Description and Status of the VERITAS gamma-ray Telescope Upgrade

The VERITAS gamma-ray observatory, located in Southern Arizona, employs an array of four 12m diameter Imaging Air Cherenkov telescopes to observe sources of Very High Energy (10$^{11}$-10$^{13}$ eV) gamma rays. Fully operational since 2007, the observatory has provided a new observational window into high energy astronomical phenomena. The sensitivity of VERITAS will improve over the next several years as several key telescope subsystems are upgraded. In this talk, I will describe the VERITAS upgrade, including the individual components of the upgrade, the expected gains in sensitivity, and the timetable and current status of the upgrade.