Beaumont Hall, seen here, is one of three traditional freshman dorms still standing on campus. (Charles Herrera | Student Life)

All traditional freshman dorms on the South 40 will eventually be replaced by modern-style ones as a part of an ongoing process by Washington University to enhance the residential life experience.

The current Rubelmann Hall, followed by Beaumont and Lee, are slated for demolition, according to Justin Carroll, assistant vice chancellor for students and dean of students.

“There is, however, no specific timeline for when this work will actually be completed,” Carroll said, citing factors like maintaining adequate beds for students and the ability to finance further projects as crucial to the administration’s future decisions.

The old Shepley, Eliot, Liggett, Koenig and Umrath houses have already been replaced, while Park and Mudd underwent renovation.

There are currently no plans for the remaining traditional sophomore dorms to be knocked down, according to Carroll.

Traditional dorms are characterized by their shared bathrooms and—for Beaumont and Lee—riot-proof hallways reminiscent of mazes, while modern dorms enjoy private-suite bathrooms and more luxurious facilities.

Carroll cited several reasons for the University’s replacement of the traditional dorms.

Traditional dorms, he said, lack the academic support facilities that modern dorms provide, such as seminar rooms, multipurpose rooms for art and architecture students and music practice spaces.

In addition, traditional dorms “are not accessible and are not equipped with the latest safety features,” he said.

The existing utilities and internal systems are outdated and difficult to replace.

Carroll said that modern dorms also provide a sense of campus unity between professors and students and between classes.

“The older facilities do not have accommodations for faculty families to live in residence, or spaces for faculty associates to spend time with students,” Carroll said. “All of our new facilities allow students the opportunity to get to know faculty on an informal basis.”

(Paul Goedeke | Student Life)

Moreover, freshmen in Lee/Beaumont Residential College alone are not paired with a sophomore dorm, said Erica Townsend, the residential college director.

“The sense of community is different,” she said. “I think the University wants that sense of tradition to be consistent throughout, just to have a uniform experience as much as possible, that all students have similar opportunities from the minute they step on campus.”

But many residents of traditional dorms are said they are less enthusiastic about the change, citing the sense of community that traditional dorms provide.

“It gives me the traditional college experience,” said freshman Ben Prager, a resident of Lee. “It’s a shared experience that we’re all going through this together.”

Townsend said the setup of traditional dorms facilitates socialization. “Just in general, when people have to share more space, whether it’s study rooms or bathrooms, they tend to socialize more and get to know each other better,” she said.

“The hardships of sharing a bathroom are greatly exaggerated,” Prager said. “Why should everyone be forced into the same experience?”

Lee residential advisor Ted Herbstman agreed, saying that traditional dorms have “more character.”

“The college experience isn’t about living in a hotel room,” said Herbstman, a senior.

While it is true, he added, that students in traditional dorms cannot meet with professors in their dorms, they can still contact professors by other means.

“You can seek out help if you want it. So I don’t think that alone is enough of a reason to knock them down,” he said.

Townsend said students in traditional dorms are generally satisfied with the experience.

“People who come in here disappointed they’re not in a new hall end up enjoying their experience a lot,” she said.

According to Carroll, decisions have not been and will not be made without taking into account the desires of residents.

“Student input is gathered through a variety of means, such as RSAB [Resident Student Advisory Board], focus groups held by architects and forums arranged by SU and CS40,” he said.

“We actively seek student input on all of our services and programs. We listen, and we make changes when they are reasonable and within our ability to do so,” Hoffner wrote in an e-mail to Student Life.

The University also placed in top rankings for several subcategories, including 10th in both “Best Campus Food” and “Dorms Like Palaces.”

Two newly arrived freshmen unpack and assemble their room on move-in day in August. Washington University ranked fourth in terms of quality of life, according to the 2010 version of an annual survey by The Princeton Review. The survey judges universities on numerous factors, like dorms, food and overall happiness. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

The publication surveys more than 122,000 students each year to rank 20 schools in a variety of categories for its “Best 371 Colleges” book. The 2010 rankings came out in July.

