Thursday, May 3, 2001 in Macmillan 317

Committee Members Present: Michael Groth, Crawford Thoburn, C.J. Koepp, Erna Coon, Ellen Hall, Melissa Golden, Arthur Bellinzoni, Scott Heinekamp (chair), Terry Martinez, Susan Ryan, Patti Callahan, Jay Woolford (Trustee). Grace Chiang of HOLT Architects was also present.

The meeting convened at 8:30 am. Arthur Bellinzoni was welcomed as the newest member of the subcommittee, as presidential appointee. The minutes of March 28, 2001 were revised and approved.

The first agenda item discussed was the question of what is to be and/or could be done with the Zabriskie Building once the new science building is completed. Grace pointed out that Zabriskie is approximately 22,000 – 24,000 gross square feet (including walls), or 5,000 usable square feet per floor. She also described some challenges that the building presents:

1. The building is constructed with bearing walls, which are difficult and costly to remove;

2. There is only one stair, located on the east side, and there is no elevator. For safety reasons any building of this size needs at least two stairs, and an elevator to assist handicapped individuals;

3. Both the sprinkler system and the smoke detection system need replacement or improvement.

Arthur Bellinzoni inquired whether the attic could be raised or if another floor could be added. Grace replied that since the floors are wood, this building has to meet more restrictive fire codes. Current NY State code states that a wooden building may only have two stories. It would be difficult to reconfigure Zabriskie without removing all of the interior wood. In response to other questions, she said that it would be possible to add skylights, and to add a side section to the structure. She thinks that there may be some asbestos remaining in the building, and the floors contain asbestos-vinyl tile. Replacement of heating and addition of cooling systems would need to be done in new walls.

Terry Martinez asked how we might generally marry the issues of needs and space. Ellen Hall answered that meetings have been held with most departments (Math and CS to come). Her sense is that the Arts especially are scattered around the campus. She emphasized the need for all departments to come together through the Master Planning process. Some ideas that have been introduced at various space-needs meetings: having Arts and Book Arts together, with or without Art History; having Dance and Theater together; consolidating the Social Sciences; having Humanities, Languages and History together. Michael Groth reflected he knew of no firm conclusions that had been reached, and wondered if when thinking about adjacencies we should take a traditional or an interdisciplinary approach. He also pointed out that possible uses for Zabriskie might be as student life space or for academic offices. Dean Hall and Arthur Bellinzoni exchanged views about possibilities for Theater/Dance, who find a need for a flexible "black-box" space, which might be best met by an addition to Macmillan. C. J. Koepp presented the example of Lincoln Hall at Cornell as a very successful conversion of what had been a science building into a modern and very functional music building.

The discussion then turned to non-academic student spaces. Ways in which the Sommer Center already functions well (its flexibility and value for large gatherings), or could function better (mail center to encourage congregation) were introduced. Morgan Hall was mentioned as a possible space for such purposes. Melissa Golden stated that she and Kirsten Strigel had begun to seek student opinion on such matters and had already heard a desire to create a more ecologically friendly campus.

A number of those present agreed on the need to formulate concrete ideas, with input from all constituencies, in order to create a campus that is physically and academically attractive to students. Some suggestions for garnering input: to survey new and older students; to have Dean Hall talk with students; to contact alumni for their feedback; to brainstorm in challenging ways, with a view toward creating visions that donors would respond to.

The subcommittee discussed how it might function during the summer. Melissa Golden suggested, and it was agreed generally, to put most of our energy into the gathering of information while the campus is out of session. Jay Woolford encouraged the group to begin to analyze, at the same time, the information received.

The meeting concluded with a short conversation about the proposal to try to separate vehicular and pedestrian traffic on campus. It was generally felt that this is a laudable goal, owing to the human instinct to use the quickest route from point to point.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:05.

Respectfully submitted,

Melissa Golden (as edited by Scott Heinekamp)