Hassan Announces Field House Plans at StuCo

With the bang of a gavel amidst cheers and applause at Tuesday’s Student Council (StuCo) meeting, upper and newly-elected President Rebecca Ju marked the official turnover of the Executive Board.

Ju said that while this week’s meeting was not incredibly taxing, the turnover went smoothly. She said she was “excited” for her term to begin and to work with Vice President and upper Jun Park and Secretary and lower Joel Lotzkar, whom she described as “great people” who are both kind, thoughtful and caring toward the school.

The previous Executive Board also reminisced on the accomplishments of their tenure: the drafting and passing of the new dress code, important talks with deans and faculty members about intimidation and free speech and a range of successful events and activities.

Principal Tom Hassan and Chief of Planning and Facilities Roger Wakeman also came to the meeting. Hassan came for his final visit to StuCo, both of the term and of his career as principal, to answer questions about future plans and celebrate the new board.

“To be sure that students knew of all the physical projects, either upgrades or new, that are happening or being planned in support of our strong programs.”

Wakeman attended the meeting to outline renovations and construction that will directly affect residential, athletic and academic buildings on campus in the coming years.

One of the most exciting pieces of information to students, which was met with cheers and celebration at the meeting, came with Wakeman’s announcement of the replacement for the notoriously problematic and now near-defunct Thompson Cage. It will be replaced by a 200m indoor track, following NCAA Track and Field standards.

Hassan said that due to the “fast deterioration of the Cage and the needs of our many athletic programs… fundraising and initial design will commence immediately.” While this “fieldhouse” is still in the early planning stages, Wakeman explained that they are contemplating many possibilities, from locations on the gym roof for solar panels to underground parking to indoor tennis courts.

Hassan said that he wanted “to be sure that students knew of all the physical projects, either upgrades or new, that are happening or being planned in support of our strong programs.” He said that the meeting felt fitting to the end of his tenure as principal as it represented the plans for Exeter’s future and next steps in its “evolution.”

Wakeman explained that while all the projects are in various stages, “some in construction, others in planning and design,” this type of presentation had been requested from StuCo and it was one similar to presentations he had given in the past.

Keeping students in the loop was important in their understanding of the management of the school, he said.

After outlining future renovations, Wakeman detailed the process by which Facilities assesses the cost and obtains funds for projects.

He explained that there are two major sources: the “Annual Allocation to Capital Renewal” accounts for smaller projects that do not involve a new building being constructed or torn down completely, like the recent renovations to Phillips Hall. For bigger projects, funds also come from “Fundraising for Program Enhancement,” which is providing approximately $50 million for large-scale changes like the new performing arts center.

Other projects are combinations of the two, relying on a combination of resources from both.

He also described the way in which Facilities evaluates needs. More than half of the buildings on campus are more than 60 years old and, while many are sturdy, there have been vast changes in the Academy’s history in those years, rendering some of those buildings less functional than they were when they were built.

Wakeman said that he and his department perform building overviews to gauge the severity of a building’s problems. They then solicit funding sources to determine alumni and donor interest in addressing these changes.

In a Powerpoint presentation, Wakeman unveiled plans for the future, starting with those beginning soonest. A new fitness center will house sprinting lanes, state-of-the-art equipment and a larger facility overall in an effort to accommodate more sports teams and community members looking for exercise. This center, already under construction, is supposed to reach completion by the 2015-16 school year.

This summer will also see the addition of a second synthetic field behind the football stadium, which is optimized for field hockey, but will double as a practicing space for up to two teams, and renovations to Wheelwright Hall, where each window will be redone and bathrooms will be updated, among other changes.

Longer-term projects include broad changes to the performing arts facilities. At the meeting, Wakeman said that in order to “elevate the performing arts,” a new performance space, harkness classroom and practice rooms are being added to the current music building.

The project is “slated to be completed in September 2016, [with a] 10,300 square-foot addition,” Hassan said in an email sent to faculty on May 18 after the spring Trustees’ visit.

Additionally, a new Center for Theater and Dance, which is a part of Facilities’ “South Campus Master Plan,” will finish planning and hopefully break ground soon and will be built in the location of the current tennis courts, which will be moved near the current JV baseball field, which will in turn likely be moved to a location across the river.

Because of the development of so many recent projects, others have been pushed. While a renovation similar to the one in Phillips Hall was planned for the Academy Building and Assembly Hall, that has been moved to a later date, likely in 2017.

Students responded positively to the presentation, and although some asked whether other dorms or facilities would be renovated soon, most were impressed by the plans and excited to see the changes take place.

Ju said she was happy to see that StuCo members were “receptive” to Wakeman’s presentation. She noted his straightforward explanations as helpful in clearing up confusion. “I think it was great for him to visit, and everyone got the answers they needed,” she added.

Hassan said that attending what is likely his last StuCo meeting was leading him to feel “like a PEA senior, filled with great memories and excitement about my own future and that of our school… it is bittersweet.”