College reworks Master Plan

Author: Michelle Constant

The College's Master Plan Committee assembled on campus for a series of meetings on Nov. 2-3 to discuss a long-range facilities plan that includes the future of the Center for the Arts (CFA) and Proctor Hall. The group hopes to present new Plan revisions to the Board of Trustees for approval by Fall 2007.

Pieter Broucke, a member of the Master Plan Committee, said last week's meeting addressed the need to maintain the character of the campus, while architecturally "improv[ing] the overall efficiency of the campus as an organism."

The Committee hopes to obtain approval to renovate Proctor Hall over the next two years, according to Susan Personette, associate vice president for facilities and head of the Master Plan Committee. If the Board of Trustees approves the renovation, construction will begin this spring and continue into the summer.

Personette added that the Proctor renovation team recognizes why Proctor is "cherished by so many students" and hopes to incorporate the "beloved elements in a new, improved Proctor that is fresher, more contemporary without being slick and more appealing overall."

Broucke said that the committee is also currently addressing the problems with the arts program that include the disconnection of the Center for the Arts (CFA) from campus, the small size of the art museum, the lack of space in Johnson Memorial Building to hold the History of Art and Architecture and Studio Arts Program and the lack of rehearsal space for the performing arts programs. The committee currently favors a "phased revision of the arts infrastructure of campus" that would include erecting a new building and shuffling the programs around in the medium-term phase and eventually overhauling Wright Theater, instead creating a new state of the art theater at the back of the CFA.

The committee also discussed the need for the physical structure of the commons system to create "residential neighborhoods" consisting of "a cluster of buildings held together by public outdoor spaces that - function as courtyards," according to Broucke.

The plan tackles a range of topics including utilities, accessibility, landscape, vehicular traffic and parking, striving to encourage pedestrian traffic, improvements to the infrastructure for the arts programs and promoting the commons system. At its next meeting, the Committee will turn to issues of optimizing pedestrian and vehicular traffic patterns. Specialty consultants will speak on issues of transportation, sustainability and academic space planning.

The revision process of the Master Plan began last April and will continue through this summer. The Master Plan Committee meets every three to four weeks on campus to discuss revising the Master Plan, taking into account development for the next 25 to 50 years. Personette expects the completion and approval of the plan by the Board of Trustees in October 2007. While the plan itself is currently on schedule, no construction will begin until it is approved and major projects are designed.

The College decided to intentionally delay commencing new construction for a few years because of the recent construction and renovations of McCardell BiCentennial Hall, the New Library and Old Chapel. Personette said that the College needs to "'take a breather' to integrate all the changes, create a new Strategic Plan and then develop a facilities plan for future decades."

However, the College will complete construction projects that were developed under the previous Master Plan that are currently underway such as the Environmental Studies Center at Hillcrest, slated for completion by June 2007, the biomass facility in the fall of 2008 and Axinn Center at Starr Library by June 2008.

The Master Plan Committee will present initial findings and proposals for revisions to the plan to students, faculty and staff during an all-campus forum on Nov. 30, where it hopes to solicit feedback. Personette wants to make this "exciting project that will affect the campus for years to come - an inclusive process" with input from "many constituents and stakeholders on campus."

Broucke believes that "the decision of the administration to develop our campus in a meaningful and sustainable way will rank among its important legacies."