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I am writing to inform
you about the college’s progress in restoring equilibrium
to the college budget. At its February meeting, the Board
of Trustees had a full discussion of many elements of the
proposed financial plan, including the proposed changes to
the dining system. Although the Board did not make a decision
about the dining proposal itself, it did conclude that the
dining system should absorb a share of the reductions necessary
to restore balance to the college’s budget and that
the cuts in the dining committee’s recommendation were
of the appropriate proportion. The Board directed us to finalize
a decision about dining consolidation early enough in the
spring to involve students in the planning for implementation.
We have therefore decided
to implement the dining consolidation plan, as proposed in
the dining committee’s report.
Kitchens and dining rooms will close in Baldwin, Park, and
Parsons this summer. The Northrop kitchen will close this
summer, but the dining room will remain open, served by the
Gillett kitchen. Kitchens and dining rooms in Gardiner, Jordan,
Haven/Wesley, and Talbot will close in the summer of 2005.
We project that these closures will save the college $779,000
once fully implemented, a sum that represents 7 percent of
the reductions proposed in the budget plan for the campus.
The
plan also
calls for other changes, including extended hours, more menu
choices, and more choices about where to eat. With these
changes, Smith will continue to offer an intimate dining
model unique in higher education for its number of dining
halls and its small scale.
There are many complex issues
involved in the implementation of both the closures and the
introduction
of new features.
We are therefore establishing a set of working groups, each
co-chaired by a student, with a number of student members,
in order to plan for the fall. We plan a group on each of
the following topics: menus and evaluation; traditions; access
and security; community building; space use of closed dining
rooms and kitchens; and communication. You will receive information
from your house president about committee participation.
If you have suggestions for other groups to address additional
issues, we would welcome them.
I realize that many of you
will be unhappy with this decision because you highly value
both the community that house dining
helps build and your relationships with the dining staff.
We will need to work together to create other ways of sustaining
community, particularly in the houses whose dining rooms
will close. In addition, the college and the dining staff
union have agreed to open negotiations early to determine
the best ways to minimize the impact on staff.
I encourage
you to think about this decision in the context of the budget
challenges facing the campus. In making choices
about where to assign reductions to avoid facing multi-million
dollar deficits in future years, we have given priority to
the academic program and to financial aid, although we have
had to make changes even in these critical areas. Given the
choices before us, it did not seem justifiable that dining
should be protected from budget cuts. However, the dining
implementation committee rejected more radical proposals
that would have saved more money. We have restricted the
cuts to 10% in order to maintain a dining system that, with
eighteen dining rooms, remains widely distributed in comparison
to that of many other colleges.
Many students have told me
that they would like more opportunities to influence decisions
in the critical planning process in
which we are now engaged as we restore balance to the college’s
budget. The Campus Climate Working Group meeting scheduled
for Wednesday, March 10, at noon in the Neilson Browsing
Room, will concern campus climate issues related to the planned
changes in dining. We will ask for questions and suggestions
to help the working groups shape their conversations. Together
with members of the administration, I will also hold a series
of open lunches on other topics that are of concern to students
-- student jobs on campus, for example, and the curricular
review currently
in process. I hope to see many of you there. Sincerely,
Carol T. Christ |
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