Wythes committee proposes rise in enrollment, sixth residential college

The Wythes committee's proposed 10-percent increase in the size of the student body has raised questions this semester over whether the University's residential housing and projected faculty growth will be able to accommodate 500 additional students.

President Shapiro said in interviews this week that he believes faculty size may need to grow more quickly than outlined in the Wythes Committee Report to prevent the proposed larger student body from adversely affecting the quality of education at the University.

Shapiro, who is a member of the Wythes committee, said significant faculty growth is already needed in many of the University's academic departments. A larger student body could support additional faculty growth, he said.

"We want to increase faculty in large departments. We want to expand the faculty at least 10 percent, maybe more," Shapiro said. "We do not want to change the student-faculty ratio."

Though additional faculty growth may be necessary, officials said the University has sufficient space and resources to accommodate the construction of a sixth residential college, also proposed by the Wythes committee.

University Vice President and Secretary Thomas Wright '62 said after having "several presentations presented to them," the Wythes committee determined that a sixth residential college would be necessary if the University were to approve the 500-student increase.

According to the Wythes Committee Report, the University campus "has sufficient capacity on the existing campus side of Lake Carnegie to accommodate the required additional dormitory space and a new residential college, and adding such facilities in these locations would enhance the scale and setting of the campus."

Vice President for Facilities Kathleen Mulligan agreed. "I certainly do think that the University has sufficient space to accommodate a potential sixth residential college," she said.

The University already has hired the architectural planning firm of Kieran, Timberlake & Harris, which has begun studying several possible sites for the college.

According to Wright, the college could be constructed on Poe Field as the third and final component of the group of buildings known as the "shallow ellipse" originally conceived by former University consulting architect Rodolfo Machado. The college would be located west of Scully Hall, completing the curve formed by Scully and the Carl C. Icahn Laboratory — which will house the Institute for Integrative Genomics — slated to open in spring 2002.

Another possible location for the college would be just south of Dillon Gym, a site Wright labeled "very attractive" because "the land falls off very quickly" and would enable the University to provide a large amount of living space in a relatively small area.

Director of Physical Planning Jon Hlafter '61 said, however, that "it is by no means certain that all of the bed spaces needed would go at one site in one residential college."

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"The sixth residential college could be arranged using both new and old dorms," Hlafter said, adding that sections of existing buildings such as Wu Hall could be converted to dormitory rooms.