»The Greenest Building is the One Already Built

In 2012 Chapman completed its renovation of the Cypress Street School House. The Schoolhouse, originally built in 1928, is the last remaining historical segregated school in Southern California. Today the Schoolhouse has been turned into a state-of-the-art facility and is equipped to support the nationally recognized Early Human and Lifespan Development Research Program. This building is currently undergoing the LEED-certification review process. The LEED features of this building include a green cleaning plan, an environmentally friendly pest management plan, light pollution reduction, native landscaping, and controllable building systems.

In the winter of 2013 Chapman opened a new classroom building, Doti Hall, named after current University President Jim Doti. While the building didn't pursue LEED certification, it has many sustainable features, and likely would have received LEED Gold Certification, had certification been pursued. Sustainable design features of this building include;

• Operable windows for natural ventilation that trigger a sensor to turn off air conditioning or heating when they are opened
• The use of natural daylighting to reduce the lighting load (skylights on the 3rd floor transform into windows that transfer light to inner portions of the building, large classroom windows, and light wells that serve the basement classrooms)
• Dual pain, high performance glass reducing thermal transmission of heating and cooling
• Cool roof: a light colored single ply roof that reduces solar heat gain
• Pre and post constriction commissioning to fine tune the building's heating, cooling, electrical, and plumbing systems and to be sure they are operating as intended
• Storm water from the site and roof are collected and filtered before leaving the site
• Low flow faucets and toilets yield a 20% reduction in water consumption
• Extensive use of recycled materials and finishes
• Construction waste recycling
• It was the first building on campus to implement the new Cal Green Building code requirements, achieving performance that far exceeds normal baseline standards

Wilkinson Hall, named after former trustee, chairman, and acting president J.E. Wilkinson, was originally constructed in 1904 on the Orange High School campus. In 1921 it was moved 250 feet from where it sat in the middle of what is now Bert Williams Mall, and turned around 90 degrees, coming to rest at its current location. Chapman College, as it was called at the time, acquired the building in 1954. It now houses the Office of Academic Affairs, English and Comparative Literature, Graduate Studies, and the departments of Religion and Philosophy. The building is listed in the National Registry of Historical Buildings.

Memorial Hall, the campus capstone with its neo-classic columns was completed in 1921 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings. The four pillars are said to have inspired the "four pillars of education": spiritual, mental, physical, and social. Originally one of the main academic buildings on campus, today it houses the offices of the President, the Chancellor, the Executive Vice President, Vice President of Operations, and University Relations. The understated elegance has made it an attractive backdrop for scenes in the movies Crimson Tide, That Thing You Do, and Rocky and Bullwinkle.

Smith Hall, completed in 1931 is home to the Department of Psychology. It was named in honor of former president G.T. (Buck) Smith who served as president of the university from 1977 to 1988. 

Reeves Hall was completed in 1913 and originally served as part of Orange High School. It was acquired by Chapman in 1954, along with all the other historic properties and named in honor of George Reeves, the University President from 1942 to 1956. It was designed by local Santa Ana architect Frank Eley.