After three years of reconstructive surgery, Montgomery Hall’s face-lift is complete.
The building, which opened in July, now houses student support services, the office of admissions, enrollment services and career services.
Renovations began in 2001 and were completed in May of this year. Renovations included fixing foundation problems, adjusting heating controls and remodeling the interior.
Director Debbie Baker and her student support services staff have been housed in the basement of Montgomery Hall since 1981.
Baker said that every year plaster would peel off the walls because the building stayed so damp. She also said that the basement was “terrible” to heat.
“There would be some days that it was warmer outside than it was inside. And the temperature outside was 16 degrees,” she said.
Now, though, the foundation problems have been corrected and the heating and air conditioning stay in the building.
The office of admissions moved into Montgomery from Allen Hall. Undergraduate, graduate and international admissions are all housed in this office, said admissions director Diane Wolfe.
“The sunshine and open air make the move absolutely fantastic,” she said.
Wolfe said one of the best perks of being in Montgomery is the admissions staff’s ability to work more closely with the enrollment services department.
“Prospective students can come to enrollment services for a tour and can check on his or her admissions as they come through the front door,” she said.
“The building has a presence and dignity associated with it,” she said. “It’s a wonderful front door for students.”
Baker said she that even though her staff was expecting the remodeling efforts to last only one year, she is pleased with the results of the renovations.
“The architects and designers did a good job of planning for what we need for our students,” she said. “Having lived here before and then moving back in was like coming into the Taj Mahal.”
The re-opening of Montgomery caused necessary rearrangements in Lee Hall as well.
The dean of students office, along with the ticket appeals office, moved into Lee 112, the former home of enrollment services.
The student counseling and testing services center moved from the YMCA building into the empty space left by the dean of students.
“The move put us in the mainstream,” said outreach coordinator Beatrice Tatem of the counseling center. “It makes us more visible and puts us more into the center of student interaction.”