THE UNIVERSITY has let many of its buildings become decrepit. As an Inside U.Va. Feb. 2001 report stated, many of the University's buildings are in need of major repair. At the top of that list is Rouss Hall, the home of the economics department, which was rated the worst building on Grounds. The pitiful condition of the building has prompted several economics faculty members to invest their own time into renovating and planning an addition to the hall. It is ridiculous for the economics faculty to become so frustrated with the state of their building that they have to take matters into their own hands. Recently, the University has decided to ask for state funding for Rouss Hall. The amount that they hope to obtain is considerably less than what the economics department desires for its plans. The University administration should be more responsive to the building needs of Rouss Hall and the faculty who inhabit.
Rouss is not the only building badly in need of repairs. New Cabell Hall, Cocke Hall and Fayerweather Hall also were listed in the survey as needing renovations. As is usually the case when funding issues are in question, the University is extremely tight with its budget. The Commonwealth has been decreasing state funds to the University, and the administration must make do with what it is able to raise from private donations and tuition.
Even though funding is not easily available, facts are irrefutable. Rouss is in a terrible condition. It is not quite to the point that the building is unusable, but no university, especially a top tier institution, should let such an important building fall into this condition.
The University now has the opportunity to make up for its shortcomings in assessing the need for repairs on Rouss Hall. The economics faculty has started the ball rolling on the renovations by raising enough funds to hire an architecture firm to draw up plans. According to Tom Delack, capital funds manager for the University, the University is going to request a $7.8 million grant for Rouss Hall renovations in the 2002-2004 Budget proposal. However, this amount is considerably less than the $20 million the economics faculty wants to go through with its plans.
It is the University's responsibility to keep its buildings in a good state of repair. The administration owes it not only to the students who pay tuition to be taught by the best faculty with the most educational resources possible, but also to the faculty themselves. Many economics professors have the prestige to be offered jobs at other universities or in the private sector and have decided to stay at the University. It is not fair to punish them for their loyalty by leaving their classroom and office building in such terrible shape. As economics Prof. Kenneth Elzinga mentioned in a personal interview Oct. 2, other prestigious Universities house their economics departments in buildings that are considered the gems of their campus. How does the University plan to recruit the best people in the economics field with such poor facilities?
The faculty members involved in the renovation efforts, including Elzinga and Prof. Charles Holt, deserve to be commended. Their labors should be cause for embarrassment among the administration. It is the University's responsibility to ensure that professors have what they need to conduct their research and study. It is a professor's responsibility to teach and conduct research to the best of his or her ability. For the faculty to feel required to pick up the University's slack in order to get anything accomplished points to failure in the administration's management.
Perhaps the difference in amounts could be made up by private donations. Such efforts will have to be run primarily by the University's fund-raising staff. As Elzinga said, the administration has comparative advantage in that area as opposed to a committee of professors. Engaging in fund-raising and realizing construction are some of the administration's key responsibilities. The economics faculty has very little experience in these matters.
The economics faculty should not be expected to take charge of this project. Such efforts are not their responsibility. However, if the faculty wishes to remain involved in the renovations, they should be allowed to. Elzinga has expressed that they would like to do whatever possible to ensure that their visions are made into a reality.
Thanks to the efforts and dedication of the faculty, the University's administration has been handed this opportunity for self-improvement on a silver platter. Rouss will have to be renovated inevitably because of its rundown state. Hopefully, the economics faculty's efforts will not have been in vain, and the University will face up to its responsibility to maintain Grounds.
(Alex Rosemblat's column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at arosemblat@cavalierdaily.com.)
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