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Responding to the Financial Environment

Q & A: REDUCING SMITH'S USE OF SPACE / April 25, 2010

Smith administrators recently presented a proposal for reducing the college’s use of space by 5 percent or 150,000 square feet, as included in the $22 million budget reduction plan adopted last year in the wake of the global financial crisis. At an April 1 forum for students, faculty and staff, Vice President for Finance and Administration Ruth Constantine described the recommendations of the planning firm Bruner/Cott of Cambridge, Mass., for buildings that Smith could consider releasing either by selling, renting, leasing or demolishing, and answered questions from attendees. This Q & A addresses questions brought forward since that forum.

Why is Smith discontinuing use of some buildings?
In response to the global economic downturn, the college adopted a $22 million budget reduction plan in 2009 that included reductions in positions, compensation, programs, and space. We specified in the plan a reduction of 5 percent of space amounting to a savings of about $1 million per year. This year we have worked with a planner to evaluate our use of buildings and consider how we would accomplish the 5 percent reduction in space called for in the budget reduction plan.

How did the college choose which buildings would be affected?
Our primary focus has been on buildings near the periphery of campus, considering building location first and then its condition and potential cost of renovation. Student residential houses were included. Houses make up 40 percent of Smith’s 111 buildings and several are located on the periphery of campus. The review also included academic buildings, administrative buildings and college-owned rental buildings (offered to faculty and staff) in the areas under review. In the fall, the college engaged the planning firm Bruner/Cott to assist in the evaluation and advise on which buildings should be released.

If we value Smith’s housing system, how can we close houses like Parsons and Dawes?
The college’s residence house system is a unique and deeply valued aspect of every student’s experience at Smith. We make the decision to close a house with great regret and only after a careful consideration of all of the options. Dawes and the Parsons complex have been cherished for decades by students who have made them home, and the apartments on Bedford Terrace have afforded an important option for Ada Comstock Scholars. Very occasionally, however, we must make the decision to close a house, based on the considerations mentioned above. Our Residence Life staff will work closely with students living in Dawes and Parsons to ensure that the legacy of these houses is recorded in the college archives and that transition and effect on house community for students remaining in the houses is supported fully. Additionally, the college is planning to offer residential language-learning opportunities, for a number of languages and in a range of settings.

What will happen to housing for Ada Comstock Scholars?
Ada Comstock Scholars have a number of on-campus housing options, including traditional student housing, the 150 Elm co-op, and on-campus apartments. About 45 percent of Adas take advantage of on-campus housing, including the recently opened Conway House apartments for Adas with children. Fifteen Adas currently live in the two apartment buildings that are proposed for release. While those will not be replaced, the other housing options will continue to be available to Adas. As we contemplate replacing the Friedman apartments, we will consider whether to provide options for Adas in the new complex.

Will dining be affected?
House dining is not affected by the space reduction planning. For dining services on campus, the primary effect of the budget reductions was closure of the Smith College Club lunch service for employees. The building is still used for scheduled events and the college is planning for a conference center at that location. The modest changes in house dining have already been implemented, with all dining locations continuing in operation. The savings achieved in dining services in the current budget reduction plan totaled about $480,000 per year with the largest single share being the aforementioned closure of the College Club. This compares to more than $1.1 million saved in dining in Smith’s 2004 financial equilibrium plan, which was achieved primarily through reducing the number of dining locations while adding many new menu options and keeping dining rooms open for longer hours.

Why hasn’t Smith kept up with building renovation needs over the years?
As was the case at most colleges and universities, for decades Smith’s investment in facilities was inadequate to keep aging campus buildings in uniformly good condition. The college began setting aside operating funds for facilities renovations just over 20 years ago, beginning with a $1 million budget that grew slowly over the next decade. In addition, proceeds from bond issues were used to address renovation needs. Several years ago the college committed to increase its annual investment to an amount equal to 2 percent of the replacement value of our facilities. Next year’s operating budget funding for renovations will reach nearly $15 million, and we expect to achieve our 2 percent funding goal three years from now. Since deferred maintenance grows each year until we reach our target, we are supplementing this investment with funding from gifts and any operating surplus.

Because we have not had sufficient funding for the past 20 years to cover all of our maintenance needs, we have had to make choices every year about which projects will receive attention and which will have to wait. Many buildings on campus await major overhauls, including John M. Greene, faculty office buildings, Wright Hall, Sabin-Reed, and some student houses. We have invested millions of dollars in the past 10 years to renovate Baldwin, Haven, Wesley, Hopkins, King, Scales, Emerson, Morrow, Wilson, Comstock, Wilder, Talbot, Chapin, Park, Lamont, Parsons House, Parsons Annex, Albright, Washburn, the Freidman apartments, Park Annex, Sessions Annex, Tenney and others. In the coming years, we are committed to addressing the renovation needs of the remaining houses as we keep up maintenance on the houses that have been recently renovated. This summer, renovation work is scheduled for Lawrence and Morris Houses, which have long needed attention, and work will begin in Northrop and Gillett Houses.

What will happen to buildings that the college releases?
The next stage of planning will be to relocate services that would be displaced by releasing recommended buildings, including departments such as public safety, public affairs and health services. We will determine the appropriate release of buildings area by area. For example, the planners recommend that the college take down buildings located on property that the college should retain, including Belmont Avenue and Paradise Road locations. We will consider selling or leasing a number of properties that are not in strategic locations for the college.

When will the student houses close?
This space reduction plan will likely take place over at least five years. Residence Life staff have worked with each affected house to let them know the timeline for closing. No student house is slated for closing in the next two years. All students currently living in Dawes and Parsons will be able to remain there until graduation if they choose to do so, assuming the first-year students who are placed in Parsons this fall graduate in four years. Students in Parsons Annex who wish to remain in the complex may be asked to move to Parsons House beginning after 2010-11. Likewise, Adas currently living on Bedford Terrace will have the option of staying there until they graduate, although it is possible that we will consolidate into one of the two apartment buildings as the number of Adas living there becomes smaller.

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