The Quality of Life category judges schools based on the quality of their food, dorms, campus accessibility and attraction, safety, surrounding communities, administrative operation and students’ interactions, friendliness and overall happiness.

Rice University was ranked at No. 1 in Quality of Life, followed by Bowdoin College, Claremont McKenna College and Washington University. Other schools featured in the category include Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Middlebury College, Smith College, Barnard College, St. Michael’s College and Clemson University.

Justin Carroll, associate vice chancellor for students and dean of students, also noted the role of students’ feedback in the University’s high quality of life ranking.

“[Continuing to seek input of our students and other University colleagues] is the way things are done here—it is part of our campus culture,” Carroll said.

A Campus Services Committee within Student Union and headed by junior Greg Schweizer focuses on improving non-academic aspects of the University, such as dining, transport, security, residential life and sustainability. An administrator sits in on the committee’s weekly meetings to ensure that its members are aware of new developments within the University. The process also allows the committee to make suggestions about campus life to the administration.

Last week, the committee met with Hoffner and Nadeem Siddiqui, resident district manager for Bon Appétit. According to the SU blog, the committee suggested that certain food items from last year’s menus be returned as meal options, the possibility of a crepe night in Ursa’s Café and the use of biodegradable plastic water cups.

Dining Services is already incorporating some of these suggestions into practice, according to Hoffner.

The administration takes recommendations from students in other forms as well, such as through comment cards and advisory committees for dining services and parking and transportation.

“The administration is responsive because they care about undergrads,” Schweizer said.

Schweizer said he believes the University is worthy of its ranking.

“I think we have a really great quality of life,” he said. “I think our dining is superb. I think our housing for the most part is far above other institutions.”

For Hoffner, having the 10th best campus food is well deserved, too.

“We offer more locations and more operating hours than many of our peer institutions,” Hoffner wrote. “Overall, I think the quality of our food is outstanding.”

Hoffner indicated that once the issues with dining on the South 40 are fixed next year, the food on campus will be even better.

“We know that we are limited on dining space and options this year, but we are confident that next year we will have the best university dining facilities in the country,” he wrote.

Besides the food services, the University benefits from other attributes that Hoffner believes may have helped the institution in its rankings. The Washington University Police Department (WUPD), for one, is a great asset to the University, according to Hoffner.

“WUSTL’s Police Department is headed by one of the most widely respected University Police Chiefs in the country, Don Strom,” he wrote.

Hoffner also complimented WUPD’s off-campus involvement, coordination with the city police and its positive interactions with the student body.

Hoffner said, overall, that the people who work at the University make all the difference.

“We have an incredibly dedicated staff in Student Affairs, Campus Life, Residential Life, Student Financial Services, Student Health & Wellness and many other departments,” Hoffner wrote. “They truly care about students, and they are totally committed to making WUSTL among the very best in the country.”

Carroll pointed out, however, that the reasons behind the administration’s decisions are not merely for the sake of gaining high rankings.

“It is always nice, of course, to be considered by others who provide input such rankings. But the rankings don’t motivate our decisions—our students do,” Carroll said.

The newly opened South 40 House will accommodate both the new South 40 dining facilities and upperclassman dorms. (Kivanc Dundar | Student Life)

Washington University’s incoming freshmen and returning upperclassmen are adjusting to changes on the South 40 as the initial phases of construction on the new Umrath House and South 40 House near completion.

Umrath and South 40 House—which replace the former Wohl Center—will house 121 students and provide the primary dining and fitness facilities for all South 40 residents.

“Umrath will house first-year students, and the vast majority of those students live with one other student. There are a few triples as well. South 40 House is designed for upperclassmen and therefore most of the students reside in four-person suite-style housing, that is, they each have their own bedroom, but share a common room and bathroom,” Assistant Vice Chancellor for Students Justin Carroll wrote in an e-mail.

Landscaping for the two new buildings remains unfinished.

All major interior construction and furnishings, however, were completed by the time the first batch of students arrived for pre-orientation programs.

