Wheelwright Renovations Planned

Wheelwright Hall is the latest building on campus to undergo renovations, and within days of this year’s graduation, the building will shut down, go offline and faculty will move out. While it is not a full renovation, the aim is to improve the quality of facilities.

Over the course of the summer, a renovation team will facilitate “[a] replacement of the roof, windows and masonry repairs, complete replacement of the heating, ventilation and plumbing systems, electrical system and lighting upgrades, complete refurbishment of the student bathrooms and various upgrades to the faculty apartments,” according to Director of Projects and Building Systems Mark Leighton. The changes will be completed before the start of the 2015-2016 school year to minimize impact on students.

“The windows don’t keep out the cold or loud noises, the toilets are constantly clogged, and half our showers are also broken.”

For those in the dorm, these changes are much-needed. Students and faculty members alike look forward to a newer and better-functioning dorm.

Dorm head and English instructor Barbara Desmond said that the plan to redo the windows (described by students as “broken” and “leaky”) has been on the books for years. In fact, they were supposed to be renovated in the summer of 2012—the same summer Phillips Hall was redone.

However, the Academy ran out of resources and only recently succeeded in fundraising enough to replace Wheelwright’s windows. While Facilities Management staff completed their walk-through of the building, they identified other significant issues, many of which pertain to heating or plumbing. Because there was sufficient funding, they decided to do a more substantive renovation, so that the dorm will not require changes over the next ten years.

Facilities involved dorm faculty and proctors in diagnosing the most pressing necessities for the renovations, and invited them to observe and note the changes in Webster Hall, which was renovated this past summer. These helped Facilities shape the planning process.

One downside to the renovations, Desmond noted, was that to bring bathrooms on the second, third and fourth floor up to code, they need to expand into existing singles, merge them with adjacent singles and create new double rooms.

She described these changes as both “the major downside for students” and her personal “biggest concern,” since these new doubles will “put different pressures on the dorm.”

Although the situation was not fully ideal for Desmond, she appreciated that “[Facilities] have been really good about listening to what people in the dorm had to say and recommend.” She mentioned that they had considered removing certain rooms that were important to her students.

On the other hand, some students were excited to have more doubles in the dorm. Prep Jacqui Byrne saw it as another bonus to the renovations. “We are a big dorm with very few doubles,” she said. Along with the improved facilities, she thought that “more doubles would be great” for students.

Lower Kate Haering said that this will help to address the use of “emergency doubles” in the dorm, which preps often are required to live in.

But for most students, the most excitement was found in looking forward to a better-functioning structure and set-up to Wheelwright’s layout.

Lower Michelle Lee said she looked forward to new “windows, heaters and bathrooms.” While she lauded the dorm for its community and the good bones of the building, “the windows don’t keep out the cold or loud noises, the toilets are constantly clogged, and half our showers are also broken.”

Upper Ashley Baxter felt that the renovations that will “clean up” the dorm will be most beneficial. “Everything in the dorm feels constantly dirty since our floors are stained and our kitchen cabinets are falling off,” she said. She foresaw wide enjoyment of a new kitchen, too. “Baking and cooking is a big part of dorm culture, so I know everyone will appreciate a new kitchen.”

Smaller additions include AquaPure filter placements on every floor for easier access to drinking water from any location and a new handicap-accessible bathroom. While few disagreed with bathroom availability for disabled students or visitors, some were confused that it was not fully accessible.

Baxter said that this decision confused her and others in the dorm. “They insist on us getting a wheelchair accessible bathroom, but the dorm itself is not wheelchair accessible. Just to enter the dorm, one must go up steps,” she said.

There is a bittersweet mood in the dorm, however. Desmond and her husband, Classical Languages Department Head Nicholas Unger, and their family will be leaving the dorm for on-campus faculty housing and will no longer be affiliated with the dorm.

Although there are some mixed reactions to minor changes and many are sorry to see Desmond and Unger leave the dorm, students and faculty members alike are excited that these issues in Wheelwright will finally be addressed and fixed once and for all.