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Dartmouth Enduring
Physical Campus
Floren Varsity House flanks the newly resurfaced Memorial Field
While I did not set out a decade ago with major facilities goals, it was apparent throughout the strategic planning process that improvements to the physical campus would be essential to our programmatic success. With the growth of the faculty and the expanded student involvement in projects over the last decade came the need to provide additional office spaces and an increased demand for classroom, laboratory, and studio spaces.
To meet the broad array of classroom needs we created both traditional lecture and seminar style rooms; auditoriums to accommodate larger groups, including visiting speakers; and smart classrooms that incorporate the newest technologies. We also worked to provide spaces where students, staff, and faculty could gather informally or work collaboratively on projects. We needed to build more residence halls, so that every student who desired to live on campus could do so, and we wanted to provide more living options to accommodate the diverse needs of students, particularly upperclass students. We built new graduate student housing on Park Street. We also recognized it was time for many buildings to be renovated, both for compliance with building codes and to meet the current needs of students and faculty. And much of our infrastructure for athletics needed attention as our athletic facilities were in use nearly 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with individual students or organizations still asking for more time and spaces to meet their particular needs.
The David T. McLaughlin Cluster
We have also invested in some key real estate improvements in Hanover and surrounding areas. The College has developed five mixed-use buildings on two blocks near the intersection of South Main and South Streets in Hanover. The new buildings provide space for local merchants, including restaurants, and residential space for faculty, guest lecturers, and others. Faculty housing was also built on Park and Wheelock Streets. We have done a major renovation of Sachem Village, and we have begun planning a comprehensive redesign of Rivercrest to provide more housing options for graduate students, faculty, and staff.
Obviously some of these projects were initiated during the administration of President James Freedman—indeed, some were set as objectives in the Kemeny and McLaughlin years. Gifts to the Campaign for the Dartmouth Experience along with investments from our real estate office played a major role in our ability to proceed with many of these plans, and we have invested over $1.1 billion in new facilities, including over $80 million for athletic facilities and fields.
Looking ahead, there are several projects either under way or in the planning stages. We recognize that the current economic climate will affect our ability to advance some of these capital improvements. Consistent with our past policies, we will not authorize projects that do not have a full funding plan established. In these economic conditions, putting these funding plans in place will simply be more challenging.
In November 2008, the Board affirmed our plan to complete the Class of 1978 Life Sciences Center, which is already under construction. They decided to review plans for the Visual Arts Center—the new home of studio art, film, and media studies—and the renovation of Buchanan Hall in order to assess the feasibility of moving forward with them. Planning will continue for the Class of 1953 Commons, which would offer increased social space and dining options on the north end of campus and the C. Everett Koop Medical Science Complex, housing the Peter and Susan Williamson Translational Research building and space for the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, but additional financial resources are needed before proceeding to the next phase. Projects where sufficient funding is not in place, including a replacement for Thayer Dining Hall, renovation of the West Stands at Memorial Field and the parking lot on Route 120, will be deferred.
A view of the east facade of Kemeny Hall and Haldeman Center
New or Significantly Renovated Facilities
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Renovated
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Renovated
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Introduction
Dartmouth for All
The Academic Enterprise
Outside the Classroom
Dartmouth Enduring
Dartmouth in the World
Afterword
Complete Report