“[The buildings] continue to add great spaces for students to live, which is a high priority for us,” said Mary Elliott, associate director of Residential Life. “We played with color a little more in this building. We’re trying to expand our decorating criteria. Combining them with dining will be a really cool experience.”

Dorm rooms in Umrath and South 40 House provide improved features, including motion sensor lights and memory foam mattresses.

Residents seemed to be pleased with these new accommodations.

“I’m really excited just to see the look on all the freshmen faces, because I think they’re going to be super excited to see what their living arrangements are and all the new people around them and just how nice everything is,” said sophomore Austin Wilmot, an Umrath 2 Washington University Student Associate (WUSA) and South 40 House resident.

“I really believe this is the best environment for students in the nation where they’re both able to learn together and live together,” Wilmot added.

Aside from changes in residential areas, dining on the South 40 has undergone a major transformation over the summer.

Dining areas on the first and lower levels of the South 40 House are replacing Bear’s Den and Center Court.

The lower level houses the new Bear’s Grill and Bakery with limited seating in an area that will be expanded during phase two of construction. The first floor provides a much larger amount of seating along with a scaled-down Bear Mart, salad bar, taqueria and several other food stations.

According to Resident District Manager for Bon Appétit Nadeem Siddiqui, expanded kitchens and service areas have allowed the dining staff to increase the number of dishes made in-house.

While South 40 House is in the second phase of construction, the fitness center will be temporarily lodged in the lower level of Umrath. The center opened with limited hours on Aug. 20. Next year, fitness equipment will be moved to a permanent, expanded location inside South 40 House.

Members of the University community said they are excited to see what Umrath and South 40 houses will add to the campus environment once both phases of construction are finished.

“Just a couple of weeks ago I said to myself, ‘Who’s going to be able to live there?’ But it’s coming along quite nicely,” Chancellor Mark Wrighton said. “What I would call the streetsc
ape is really quite impressive, and to see something like that replacing the older, more traditional buildings that we had there really enhances the South 40 for everyone, and not just the people who will be living there.”

Phase I of construction on the South 40 will be completed with the opening of Umrath Hall and part of the new Wohl Center this fall. Left: Umrath Hall under construction this summer. Right: the architect’s rendered image of the finished building. (l: Matt Lanter | Student Life; r: Courtesy of WU Facilities)

With move-in day quickly approaching, Washington University administrators say construction of the long-awaited Umrath Hall and Wohl Center on the South 40 is going as planned.

“There are certain activities lagging, certain activities ahead of schedule, but we are overall on schedule,” said Steven Rackers, director of capital projects & records.

While masonry and landscaping are slightly behind schedule, some interior furnishing remains ahead.

Phase I of the construction will be done before fall move-in, according to Project Manager Nancy Marshall. This first phase includes the new Umrath and Wohl residential areas, a fitness center, certain stations at Bear’s Den, part of Bear Mart and a temporary dining facility.

Residential spaces will be ready for early move-in students, which includes freshman participants in pre-orientation programs, student advisors and resident advisors.

Phase II—which consists of the completion of the new Bear’s Den, an upgraded Bear Mart and College Hall, an assembly space for the residential colleges—will be done by August 2010.

Dean of Students Justin Carroll wrote in an e-mail that construction for College of Hall will start after the old Wohl is completely demolished. The University, he wrote, expects it to be done by fall 2010.

According to a description from the architecture firm Mackey Mitchell and Associates—Umrath and Wohl’s designers—the lower levels of Umrath and Wohl will feature student activity spaces to accommodate 3,000 residents and a new dining service facility.

“Modeled after European streetscapes, the site features an upper and lower plaza, which creates ‘outdoor rooms.’ Cascading stairs, ramps and a sloped garden lead from the adjacent parking garage to the lower plaza, creating a social heart for the residential neighborhood,” the firm’s description reads.

Due to the new Wohl’s LEED Silver certification, there will be other noticeable changes in Bear’s Den, such as china dishes instead of disposable ones to help reduce waste. The kitchen will use energy-efficient hoods to reduce energy use, and food wastes will be sent to a composter.

