By Samantha Paul
@samantha_alexx
After 55 years as an iconic landmark on Springfield College’s campus, Gulick Hall will close its doors.
In October, the Springfield College Board of Trustees unanimously decided that the first-year residence hall no longer serves students’ needs, prompting the building’s scheduled closure for May 2025 following the academic school year.
“The building has over $20 million of deferred maintenance,” President Mary-Beth Cooper said in an interview with campus media. “Fixing each individual issue is only delaying the reality that the building needs to come down.”
In addition to the sizable amount of work the building needs, residents of the dorm have increasingly voiced concerns about Gulick in recent years. For Cooper and the Board of Trustees, it was clear that students were ready for a different experience.
Since her arrival at Springfield, President Cooper has prioritized maintenance of historical buildings across campus. Judd Gymnasium, Marsh Memorial and a $1.5 million upgrade to Alumni Hall are among some notable upgrades. The most substantial renovation was of the Harold C. Smith Learning Commons, formerly the Babson Library, which cost nearly $20 million in 2016. Cooper understands the importance of acknowledging students’ concerns.
“Student ambassadors would tell me that they walked people by Babson and just said, ‘And here’s our library,’” Cooper said. “But because they were so embarrassed about it, they would never show a prospective student the library.”
The growing concerns in Gulick, however, pushed the administrative team to seriously consider closing the building for good.
The namesake of the building, Luther Halsey Gulick, was credited with the spirit, mind and body philosophy that is now the base of the college’s official seal of the equilateral triangle. He is often considered “the third founder of the college.”
Built as the campus’ first co-educational residence hall in the fall of 1969, Gulick Hall set out to separate men and women in a layout that was not merely a hallway. Each section was designated for males and females, leaving the complicated interior structure in which there are different letter/floor names.
Today, the interior design of the building’s various divisions and stairwells is simply confusing.
Additionally, one of the two chillers, which provide air conditioning to the residence hall, failed recently. Cooper said when the second chiller failed, the building’s main attraction and “charm” would go with it.
“When it’s warm out… the people in Gulick are like, ‘We may not have big windows, we may not have all the things you have, but we have air conditioning,’” Cooper said. “So when that chiller went… I was like, ‘Time to go.’ And that was really it.”
Dr. Slandie Dieujuste, Springfield College’s Vice President of Campus Life and Inclusion, also shared her concerns about Gulick’s condition and the never-ending fight to improve its appearance.
“No matter how much you clean, Gulick doesn’t look clean,” Dieujuste said. “Even though it’s a clean building, that’s what happens when you’re in an old building.”
With Gulick closing, the campus will lose its largest residence hall, which houses nearly 300 first-year students. However, Dieujuste is confident that Massasoit Hall and Abbey Appleton Hall, both closed this year for renovations, will be back online to house students next fall. Reed Hall will also continue to be available for first-years.
Regardless of where the incoming first-years are placed, Dieujuste said that the decision will not impact room selection for returning students.
Following the hall’s spring closure, the Board of Trustees plans to build a new residence hall, either in Gulick’s place or another viable spot on campus.
“As prospective students look at Springfield College, the idea that there’ll be a new residence hall in the near future is attractive,” Cooper said. “There’ll be a lot more glass, you can enjoy the view of the lake… we’re on a beautiful piece of property. Why wouldn’t we want to look at that?”
Dieujuste explained that the goal is for this new hall to provide a residential experience as beloved as Gulick’s, but with much improved and modernized facilities.
Both Cooper and Dieujuste also said that they want to work with students to determine what the new building will look like. Receiving input from those who will use the facility most will hopefully reflect students’ needs.
Ultimately, the target population for this new residence hall is undecided, but Dieujuste believes upperclassmen would benefit most, additionally giving first-years something to “work toward.”
“It’s always exciting to see a crane in the air on a college campus,” Cooper said. “We have had our challenges, no doubt, but to see growth and renovation and building a new building signals to everybody we are here to stay, and we are investing in the student experience.”
When asked if the decision was influenced by enrollment, Dieujuste insisted that the sole reason for the closure was the current condition of the residence. However, for the future, both Dieujuste and Cooper agreed that the new dormitory will be an attraction for prospective students.
“It’s a draw,” Cooper said. “The Learning Commons, the Health Science Center. This is a natural next step.”
Photo by Liam Reilly/The Student
Video package by Patrick Fergus: