Trustees approve Proctor overhaul

Author: Cloe Shasha

Proctor Terrace, Woodstove Lounge and the entire lower floor of Proctor Dining Hall will close to students starting March 10 as part of the first phase of a renovation effort. The main dining hall will remain open for the duration of the spring term.

President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz and the trustees of the College approved the first step of Proctor Dining Hall's renovation on the weekend of Feb. 15. Facilities Services Project Manager Mark Gleason will work on the renovation of Proctor and said that the main terrace will go under construction starting in little over a week.

"This is the only phase that has been approved," Gleason said. "We will take off the concrete floor of the terrace and rebuild it."

The renovation will affect students for the remainder of the spring term. The first step of the renovation will require that all rooms below the main dining room and deck be evacuated, so Woodstove Lounge will house books that are currently in the bookstore below. Until the renovation of the deck is completed, the bookstore will be scattered throughout the main level of Proctor.

The booths from Woodstove Lounge will move to the emergency exit alcove behind the kitchen. Woodstove Lounge and the deck entrances to the dining hall will close to students beginning in March, and the entrance to Proctor will relocate to the south door of the current bookstore.

Since November of 2006, Dining Services, Liebowitz and the trustees of the College have discussed Proctor's rehabilitation. Proctor, from the perspective of Dining Services and staff, needs improvements. Built in 1959, the building is deteriorating and has been leaking for years. The lower Proctor dining room cannot be used because of water flooding.

Workers plan to make the terrace handicapped accessible as part of the first phase of the renovation effort.

"With the first step of the renovation, we will make the terrace accessible so that no stairs or ramps are needed," said Gleason. "We will raise the sidewalk with a gradual incline to get up to the terrace. We want to have that worked on before the summer language schools begin."

If the trustees and Liebowitz approve the second phase of changes, Proctor will remain closed for the full 2008-2009 academic year. A temporary dining hall will be placed in one of the Freeman International Center (FIC) buildings. Language tables, however, will not be relocated. The Theater Department may need to withdraw its occupancy of parts of the Cook building.

Because dining events that are held by the catering group already work from the FIC kitchen, this temporary dining hall will be a very busy place. The combination, however, of Atwater, Ross, and FIC should provide sufficient room for all students at mealtimes, according to Director of Dining Services Matthew Biette.

Redfield, the faculty dining space above Proctor, may be closed altogether rather than relocated during renovation.

"If the new building is completed in 2009," Biette said, "Proctor's service area will change locations, but the central dining room will not. The dining area will be redesigned as a swing space to be conducive to parties. The new dining hall will still be devoted to the 'make-your-own' feel of Proctor. We will have panini presses and a well-stocked salad bar."

The open design of the new building would most likely allow for more seating because the tables could be more efficiently organized in the space.

Proctor Hall Dining Room Servery Supervisor William Saunders talked about the effects of the renovation on the Proctor staff.

"If the second step of the renovation is approved, my working location will change," said Saunders. "I will still be working, but probably in one of the other dining halls, perhaps at Freeman International Center when they open that up. I doubt that the first step of the renovation will affect my working schedule."

JoAnna DeGray, a member of the Proctor dining staff, said that the second step of Proctor's renovation will not affect her work hours.

"It's not going to affect me that much because I already work at Atwater, so I'm just going to add more hours there," said DeGray. "But I don't know any details about the renovation."

Many students are concerned about the closing of Proctor.

"I am disheartened," said Jake Cohen '08. "Proctor is like the crown on our campus. To lose it for a year is to lose our royalty."

According to Biette, renovation plans are subject to change if and when they are approved.