The loading dock near the dining facilities will be sheltered by a green roof that provides not only recreation space but also a vegetable and herbs garden for students to cultivate.

As for residential areas, Umrath will house 99 freshman students and three upperclassmen resident advisors. Sixty-eight of these students will live in four-person double suites joined together by a shared bathroom, 21 will live in triple units, and 10 will live in double units.

Three residential advisors and 125 upperclassmen will live in the new Wohl building. Of these, 108 will live in four-person single suites, six in three-person single suites, two in a two-person single suite and six in individual double rooms.

Wohl and Umrath’s future residents say they are looking forward to the changes that the new buildings will bring to the South 40.

“I think the new building will better the look of the South 40 since the construction will be over,” senior Brandy Randall, an RA on Umrath 4, wrote in an e-mail. “Once new Wohl is complete it will bring about new eating options as the cafeteria choices will be enhanced and the variety of food will increase.”

The excitement is enhanced by prospects of a new residential college—formed by Rubelmann Hall, Umrath and Wohl.

“Adding Wohl and the upperclassmen to a once freshmen-only residential college will diversify the types of programs we put on,” said senior Rebecca Shareff, an RA on Umrath 3. “With a new res-college comes our new mascot, the Red Umbrella Whales, and a huge source of pride and energy.”

Vice Chancellor for Administration Henry Webber
Just less than one full year into Webber’s tenure, the little-known administrator has already made a clear impact on campus by working together with Assistant Vice Chancellor Matt Malten and a team of committees to bring the University’s sustainability plans from theory into practice. As the University’s chief administrative officer, in the year ahead, Webber will be called upon to spearhead the administration’s adaptation to the tightening economy—a process which will require a frank assessment of where the University’s priorities lie. Although ensuring that research programs remain competitive should be a top priority, we hope to see Webber place continued emphasis on tangible steps toward addressing the climate crisis—most pressingly, reducing the University’s carbon footprint.

Dean of the School of Engineering & Applied Sciences Salvatore Sutera
Sutera faces the daunting task of revamping the image of the School of Engineering & Applied Science after frequent clashes between alumni, faculty and students during the tenure of former Dean Mary Sansalone. To keep the school among the most prestigious engineering programs in the country, Sutera must once again instill confidence in donors in the wake of these conflicts and the current economic crisis in order to fund the programs currently planned for the school. Since his appointment in April, Sutera has supervised the excision of the aerospace and civil engineering majors from the curriculum in an effort to focus on biotechnology, energy and materials engineering. With the engineering school at a pivotal crossroads right now, we hope that Sutera remains a valuable part of Washington University.

Assistant Vice Chancellor for Students Justin Carroll
In his capacity as de facto leader of Washington University Residential Life, Carroll will play perhaps the most major role in Wash. U. students’ lives during the year.  As we approach the depths of the recession, ResLife will need to find a way to cut spending while keeping costs down, and preserve the right aspects of student living while keeping the student experience intact. The school’s administration will also be making key decisions regarding the construction on the South 40, which may depart significantly from the school’s original plan. It is largely the job of Carroll and his close colleagues within ResLife to preserve and work to improve the student experience in light of the variability of massive construction projects on the 40 and the economic status of its students.

Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities Planning and Management Art Ackermann
A name not nearly enough mentioned in the last few years is that of Art Ackermann. As the key construction contact internally at Washington University—and thus the crucial liaison between Clayco and the school at large—Ackermann bears the crucial responsibility of maintaining student welfare in the face of loud, large, disruptive construction projects around campus.  When will students who live in Rubelmann Hall learn about giant holes in front of their dorm before they are dug rather than after? When will the students as a whole have a chance to weigh in on how efficient and convenient the DUC construction process was for them? At the core, Ackermann is responsible this year for the quality of life of hundreds of students, especially on the South 40. Their daily lives rely heavily on Ackermann’s ability to communicate effectively between construction companies and Wash. U. students.

