Rutgers University. Such campuses attract outstanding students, faculty, and staff, build alumni loyalty and affection, and create the atmosphere for intellectual engagement and a robust community life.

President McCormick has championed major improvements to Rutgers' campuses over the past five years, including a new law school facility at Rutgers–Camden, a life sciences center at Rutgers–Newark, an apartment-style residence hall in downtown New Brunswick, and a biomedical engineering building in Piscataway. He has worked with Rutgers faculty to advance a vision for an academically focused transformation of the Livingston Campus in Piscataway as a hub of professional education. Dr. McCormick has also promoted a plan to make the College Avenue Campus a green, pedestrian-friendly showcase, working with the design team that won a campus design competition in late 2006.