In October 1998, the Board of Trustees initiated a comprehensive and inclusive review of all aspects of residential life. The Trustees did so in the firm belief that it is imperative that Lawrence, as a residential liberal arts college, aspire to the highest quality of undergraduate residential life for its students, both to support the educational mission of the college and to remain competitive in attracting and retaining students of the highest caliber. In doing so, the Trustees sought to "reaffirm the critical importance of the residential nature of liberal education at Lawrence and to help articulate and shape a vision for strengthening that dimension of the college as it enters the new century."
A Task Force on Residential Life, commissioned by the Trustees, was charged with "determining if current policies and practices in this area are consistent in furthering Lawrence's mission of liberal education and suggesting specific ways in which the college can ensure that the residential life experience contributes vigorously to the intellectual, personal, and social development of Lawrence students and the overall quality of campus life for all members of the Lawrence community."
In its final report, the Task Force recommended that, along with other enhancements of campus housing and residence life, the college invest in the construction of a new suite- or apartment-style residential unit that could accomodate up to 200 students. Such construction, the Task Force argued, would reduce the current occupancy rate in campus housing from 95 percent to 90 percent, thereby reducing overcrowding, permitting more flexibility in the allocation of rooms, enhancing the attractiveness and diversity of housing options available to students, and creating the reserve capacity necessary to offset any temporary loss of beds stemming from future renovations of existing residence halls.
As Board Chairman Harold Jordan stated in communicating the Trustees' acceptance of the Task Force's report, "everyone associated with Lawrence can point to, and be justly proud of, the investments and changes of the past few years, including the addition of the new lodge at Björklunden, the creation of new majors and programs, and the construction and renovation of academic buildings--crowned by the opening of our magnificent new Science Hall. Each of these changes has been effected for the sole purpose of enhancing the undergraduate experience of the students at our college. Planned enhancements to the quality of residential life will be carried out with the same purpose in mind, and we believe they will help secure Lawrence's place as one of the best liberal arts colleges in the country."
In October 2001, the Board of Trustees authorized the college to proceed with the design and construction of a new residence hall, to be located on the west end of campus near Ormsby Hall, and, in January 2002, gave their approval for work to begin.
For a complete account of the decisions and intentions of the Board of Trustees, the recommendations of the Task Force on Residential Life, and a chronology of the review of residential life at Lawrence, see Trustees Act to Improve Residential Life.
