Changes have been happening around ENC campus all year, and the changes have not slowed down for the start of the 2017 fall semester. Jeffrey Kirksey, Dean of Students, released a school-wide email giving students the news about more changes that will be coming soon.
A significant change is the placing of the Old Colony Campus building on the market for three reasons: 1. to raise resources that can be invested in renovations needed elsewhere on campus; 2. to reduce the debt loan; and 3. to consolidate operations at the main campus. The Adult Graduate Studies, Business, and the History departments currently hold classes and programs at Old Colony.
Kirksey made clear that the Campus Kinder Haus daycare program will not be affected by this decision. Because of this transition, there will be no more shuttle services from ENC’s main campus to Old Colony, but a T-station and YMCA shuttle will still run.
Any professors who had classes or offices at Old Colony will now be located the main campus, teaching classes on the second and third floors of Gardner. With the professors being moved to Gardner, there are talks about updates for the current classrooms to make them more accessible for AGS students, who have a different class set up than typical undergrad students have.
Some students have expressed the opinion that money from the sale should be put towards updating Shrader Hall, which houses outdated science facilities. Hannah Welsh, who graduated last year from ENC with her degree in Environmental Science and currently attends the Adult Graduate Studies program, stated that “initially, I saw it as a benefit because I live on campus, especially having to go straight from work, practice or a game. But most of the classes are filled with students who don’t live on campus, so where will students park?” When asked about how she felt about the money distribution, Welsh responded, “I really don’t see the need to remodel Gardner, when there are other buildings on campus that are very outdated.”
Hopefully the final remodeling decisions will be beneficial to the largest portion of the student body as possible.