WashU Update: Network Upgrades, Climate Day Event, Football Victory & 2026 Merit Raise Freeze Announced

Good afternoon, Washington University community. Today is Monday, September 22, 2025, and here are the latest updates from our campus. The Network Modernization Project, initiated in November 2024, is making significant strides. This initiative aims to replace outdated network equipment with cutting-edge technology, resulting in a tenfold increase in bandwidth. Several buildings on the Danforth Campus, including Crow Hall, the Women's Building, and Eads Hall, have already transitioned to the new network environment. The project is set to extend to the WashU Medicine campus in March 2026, enhancing connectivity across all university facilities. Looking ahead, the university is hosting a Day of Reflection on Climate Change on Saturday, September 29, at Emerson Auditorium in Knight Hall from 1 to 4 p.m. This event will bring together community partners, alumni, industry professionals, as well as WashU faculty, students, and staff to discuss global climate action. Notable speakers include Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; Michael Brune, Executive Director of the Sierra Club; and Jeffrey Seale, Agricultural Environmental Strategy Lead at Bayer Crop Science. In sports news, the WashU football team opened their 2025 season with a commanding 49-0 victory over Rhodes College on September 6. The Bears showcased a strong performance, with senior Fred Ware leading the charge with 103 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The team is set to face Carroll University on September 20 at 1 p.m. In administrative news, the university has announced that there will be no merit raises for employees during the 2026 fiscal year. Chancellor Andrew Martin cited the recent endowment excise tax and cost imbalances within academic and administrative departments as reasons for this decision. The tax is expected to cost the university an additional $37 million per year. That's all for today's updates. Stay tuned for more news and events happening around campus.