Future Dean of Arts & Sciences
Though Washington University has yet to name new a Dean for the School of Arts & Sciences, the person who fills this position will undeniably have a significant effect on a large portion of the student body. This year the Arts & Sciences undergraduate curriculum is up for review and will have the opportunity to face the challenges posed by critics of the cluster system. While some students have complained that the cluster system is too strict, others feel that Washington University should require its students to fulfill more distribution requirements. Additionally, many claim that it is unnecessarily difficult for individual students to propose a cluster and get it approved and that the process for professors to have their courses included in clusters also requires a significant amount of effort and paperwork. We expect the future Dean of Arts & Sciences to lay out the future curriculum plans of Arts & Sciences while responding to a variety of concerns over the cluster distribution system.

Dining Services Manager Nadeem Siddiqui
As the resident district manager of Washington University Dining Services, Siddiqui is the face of food improvement at the University. The successes and missteps of the new Danforth University Center eateries only raise expectations for future changes in the campus spread, and particularly for the upcoming Wohl Center’s dining options. Siddiqui has already presented ambitious initiatives to increase the sustainability of the food products served on campus, provide an online food ordering system for students, expand the hours for certain eateries and increase the variety of food options. Palpable stumbling blocks to these plans are increasing food prices on both ends of production and the pressing need to accommodate special dietary demands. In the arena of student stomachs, there is no such thing as universal success; Siddiqui, however, may yet manage to make useful improvements.

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While both construction projects are proceeding on schedule, Carroll says that there are also plans to improve access around the construction sites for students.

A path will be laid out in between Rubelmann and Beaumont Houses, while another one will be laid out on the east side of the site near the Liggett-Koenig building.

Currently, students must either walk through the Wohl Parking Garage or between Beaumont and the JKL Residential College. However, students will soon be able to access the north side of the Wohl Center.

Carroll says that work has already begun on the foundations of the new buildings.

“I’m sure by the semester break we’ll see the steel up and the foundations in place and things starting to take shape. We’ll be able to occupy both Umrath as well as the first half of Wohl by next summer,” Carroll said.

Carroll said that construction projects at Washington University such as those on the North Side and the Danforth University Center have gone smoothly, and he is confident that the South 40 construction will as well.

“Village East came in ahead of schedule. We were able to get in and clean and move furniture in late July long before the students came back.”

Carroll also said that there are factors that cannot be controlled that will influence how quickly the construction will be completed.

“[The contractors] have their plan, and if we get a major fall rainy season or a big snow, that could throw things off, but they are on schedule to meet a deadline for us to be able to use [the buildings] by next fall,” Carroll said.

After the buildings are completed, Rubelmann and the existing Wohl Center will be removed. Work on the structures, however, may experience delays as safety remains the top priority during the construction project.

“Safety has been the number one thing mentioned time and time again by the University. That is the foremost important thing we are concerned about. It’s stressed every meeting,” Carroll said.

The excavation will be completed in the coming weeks, which means that there will be less truck traffic from the construction site.

“The contractor is supposed to provide somebody there to help people get around. They have people keeping an eye out for students’ safety and making sure that pedestrians don’t interfere with the trucks and vice versa,” Carroll said.

Despite the presence of these safety personnel, Carroll stresses the importance of students taking some responsibility for their South 40 experience.

“I notice frequently that even though there is a sidewalk along Shepley, people are often walking down the middle of the drive,” Carroll said.

Another concern is that, due to the construction, more students are using Wallace Drive to get to the Danforth Campus. Carroll said that improvements have been made along Wallace Drive to facilitate that change, including an additional sidewalk, crosswalk and better lighting.

“If additional steps need to be taken to make it a safe place to walk, we can do that as well. If [students] go that way, we want it to be a safe way to travel,” he said.

Carroll said that he hopes fewer people will use Wallace Drive once the new paths are in place. The improvements to Wallace were added because of student input.

But Sophomore Ambrose Wu said that the construction makes it inconvenient to get around the South 40.

“I can’t get to Bear’s Den on my way back to my dorm. I have to go over by Liggett-Koenig. I’ll get used to it eventually,” Wu said.