UHDS News

[Corvallis Gazette-Times, June 24, 2013] –Oregon State University housing and dining officials have announced the closure of the four aging co-op housing units on campus. Now they are evaluating how any future co-op program might look and where it might be located after the houses close in June 2014.

“The cooperative program is not about a particular house,” said Tom Scheuermann, the director of University Housing and Dining Services (UHDS) at OSU.

The four co-op facilities that will close next year are Avery, Azalea, Dixon and Oxford. They are clustered along Southwest Jefferson and Monroe avenues between Southwest 11th and Ninth streets. The oldest of the buildings date to just after World War II and house about 200 students in a communal living environment. For the 2013-14 school year, UHDS lists the room fees for co-ops at about $3,300. For a triple room in several dorms, the cost is about $4,900. Neither cost includes dining fees.

“The facilities are safe,” Sheuermann said. “But we also know that’s not going to continue to be the case indefinitely.”

Scheuermann said the co-op program and facilities need to be analyzed separately.

The co-op program enables each house to hire its own chef, and each house largely is in control of its own management. Maintenance is handled by the university.

“That’s a fine approach, but if someone wants to keep that, that’s probably more likely going to be something that’s off campus,” Scheuermann said.

On-campus living in the future likely would include food services and management through the university, Sheuermann said.

The co-op buildings themselves need full renovations. They’ve had annual maintenance but haven’t been fully renovated in at least the 14 years that Dan Larson has worked for the university as the associate director of UHDS, he said.

Renovations typically cost between $250 to $350 a square foot, depending on the condition of the building.

Scheuermann said they will first look at how the co-op program would look in the future, and then find facilities to accommodate them.

A workgroup will be formed this summer to go over the program. Five to six UHDS staff members are likely to be part of the group, as well as co-op residents and alumni.

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Read the full article by McKinley Smith and see photos at www.gazettetimes.com.

Below is information that was shared with current and future cooperative house residents via email and a public meeting at the end of Spring Term 2013:

Oregon State University leaders, including administrators within Housing & Dining Services (UHDS), recognize that the university’s cooperative houses provide a unique and valuable living option.

Based on a recent comprehensive review of the cooperative living program and facilities, which included OSU staff and student cooperative members, UHDS has determined that Avery, Azalea, Dixon and Oxford houses will continue as co-ops for the 2013-14 academic year, but will not be used in support of the existing cooperative living program after June 2014.

The cooperative houses have reached a point of requiring significant program revision to ensure the cooperative living program is in alignment with the values, initiatives, and operations of OSU’s on-campus residence program. We also anticipate that the current co-op houses will require significant renovation to maintain the current living standards beyond this next academic year. Throughout the next academic year, UHDS is committed to sustaining the current houses and delivering a high-quality of service to residents.

UHDS is in the process of organizing a workgroup that will begin to meet this summer and fall to explore how cooperative-style living options may be a viable program beyond June 2014. However, these options may not be located in the existing facilities. This workgroup will be led by senior UHDS staff members, and will include opportunities for student and alumni participation. The workgroup process will feature a variety of ways for ideas and input to be provided.

• For questions or comments regarding the future of the cooperatives, please contact me at 541-737-5622 or tom.schuermann@oregonstate.edu.
• For questions regarding the creation of the UHDS workgroup on co-op programming, please contact UHDS Associate Director of Residential Education Ann Marie Klotz at 541-737-3612 or annmarie.klotz@oregonstate.edu.

Tom Scheuermann, director
University Housing & Dining Services