Faculty Housing Season Intensifies New Dorm billets Triggor Multiple Moves
By Neelesh Jian ’10
News Staff Reporter
With two new dorms with eight new faculty apartments slated to open this fall, next year’s faculty housing patterns may radically differ from this year’s. According to Dean of Faculty Stephen Farrell, Choate expects up to forty transfers of current teachers by the time the process terminates in May.
The first round of housing assignments have already been finished; so far twelve faculty members have received new housing arrangements for next year. As new faculty housing opens up and old housing closes, a “domino effect” takes place as faculty members move out of their old apartments and other faculty move in.
The process by which teachers are assigned dorms is different from the lottery system that students use. Mr. Farrell is responsible for assigning faculty housing. Mr. Farrell explained, “Decisions are made based on seniority and family size, though any assignment of dormitory housing also considers the best needs of students and faculty in making the final decision.”
The new fourth form dormitories will add eight new faculty apartments to the current faculty housing arrangements on campus. Says Mr. Farrell, “The two dorms are identical. In each dorm there is a four-bedroom apartment, a three-bedroom apartment, and two two-bedroom apartments. In total [the dorms] will accommodate a variety of family sizes.” In addition, in each dorm the three-bedroom apartment and one of the two-bedroom apartments will have a swing room. The swing room can either be used as a bedroom or as a student dorm room.
Physics teacher and current Spencer house adviser Thomas Larsen is thrilled to be moving into the new boys’ dorm. He said, “Primarily, I was looking for a faculty apartment with more space, and several apartments in the new dorms will have more room than the apartment in Spencer House in which I currently reside. Also, it will be nice to move into a place that is brand-new.”
Luckily, Mr. Larsen got his first pick and the apartment he is moving into has a great floor plan for families with young children, which will be especially helpful for Mr. Larsen’s newborn son.
Mr. Larsen also said, “I’m excited about the advising structure in the new dorm; having ten or so advisees, while also getting to know thirty other students and working with three other faculty, will be a great experience.” One more appealing aspect of the new dorm in Mr. Larsen’s view is that he will spend one more year with the third form students he teaches in his physics class.
Four old senior dorms on campus will be renovated for different uses. These four dorms—Gables, Wheeler House, Richardson, and Further Cottage—will no longer be dormitories. Gables will become the summer program office, which is currently located in the basement of St. John’s Hall, freeing up more space for the Math Department. Wheeler House will be renovated and changed into a faculty home. Richardson will have its bottom floor, where students currently live, turned into faculty housing.
Ms. Cook, chemistry teacher, Richardson adviser, and second floor Richardson resident, says, “I have been given the option of remaining in my apartment. So this affects me only in that if I wish to remain a residential house adviser I will have to move, but I am not required to do so.”
Further Cottage has a murky future as the administration has not yet decided the outcome of the first floor. The second floor, where English teacher Mr. McCatty currently resides, will remain a faculty apartment after some renovations.
When all is said and done, there will actually be more on-campus faculty housing units than there are this year. This surge in faculty housing will allow Choate to hire more new teachers if necessary.
Although many faculty members are moving, some are happy with their current housing situation and plan to remain in it if possible. Mr. Rogers, next year’s new Science Department Head and an adviser at Atwater, said, “As a family, we very much like where we are living now. The apartment is well appointed, it’s a great location, and our kids especially enjoy the fact that our yard spills out onto Mem Field. For my part, I like the size and set-up of the dorm. Consequently, we don’t really have any personal or professional reasons to want to move at this point.”
The task of moving all of one’s belongings and furniture to a new house certainly seems daunting. While faculty members are responsible for packing their possessions and furniture to their new apartments, the School pays an outside moving firm to actually carry out the moves. Facilities and Services personnel will also be very busy. Facilities will play a critical role in making certain that the contracts for the new dorms have been met by FIP Corporation, the general contractor, and fixing or refreshing any older faculty houses that will be vacated in order to get them ready for their new tenants.
Students will return this fall to find many faculties in “new nests” after the faculty housing carrousel stops spinning this summer.
