To: Wellesley College Faculty and Staff
From: President Paula A. Johnson
Re: Accelerating Campus Renewal
Date: May 4, 2022
I write today with exciting news regarding an important decision by the Wellesley College Board of Trustees to spend $125 million to address urgent repairs in academic and administrative buildings to help secure the future of the Wellesley campus.
For several years now we have been all too aware of the critical state of our buildings and our facilities infrastructure. We have all felt the frustration of living in a two steps forward, one step back reality. On one hand, we have made significant progress in addressing our backlog of deferred maintenance. After spending $30M to address the most urgent problems in our residential spaces, we are preparing to launch a 10-year comprehensive modernization program for all the residential halls. We have renovated and expanded Pendleton West, done essential work in Founders and Green and in the Fieldhouse, and, more recently, invested $37 million to build a new central utility plant and other steps to improve energy efficiency. And of course we have completed construction on our magnificent Science Complex, which has quickly become one of the most popular gathering spots on campus and a state-of-the-art space for STEM education and research.
And yet, for all this progress, we have continued to live with the daily consequences of deferred maintenance. There have been multiple incidences of electrical power outages and burst water or steam pipes which have resulted in significant disruption to the campus. Students have been moved from their rooms because of leaks from roofs and windows. Faculty and staff have been relocated due to flooding in offices and classrooms as a result of pipe breakages, deteriorating seals in windows, and roof leaks. Many have experienced the discomfort of poorly functioning or failing heating and cooling systems.
These incidents have caused major disruption and inconvenience. They also wear us down. To achieve the ambitious educational goals that we have set for ourselves in our strategic plan, we need to envision a future when the condition of our buildings has been stabilized and is less of a consuming focus.
At last week’s meeting, the board of trustees wrestled with this great challenge and made an important, forward-looking decision that puts us on a path toward a better future. At the recommendation of senior leadership and Dave Chakraborty, the board voted to approve a one-time special draw on the endowment of $125 million to address critical repairs to Pendleton East, Founders/Green Hall, Clapp Library, the Davis Museum, the Stone Center and Simpson Hall, Weaver House, the Keohane Sports Center (KSC) and Chandler Pool, and the Distribution Center.
The board recognized that the severity of recent system failures requires accelerating the pace of work to avoid programmatic disruption and risks to health and safety. The trustees decided to take this bold step out of concern for the wellbeing of our faculty who teach and do research in these buildings, our students who learn in them, and our staff who work in them. Guided by a thoughtfully developed plan and provided with the financial resources to see it through, Wellesley will now be able to address the critical needs of some of our academic and administrative buildings in an aggressive, strategic, and fiscally prudent way.
The board’s decision to act was grounded in several important financial considerations:
First, construction cost inflation is already over 10% and industry experts project that it will remain high for several years. This means that every year we delay major repairs will significantly increase the cost of undertaking the same scope of work.
Second, after last year’s record endowment gains, a reasonable expectation is that returns will be much lower for the foreseeable future. That makes today an ideal time to exchange financial assets for assets in the form of renovated buildings and it also means that the cost of giving up future endowment earnings is significantly lower now than it would be in the future.
Finally, taking on additional debt, in the absence of a significant and prolonged improvement in our operating margin, risks a credit downgrade.
These considerations, together with the fact that these repairs will help reduce operating expenses by reducing energy and other costs, while accelerating our path to carbon neutrality, are all important reasons the board chose to act now.
The urgency of building needs and the rate of construction inflation also inform our aggressive construction timeline. The planning and design phases of these projects will begin immediately, and we hope to complete the majority of the work in the next two and a half years. In some cases, classrooms, offices, and programs will need to be relocated to accomplish the work.
Here is the the scope of work that will be undertaken over the next 2 to 3 years:
Pendleton Hall East
Over the past five years there has been periodic flooding in several offices due to the failure of the HVAC system. The scope of work will include replacing the HVAC system and converting it to a more energy efficient low-temperature hot water system, and significantly improving the lighting in classrooms.
Founders and Green Hall
We plan to repair the roof and address masonry issues.
Clapp Library
The deferred maintenance needs of Clapp Library are significant. More than 22% of emergency response hours of our facilities team is spent responding to issues at Clapp. We will make important systems and infrastructure upgrades, including installing a new roof over the Rare Books and Special Collections, replacing the HVAC system to a energy-efficient low-temperature hot water system, replacing water and fire sprinkler piping, and retrofitting the electrical main service.
We are engaging Shepley Bulfinch Architects for this project. Shepley Bulfinch has designed all phases of the Clapp Library since its original construction in 1910. They are nationally recognized for their experience in designing libraries and are located in Boston.
Davis Museum
There are serious humidity control issues at the Davis Museum which, left unaddressed, could impact its valuable collection. We will focus on stabilizing and upgrading building systems and the building envelope to manage the humidity problem in the building.
The Stone Center and Simpson Hall
The Stone Center and Simpson Hall serve as the health and counseling center for the College. The original Simpson Cottage, which houses the Stone Center Counseling Services, is one of the oldest buildings on campus and has tremendous historical significance. We plan to replace the potable water piping in the original Simpson Cottage, demolish the addition which we call the Simpson building, and erect a new building to house health services. This will allow us to continue to co-locate health and counseling services and significantly enhance the environment for students and staff at health services.
Chandler Pool
The Chandler Pool roof is in poor condition and must be replaced. We plan to replace the building around the existing pool and install a new HVAC and ventilation system and energy efficient lighting.
Other Academic and Administrative Buildings
In addition to these larger projects, we will address several urgent smaller projects including installing a new heating and cooling system at Weaver House, addressing air handling and cooling in the KSC offices, and addressing multiple building systems failures at the Distribution Center.
This is an important and incredibly hopeful moment for the College. Equipped with a plan to address some of our most critical and urgent repairs and the funds to do it, we can begin to see a day where we are no longer facing an unending backlog of deferred maintenance. Over time these repairs will help reduce our operating expenses and accelerate our path to environmental sustainability.
There will still be more work to do on our buildings, and we will need to continue to fundraise to complete the 10-year plan of renovations in the residence halls, and to address the deferred maintenance in the Jewett Arts Center and other remaining academic buildings. But the board’s decision is truly a major step forward—one that will help ensure our academic and administrative buildings are free from safety risk, and prevent the risk of losing precious assets in Clapp or the Davis Museum. I am so grateful for the board’s leadership, as well as the hard work of Dave Chakraborty, Michelle Maheu, Piper Orton, and Debby Kuenstner for laying the groundwork that paved the way for this historic vote. By ensuring that these buildings can be secured and become places where our people and our programs can flourish, this plan puts the College on a path to what I believe is an exciting and hopeful future.
We look forward to sharing more detailed plans and timing for this work in the next month.
