Trustees, administrators support dorm improvements
Jason McFarley
News Writer
The University's top student life official praised a student government report to the Board of Trustees Thursday, saying trustees and administrators were "almost entirely in agreement with" student leaders' plan to improve campus housing.
But timing and money will determine whether the University makes the changes that Student Body President Libby Bishop's office proposes in the report, said Father Mark Poorman, vice president for Student Affairs.
"The report jibed really nicely with what we'll be looking at in residentiality in the next 10 years," Poorman said of the "Plan to Improve Residential Life." "I don't think there was anyone from my office or the trustees who wasn't almost entirely in agreement with it.
"Unfortunately, as with anything else, acting on the plan is a matter of time and money."
The 52-page report recommends building new residence halls to solve the current problem of on-campus overcrowding. It also proposes upgrading existing halls to include apartment-style conveniences such as kitchens, private bathrooms and suites.
Bishop, Vice President Trip Foley and report chairman Jordan Linville presented the report in an hour-long closed session Thursday to the Student Affairs subcommittee of the trustees and to senior staff from the Office of Student Affairs. The trustees are on campus through today for their annual fall meeting.
Officials were very responsive to the student plan, Bishop said in an interview following the meeting.
"The feedback was amazing," Bishop said. "Members of the committee seemed committed to meeting student needs."
The report comes as the University is finishing strategic planning for the next 10 years and arrives on school officials' desks just as Student Affairs completes the first draft of its strategic plan, Poorman said.
That timing will hopefully spur administrators to re-evaluate their plans to include the improvements that the report proposes, Bishop said.
"It feels really good to be able to tell them what student priorities are, and I'm so pleased, so proud that we put together this report that supplements what the University is already talking about," she said.
The 2002 fall report and past reports are available for the public to read in Bishop's office on the second floor of LaFortune Student Center.
All News Stories for Friday, October 4, 2002
