Spring Break
Trustees to vote on Reid site on Dec. 10
Mandy Shugars, For The Miami Student
Issue date: 12/3/04 Section: Campus
The Miami University Board of Trustees will vote Dec. 10 on whether to locate the new business school where Reid Hall currently stands, following President James Garland's recommendation this week Built in 1948, Reid Hall - located at the corner of High Street and Patterson Avenue on Miami's East Quad - houses 140 first-year students and is at capacity this year, according to Adolph Haislar, senior associate vice president for auxiliary enterprises.The Campus Planning Committee initially recommended the Reid Hall site to Richard Norman, vice president of financial and business services, and Provost John Skillings, who passed the information to Garland."He was basically accepting a recommendation that came up through the process," said Richard Little, senior director of communication.Planning began in April when Kreger Hall was deemed too small to accommodate the business school. Eleven sites were originally considered. "In each case, there were a lot of positives and negatives," Little said.According to Roger Jenkins, dean of the business school, the Reid Hall site was particularly appealing for its proximity to Marcum Conference Center, easy highway accessibility and overall central location."I think in general, the faculty, students and staff are very pleased," Jenkins said. "From the very beginning I have had total confidence in the site selection process - that we would end up with a great site and we have."However, Adam Vary, a 2001 Miami graduate and former Reid Hall resident, acknowledged his first-year experience and attachment to the building in a letter to Garland on Thursday."The value of that experience is immeasurable to me, and it is profoundly tied to the building itself," Vary said.He urged Garland to fully consider the emotional costs of the decision."There is history in that place, a palpable, personal history that can either continue to grow with the university or effectively end on Dec. 10," he said.According to Haislar, there are no plans to build a new dorm. In the past, upperclassmen dorms have been converted to first-year residence halls based on student need."The rooms that will be lost when Reid Hall is taken down will be absorbed by other residence halls," said Bob Keller, university architect, noting that the new apartments will help as well.Accommodating students living near the construction zone could be a future concern, according to Haislar, who expected trustees to echo Garland's recommendation.Normally, the board would not be involved in this type of assessment, but a portion of the surrounding green space is protected under a 1982 resolution."The trustees have the authority to make the final decision," Little said. "But the president wants to know he has the support of the trustees on such a visible issue."Construction is slated to begin in 2006, with the new site being operational in 2008.
