By William R.K. Lund and Jena Emmert
This article was previously posted on Feb. 18, 2019. We have since made a few clarifications.
Beginning in June, Edgewood College will be leasing its Deming Way campus to The Dean Health Plan.
In this transition, there are three or four jobs that will be lost, according to President Scott Flanagan. These positions are those that support the Deming Way facility.
“From my understanding,” he said, “it seems that jobs like cleaning aren’t necessarily going away, but that many of those logistics are now in the hands of the leasers.”
These workers were notified well before the announcement to lease Deming Way campus was released.
All Edgewood staff, faculty, and students will start to transition to the Monroe Street campus in May, Executive Director of Graduate Enrollment Management and Institutional Partnerships Jenna Alsteen said.
“We’re talking around 20 folks that have offices that we’re moving over,” said Flanagan. Along with the 20 faculty members, the Monroe Street campus will gain approximately 200-250 students.
“It was decided that relocating to the Monroe Street campus would have many benefits,” said Alsteen. “This relocation will improve resource accessibility for the students to the library, Edgewood Central, the bookstore, and many faculty offices that are located on the Monroe Street Campus.”
“Many of our graduate and college completion courses have converted to online and blended formats,” continued Alsteen. Because of this, there is less “need for physical space on campus.”
Moving programs from Deming Way to the Monroe Street campus also has the benefit of uniting the college population, according to Alsteen.
Flanagan agreed, saying that Edgewood College can have a better sense of community with both graduate and undergraduate programs at the Monroe Street campus.
Flanagan also said there is an opportunity for faculty members who teach graduate courses to extend their office hours.
Alsteen said the Deming Way students are most concerned with parking. “The Deming Way Transition Team has been convened to be proactive in working though parking, office hours, student services, dining services, and the overall student experience through this transition,” she said.
Flanagan said that because most graduate students have families or work full-time jobs, their classes and programs will not coincide with normal daytime classes.
He also said that the nighttime classes currently on the Monroe Street campus are few and far between, so courses at those times coming from Deming Way will not interfere with classroom space or parking.
Flanagan said the idea for leasing Deming Way initially came from one of the campus’s faculty members. Comparisons were made between the use of space at the Monroe Street and Deming Way sites.
“Then we contacted a financial officer, saying, ‘no real urgency to it, but what could we do here?’” Flanagan said.
When interest was expressed in the property, Edgewood continued to entertain the idea of leasing Deming Way. The first prompt came about two years ago, and Edgewood began serious decision-making and planning about eight months ago.
According to Flanagan, the official decision to part with the Deming Way campus was made in November 2018.
“Every dollar that we save from Deming Way, we can now reinvest into the school to move forward,” Flanagan said.
Alsteen said the Deming Way Transition Team meets regularly to discuss how the current Monroe Street culture can welcome the incoming population. “More communication will be sent to affected students within the coming months,” she said.
Flanagan said the Deming Way campus was gifted to Edgewood College about 15 years ago by friends and benefactors of the institution. The facility boasted three large meeting rooms, five classrooms, and three conference rooms.
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