Residential departments to combine

The Residential Maintenance and Residential Living departments of the University will soon combine to form a single entity, Residential Living Director Gigi Simeone confirmed yesterday. During a recently conducted comprehensive study of University housing, the Residential Restructuring Committee found many inefficiencies and redundancies between the two departments, according to Larry Moneta, associate vice provost for University Life. The future residential restructuring will make the system more efficient and will also increase the cost-effectiveness of residences, he added. "Redundancy or gaps will all go away [under this plan]," said Moneta, who directed the Restructuring Committee. The Residential Living and Maintenance departments are currently overseen by the office of the VPUL. Additionally, the Department of Physical Plant performs maintenance operations for the residences when the VPUL requests its services. According to Vice President of Facilities Management and committee member Art Gravina, the goal was to determine if there was a better way to deliver residential services. He added that the office of the VPUL and the Department of Facilities Management will work together more closely after the restructuring. "We're going to partner in this a little bit better," Gravina said. "Communication is a big problem right now." Moneta predicted that a more efficient residential system will produce more effective academic programs as the University moves toward the residential college system proposed as part of the 21st century undergraduate education initiative. "Once the committee gets the administrative plan right, it will better support and correspond with the academic changes taking place," he said. "All of this is being done for the academic future of the University." Moneta said yesterday that he does not yet know who will oversee residential operations once the administrative restructuring process begins. Gravina said it is unclear whether layoffs will occur under the new system. "There may be some reassignments, maybe some change in job descriptions," he added. Both Gravina and Moneta estimated that organizational changes are likely to begin this summer. Students will likely notice the effects of these administrative changes in the long term, Moneta said. Other efforts, such as creating a more efficient residential maintenance process by putting the current white card system on line, will be apparent in a few weeks, Moneta said. And cards, similar to those used at various campus copy machines, may also be created for laundry machines in the future, in attempt to further the convenience of residential living for students, he added.