Brownlee, Biddison Hier reports enhance each other

Recommendations of the recently released Brownlee committee and Biddison Hier reports -- which provide the framework for structural and programmatic changes to on-campus residences -- provide a unified vision for the future of residential life, administrators say. The Biddison Hier consulting firm -- which the University hired in August 1996 to analyze the condition of current facilities -- provided a set of recommendations for structural changes, and a report from a committee chaired by Art History Professor David Brownlee detailed programmatic aspects of the residential communities. Although the two reports were completed separately, the Brownlee committee built on Biddison Hier's research and initial recommendations, Provost Stanley Chodorow said, adding that he considers the two reports to be "very complementary." "The Brownlee committee? was able to use the data collected by Biddison Hier and to see what Biddison Hier were saying about the buildings," Chodorow explained. "This meant that the Brownlee committee could coordinate its proposal with what Biddison Hier was finding." The Brownlee committee -- which began its examination of programmatic aspects of residential life in February -- also used recommendations from the Provost's Council on Undergraduate Education in its evaluation. PCUE was the precursor to the 21st Century Project. Brownlee said he expects structural renovations to the residences, as recommended by Biddison Hier, to allow easy implementation of the programmatic features outlined in his committee's report. "The way the two reports fit together is pretty easy," Brownlee said, adding that his committee had the specific goal to "design a program for residential communities" that would provide a more diversified and community-based living experience. "Our job is done in so far as what we were asked to do," Brownlee added. Implementation of the recommendations will divide current residences into about 16 residential communities of 400 to 500 undergraduates each. University President Judith Rodin said she is "pleased" that administrators are committed to going forward with a new, more vibrant system of residential living. "We are on the way to really carrying out? a vision of a residential community broadly defined, with new residences, more services and student life linked in to residences," she said. Administrators expect the new system to erase the existing boundaries between first-year housing and upperclass living. Students of all years would have the option of living in the community they prefer. Chodorow noted that a future step will include architect selection to analyze the implementation of the two reports. A timetable for the renovations should be established by fall, and preliminary implementation is likely to begin in September 1998, Chodorow added. And Biddison Hier will continue to work with administrators to identify financial models for funding the proposed renovations. The recommendations may become a multi-phased project, beginning with initial renovations in existing buildings and adding more substantial renovations and new construction after the program "gets off the ground," Brownlee said.