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Volume XLVIl, Number 5
May 1988
An Overview Of The Master Plan
By Caroline F. Stephenson
For the past two years, I have heard a
lot about the Master Plan. I have heard
how great it is and how beneficial it will be
to Saint Mary’s when it is completed. Other
than this, I really did not know a whole lot
about the plan. So, I decided to ask some
of my peers what they knew about it. After
talking to several people, I realized that to
most, the Master Plan is some vague pro
ject to make the campus look prettier.
Exactly what is the Master Plan? I decided
to go all the way to the top for the answer,
so I made an appointment with Dr. Clauston
Jenkins, who is the driving force behind the
plan.
Finally I was getting somewhere: Dr. Jen
kins was more than happy to talk to me
about “his baby.” He said that on his first
tour of Saint Mary’s in 1986 his reaction to
the campus was that it was “run down and
in need of extensive repair work." So, upon
taking office as the new president. Dr. Jen
kins instigated a project that would re
vitalize the campus. To get his ideas on
paper, an architectural firm was hired to
“create a plan that maximized land use on
Saint Mary’s 23-acre campus.”
What the firm came up with was the Mas
ter Plan. Dr. Jenkins explained that the
three main objectives of the plan are to (1)
create a better environment for students
and faculty (2) assure the future of the old
est buildings on campus, and (3) attract
new students to Saint Mary’s.
T0 accomplish these goals the plan prop
oses a shift in student life. The present stu
dent union building would be converted into
a fine arts center. A new student union
would be built between Cruickshank and
the gym, and a student quadrangle would
be created behind Smedes. The Infirmary
would be housed in the new student union
and a parking lot would replace the present
Infirmary. The plan also proposes the con
struction of a new dormitory and a new
classroom building. An entrance court and
additional parking are proposed for front
campus where the circle is now.
How soon will all of these changes be
made? “There is no set year for the comple
tion of the plan,” said Dr. Jenkins. The total
cost of the work involved in the plan is ap
proximately $12,000,000. So the plan prob
ably will not be completed right away. Parts
of the plan have already been completed,
like the restoration of the East and West
Rock covered ways and the renovation of
third floor Smedes last summer. More work
is planned for this summer with the interior
renovations of East and West Rock and
the creation of a Chapel garden in front of
and beside the Chapel.
SAINT MARY’S COLLEGE MASTER B-AN
RALtIGH. NORTH CAROlfNA
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