Intent to Raise Questions Responses to questions from March 24, 2015

J. Leafstedt: Impact of Recruitement on Housing  J. Leafstedt: can we be provided with more information about the impact of recruitment in terms of housing? Can the Senate Executive Committee be charged with collecting this data?

Response from Senate Exec:  Faculty affairs may be the better group to investigate and/or receive information on the CI2025 development’s plans in University Glen as they relate to faculty recruitment.

D. Downey: Follow-up Request Re: Public Outdoor Shared Spaces  D. Downey: Thanks to John Gormley for providing feedback on our previous question as presented by Brad Monsma. I’d like to ask for additional clarification, because his response pointed to resource scarcity as the factor limiting the ability to provide public outdoor spaces on campus. However, the specific issue that Brad brought up was the privatization of the patio area adjacent to Islands Café – and that undoubtedly required substantial resources.

Response from John Gormley, Campus Architect/Senior Director, Planning Design & Construction:  J. Gormley: First, the construction of the outdoor dining patio at Islands Café is not a “private” space on campus and is open to anyone for the price of a meal. The space was constructed to provide much needed seating capacity for students in existing student housing that purchase a meal plan as part of their room and board fees. At the time it was constructed, additional seating, as well as much needed food preparation stations, were only planned as part of the expansion of student housing, which is now in development. Additionally, the funds used to build the patio were from University Glen Corp, which operates the facility as a lessee.

Response continued…  Again, the University strives to provide much needed co- curricular spaces in most every capital project built on campus. As part of Madera / Del Norte project completed 2 ½ years ago, an outdoor space was built that could be used for formal and informal learning and gathering. Sierra Hall will also provide similar space on the second floor terrace.

Reference to Previous Question from B. Monsma:  B. Monsma: can there be attention devoted to creating more public outdoor spaces that can be shared use among students, faculty and staff? Recently, outdoor eating/meeting space has been privatized and fenced in, and plans for new dining spaces will also be private. If public funds are used to provide space to meet the business model of a contractor, can funds also be designated to meet the non-commercial needs of the community? These spaces are essential for creating the kind of community that CI has long articulated itself to be.

Previous Response from John Gormley, Campus Architect/Senior Director, Planning Design & Construction:  The short answer is yes, we are constantly looking for opportunities to create more programmable exterior spaces for instructional, gathering and other co-curricular uses. In fact, there is an area just to the east of Del Norte Hall adjacent to Madera Hall that was developed as part of that project for that purpose. Sierra Hall has a second floor terrace that has similar uses. We have outfitted the second floor terrace in the Bell Tower with tables and chairs, as well as the Bell Tower East Courtyard. We also provided space in the Burgess Courtyard (the renovated courtyard between the Bell Tower and Student Union). Both student housing villages have significant exterior spaces for programmable uses, and Student Housing Phase III will also have outdoor space for gathering.

Previous response continued…  The primary reason we don’t have more exterior space for gathering though is an issue of available financial resources. We have plenty of courtyard spaces that can be transformed into usable space, so with opportunities for capital projects, we always attempt to create an inviting exterior environment that supports both the physical beauty of the campus, but also the academic mission as well.