Plans are under way for the Arts and Sciences (A&S) administration to move this summer from Ballou Hall to Packard Hall, according to Vice President of Operations John Roberto.
Roughly 40 offices will be relocated. Affected administrators include Dean of Arts and Sciences Robert Sternberg, Executive Administrative Dean of Arts and Sciences Leah McIntosh, Dean of Academic Affairs for Arts and Sciences Vickie Sullivan and Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Lynne Pepall.
The move comes after some university advancement offices relocated this summer from Packard Hall to the old Dame School on George Street. Placing the administration in Packard will help eliminate some concerns about space in Ballou.
Sternberg said in an e-mail that the move will not only relieve space concerns, but will also give the administration its own self-contained building. The relocation provides "a good opportunity for [us] to be together in one building dedicated to our own affairs," he said.
Jessica St. Louis, a freshman working in Sternberg's Ballou office, said that the department is definitely in need of more space. "There's only a limited amount of people that can work at one time," she said.
While the move is scheduled to occur over the summer, concrete plans should be drawn up by next month, Roberto said.
"Packard will be undergoing very significant interior renovations," he said. "[There will also be] a small addition to the building to accommodate an elevator and a secondary mode of egress."
Tufts is working with William Rawn Associates, a local architecture firm, to formulate building plans. The company, which designed Sophia Gordon Hall, has designed buildings for other colleges across the country.
Cost estimates will be made and a construction company will be selected this winter after plans are fully drawn up, Roberto said. After that, he said that workers will move "right into construction."
It has yet to be determined how the vacated space in Ballou will be used, but there's not much the building hasn't been used for in the past.
Since opening its doors in 1854, Ballou's rooms have been used as offices, classrooms, laboratories, dorm space, a library, a chapel and a museum.
Likewise, Packard Hall, constructed in 1856, has served as a dormitory, a dining hall, a library, an office building and even an animal barn.
