Seligman House, located at the corner of Northampton Rd. (Route 9) and Lincoln Ave., farther from Converse Hall than from the gates of Pratt Field, was shut down for the academic year due to general student disinterest in living there. “To my knowledge, this is the first time that we have closed down a dorm not due to construction,” said Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Residential Life Torin Moore.
“The basic reason to close it was that in the last several years it had a very limited number of residents in it — fewer than 10 each of the last two years,” he explained.
Seligman was not available in last spring’s Room Draw because it had been set aside for members of the Health and Wellness Quarter. However, the fourth floor of Morrow Dormitory was also designated for Health and Wellness housing, and all eligible students chose to live in Morrow, according to Moore. “People find living in the central part of campus more desirable,” he pointed out.
The decision to close Seligman was made prior to the start of the semester. No students moved into the building. The Residence Counselor assigned to the building was reassigned to fill an opening that came up over the summer. Student access was disabled, and the building was locked and alarmed to prevent unauthorized entry.
The closure of Seligman allowed for noticeable cost savings due to reduced heating costs and water and power usage, according to Director of Facilities Jim Brassord. Additionally, Moore states that because Seligman was used for summer housing of student workers, its closure will allow the Physical Plant to do work there that had otherwise been delayed. It is expected to open for summer housing again next year.
Moore discussed the progress made in renovating dormitories located closer to the central campus — Morris Pratt and Morrow Dormitories and Hamilton House — in the completed stages of the Residential Master Plan (RMP). The construction of these, he explained, as well as that of King and Wieland Halls, will cause a shift in student preferences. He noted that the rooms in the outlying houses on the Hill and the Triangle are less desirable now than in the past. With the completion of work on the Freshman Quad last year and the East Campus renovations still in its preliminary planning stages, the College is seeing an abundance of housing renovation.
In addition to the more than 20 beds in Seligman not currently in use, over 90 more will be available when construction is completed at Seelye House and Hitchcock House next year. Dean Moore, in conjunction with Brassord and Dean of Students Ben Lieber, has begun to look ahead to the next academic year with the intention of closing multiple dorms to help realize additional cost savings. This is in keeping with the tone set by President Anthony Marx in his recent campus-wide e-mail on the College’s current fiscal situation. Moore said that he would look to the Facilities department to help decide which buildings would make the most sense to close from an operational standpoint. “Decisions have not been made, but the conversation is taking place,” he said.
“The decision about which dorms to take off-line next year will consider location, student preference and economic benefit,” Brassord added. Neither Brassord nor Moore identified any specific dorms that are being considered for closure. Moore stressed, however, that “there’s no intention or plan to alter theme housing as it currently exists.”
For the first time since work began on the RMP with the renovation of Williston Hall and demolition of Milliken Hall beginning in 2002, no dorms will be under construction next year. However, the RMP has not been abandoned. Moore described the plan as, “for lack of a better word, on hold.”
“[This] pause is primarily driven by the need to complete a comprehensive study of the East Campus to determine how the replacement of the Social Dorms will shape the campus plan,” Brassord said. Moore also cited the planned renovations of Merrill Science Center, which will also affect East Campus, as a reason for the current planning stage. Brassord continued, “The strategy for the East Campus and the Social Dorms will influence the use and design of the remaining [buildings] that have not yet been renovated. For that reason, and in light of the economic climate, it is to the College’s advantage to defer any major dorm renovations next year; however, over the long term the College remains committed to completing the RMP.”