Oberlin has a Master Plan — but it’s not as sinister as it sounds.

This Master Plan refers to the College’s complete survey of all residential buildings on campus to determine which are in need of significant renovations. With the recent hire of a planner and architect, the process is slated to begin this summer.

“The overall goal is to increase student satisfaction with student housing,” said Director of Finance Ron Watts. “This could include new furnishings [or] air conditioning.”

This goal is the implementation of an item in the Strategic Plan, which called for the development of “an excellent and distinctive residential life program” as well as the formulation of “a plan for renovating...central campus residence halls.”

“The first order of business is to assess systematically every residence hall on four dimensions,” said College President Nancy Dye. “They are mechanical, sustainability, aesthetics and how might we modernize these buildings’ interiors to make them spaces that students would want to live in.”

Dye characterized this process as an “intensive six-month study.” At the conclusion of this study, the planner, New Haven-based Herbert Newman, will address how he will prioritize renovations.

Watts emphasized the overarching aim of establishing an organized system of these priorities. “It’s designed to update and develop a plan,” said Watts. “We don’t have a plan now. It’s designed to give us a framework of what we should do with housing and what has the best value to do first.”

The planner’s evaluations will ultimately result in what Watts estimates to be a five- to ten-year plan.

This “best value” could apply to a number of projects — from the replacement of a major electrical system to the tearing down of an entire residence hall.

“The planner might tell us it’s more expensive to do a renovation on a building than it would be to just build a new one,” Dye said. “I think it’s entirely possible that we might end up doing something like this.”

Any major renovations or destructions of a particular dorm would displace a number of students for an entire academic year, but Dye emphasized that students would by no means be left without accommodations, with the advent of “Phase Two” of village housing construction or the possible release of more students off campus.

“Phase Two is expected to be ready for student move-in by fall of 2008, and the Master Plan study should be finished by December of 2006,” said Director of Residential Education Molly Tyson. “If there are major renovation projects, then that process would start when students move into the new village housing.”

If a co-op building is chosen for a massive overhaul, Tyson said she imagined that the College would be able to work something out to accommodate co-opers.

Final decisions about the financial aspects of the project fall within the jurisdiction of the Board of Trustees, as the Board controls the College’s capital.

Watts went on to explain that most of the already-existing funding for the Master Plan is coming out of the 2006 Bond Issue. A bond issue, he explained, is a form of debt.

“It’s like a mortgage,” said Watts.

The 2006 Bond Issue contains about $25 million. Some of this has been allocated already toward ad- hoc projects such as a new chiller for the central heating plant and a new athletic track. But much of it will probably go to the Master Plan.

“It’s not enough to complete [the Master Plan], but it’s a start,” said Watts. “At the June meeting, the Board will roughly decide how much to allocate. The [planner’s] design will depend on the budget.”

When asked who would make the final decisions about planning renovations based on Newman’s priorities, Tyson said that had yet to be determined.

“I imagine it will partially involve the Master Plan committee, partially ResEd, partially the senior administrators and the Board of Trustees,” she said.

Newman will consult with students in his evaluations, and their input will have an effect on his ultimate “design.”

“He has lots of experience building residence halls on many college campuses,” Dye said. “He is a very interesting individual; I think [everyone] will like him very much.”

Dean of Students Linda Gates said that traditionally architects hold “charrettes,” or open forums. Newman will present the design to students and solicit comments.

This process of solicitation will begin as early as this summer and probably continue through the fall.

“We are currently looking for students who are available this summer to participate in this conversation,” said Gates. “[The planners] expect to have conversations with students. This is their M.O. They want to know what students think.”

Gates said that the school plans to contact all the students who are known to be on campus or in town this summer so they can attend open forums. In the fall, she expects that these forums will continue.

“I don’t have a very good sense of the timeline, but I would expect these conversations to continue over many months,” said Gates. “The Master Plan is a very long process and won’t be done in a year.”

At a preliminary presentation by the planners, representatives from the Environmental Policy Implementation Group, the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association and the Housing and Dining Committee were present. As the planning continues, these students and others will be invited to involve themselves in the process.