Posted: 05/02/07

Founders: A St. Michael's trademark
No plans to renovate in the near future

Colin Vallance | photo editor
cvallance@smcvt.edu

Founders hall has been a staple of the St. Michael’s campus since the school's opening in 1904. The hall’s bell tower is well established as the school’s insignia and represents the tradition and staying power of the college.

Fast forward 100 years and the building stands in stark contrast to the rest of campus. The grey bricks contrast abruptly with the red brick of the surrounding academic buildings and at times it seems as though the roof’s slate tiles are as fragile as an old man's last remaining teeth.

The original section of Founders Hall is still the face of St. Michael's College (photo, Colin Vallance)

An issue of population and money

Neal Robinson, director of finance, says that there have been discussions in the works for some time now to reestablish Founders hall as a prominent campus centerpiece.

“The renovation of Founders hall has been in the works since around 1999 but because of lack of support and capital nothing has been implemented in terms of updating the structure.” Robinson says.

At a glance the building may seem like a stoic structure constructed over a century ago; however, what stands today only slightly resembles the original floor plan.

“It’s not a solid brick building like it might look, there’s the original farmhouse which is what is closest to the road and then there are several additions that have been added through time and the brick building we see today is constructed around these add-ons.” Robinson says.

The overall construction of Founders hall is not what is in need of immediate renovation, the roof is what has been giving physical plant and the buildings fourth floor residents the biggest headache, he says.

“We’ve had a vision of renovating the building strictly for administrative purposes. But given our enrollment, 98 percent of students living on campus, we can’t afford to give up beds,” Samara says.

“There has been talks of redoing the roof because we have been having problems with leaking in the past,” Robinson says.

“It means perhaps getting rid of the slate and replacing it with copper that would accent it similarly to the academic buildings behind it. The problem is that it is a costly procedure and a new roof would run the college upwards of $500,000.”

Although Founders Hall is a staple of St. Michael’s heritage, the building is outdated says Robinson. In order to keep up with prospective students expectations other housing needs to be constructed, he says.

“Founders is just one of the elements in the long term plan which is strongly connected with the housing situation. The question of whether or not we want students living in it is tentative on where the displaced students would stay,” Robinson says.

“With the way the campus is set up now we can’t stay competitive in terms of housing. Prospective students aren’t going to want to stay in the quad where they have to live in a double or even a triple,” he says.

Still a favorite among some

Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Mike Samara deals with residents problems and realizes that Founders Hall is outdated as is but still sees it as an asset because of the schools current housing crunch he says.

“We’ve had a vision of renovating the building strictly for administrative purposes. But given our enrollment, 98 percent of students living on campus, we can’t afford to give up beds,” Samara says.

Even though the building is what many students wouldn’t consider ideal housing there are a select few that find its location advantageous.

“The fact is, however, it still continues to be a desirable place for some students to live. Honors program students often prefer it because it is off the beaten path and there are a lot of singles,” Samara says.

Although the pluses of living in Founders are evident the building has undergone its inevitable wear and tear and it has become a problem in terms of livability.

The roof is patched up each summer with tar in order to prevent leaking . (photo, Colin Vallance)

“We have had a lot of problems with the fourth floor. When the snow melts too soon the roof leaks, the heating system often gets too hot and people open the windows to compensate and then radiators crack and we have flooding that happens almost every year,” Samara says.

Although these problems are real and are dealt with at a incident by incident level the overall renovation of Founders is still part of a overreaching problem that the school is currently trying to tackle.

“We don’t have the luxury of entertaining the plan because enrollment is so high unless we build a fourth residence hall next to Cashman,” Samara says.

Students perspective

Scott Henchey, sophomore and founders fourth floor resident is finishing up his first year in founders and says the location is ideal but the building’s old age is apparent.

“I like living here because I get to live in a single,” he says.

With the added incentive of being able to live close to classes and have the opportunity to live in a single Henchey says he sees it as a fair tradeoff.

“It sucks living here sometime because its so old. The hallways are really narrow and the plaster on the walls makes it impossible to pin up any posters,” he says. “The stairs are falling apart and the bathrooms are grimy but I guess that’s what most dorm room buildings are like.”

Despite the cramped hallways and some times overwhelming heat during the winter, Henchey says that his living situation is a positive one.

“I don’t mind it that much. I am living here next year so its not as bad as it sounds, the singles really the most attractive aspect and its always quiet.”