Weinsteins commit $6 million to expand University of Richmond’s Wilton Center

The University of Richmond is getting another major boost from one of its most reliable benefactor families. Carole and Marcus Weinstein, both UR alums, are donating $6 million to expand the E. Carlton Wilton Center, the campus hub for interfaith ministry and religious life.

The Wilton Center sits next to Cannon Memorial Chapel and houses the Office of the Chaplaincy along with partner campus ministries. Students gather there for prayer, fellowship, small group discussions, and meetings across a range of faith traditions. By all accounts, the building is bursting at the seams.

“Our Chaplaincy communities are growing and thriving, and this success has surpassed the capacity of our building,” said Craig Kocher, dean of Religious and Spiritual Life, University Chaplain, and Jessie Ball duPont Chair of the Chaplaincy. “This generous gift from the Weinsteins will expand the Wilton Center and further allow the religious and spiritual communities at the University to continue to flourish and learn from each other.”

Architectural planning for the expansion is set to begin soon.

A long pattern of giving

The Weinsteins’ name is already attached to plenty on campus. The family previously gave $25 million toward the Weinstein Learning Center, and their support over the years has reached into global engagement programs, scholarships, endowed faculty chairs, student well-being initiatives, and the Chaplaincy itself, including Jewish Life and its pilgrimage programs.

University President Kevin F. Hallock framed the new gift as part of that broader pattern.

“Time and again, Carole and Marcus’s visionary leadership and profound generosity have enhanced the lives of our students and helped define the Richmond experience,” Hallock said. “Their latest gift will further foster the religious and spiritual flourishing of our community.”

For UR, the expansion signals that interfaith programming isn’t an afterthought tucked into a corner of campus life. It’s a piece of the student experience the university plans to keep investing in, with the Weinsteins once again helping lead the way.