In University President Steven Leath’s State of the University speech on Nov. 13, he threw his support behind a plan to replace the aging Hill dorms with new residence halls and discussed issues with parking and diversity.
“We cannot accommodate every freshman that comes to this campus that wants to live on campus,” Leath said. “I think that’s a problem."
Leath said Bobby Woodard, senior vice president for Student Affairs, and other Student Affairs staff members proposed a plan to build new residence halls on the northwest part of Auburn’s campus to replace the Hill residence halls.
The plan is in line with the University's Campus Master Plan, which calls for adding up to five new modern residence halls to the immediate north and west of the existing Village dorm complex.
Leath said the project would replace about 1,500 beds and would be able to fit the freshman who want to live on-campus.
If the construction of new dorms is approved, the land currently occupied by the Hill would become available for academic expansion in the future, Leath said. Leath said the land formerly occupied by the Hill dorms could be used for new buildings, opening space needed to expand away from the central core of campus.
More academic buildings are already being planned for the emerging South Quad area surrounding the Hill. At their meeting Friday, the Board of Trustees is set to consider a plan for a new College of Education building to the immediate south of the Hill dorms.
Woodard previously said that the new buildings will most likely have traditional dorm-style rooms like those currently in the Hill instead of the suite-style rooms in the Village residence halls.
Woodard said they work on the Hill one dorm at a time, either rebuilding or remodeling. He said the new buildings would add approximately 500 beds each, for a total of three residence halls.
Ten of the Hill's 12 residence halls were built in the early 1960s, while two were added in the mid-1990s. Many students have had issues with the dorms, due to their age.
In the June 8 Board of Trustees meeting, board members approved a plan to increase the cost of tuition by 2 percent and the cost of housing to fund the housing project. The extra housing cost is different for each room type and location, ranging from an increase of $60 to $120.
Leath also addressed the issue of parking on campus. He said it has become a hot topic of discussion recently.
“I might hear (about) parking as much as I hear about athletics,” Leath said.
He said the demand for parking is at an all-time high, yet availability is limited. Leath has tasked Ron Burgess, chief operating officer, with commissioning a study to find long-term solutions to the problem.
“For the first time in a long time, you’ll see significant parking — you’ve seen some of it go up next to the (Auburn) Hotel,” Leath said, referring to a project to build a new parking deck to the immediate south of the Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center.
The estimated $13.2 million, five-story parking deck, which is already underway, would have 575 spaces — an addition of 395 spaces over the existing surface parking lot to the south of the hotel.
Leath also discussed the lack of diversity on Auburn’s campus.
Leath said that African-American enrollment has not been improved and remains stagnant. To combat this issue, the Office of Inclusion and Diversity and Enrollment Services have teamed up in recruitment-based efforts to make Auburn seem more appealing to more groups of people.
Leath said Auburn University needs to be more available to Pell Grant-eligible and first-generation college students, noting the financial cost of attendance is a barrier that makes Auburn inaccessible to some students.
The Student Government Association Senate recently expressed their support for the American Talent Initiative, which aims to increase the admittance of low- to moderate-income students who seek need-based financial aid.
Auburn’s participation in the program awaits Leath’s approval, along with the approval of other administration.
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