Dean of Students preps for move to Union

Weeks after settling into his new IU office, Dean of Students Pete Goldsmith is planning his next moving day.

Goldsmith and his staff, whose offices are currently located in Franklin Hall, plan to transfer in March to Outdoor Adventures’ space near the Back Alley on the  Mezzanine floor of the Union. Outdoor Adventures will relocate to Eigenmann Hall.

“We’ve had several moves in the last few years,” Goldsmith said. “The Union is where the office really belongs.”

Other members of the Dean’s staff with offices in Franklin, such as Suzanne Phillips, assistant dean of students, and Carol McCord, associate dean of students, will make the move as well.

“There will also be a separate series of offices for the Veteran Support Services,” Goldsmith said of the new location. “Right now they are sharing a space with Disability Services. This way both offices will have more space.”

Goldsmith said students visit him for a variety of issues, such as personal problems and academic difficulties. Though many students visit his office, they go to the Union more than they go to Franklin Hall, he said.

“I’m sure because we will be in the Union we’ll have more students in the office,” he said.

The Dean of Students Office has always been student orientated, Goldsmith said, and with the move it will be more visible.

“Right now I’m in student mode,” Goldsmith said. “I didn’t come in with a plan. I’m talking to students about why things work; I have to understand the environment and what student issues are.

“I hope students will feel comfortable enough to come up to me on campus or shoot me an e-mail.”

A couple years ago, a Board of Aeons report said Outdoor Adventures was a great program for students, but it needed a new space, said Dustin Smucker, leisure programs coordinator for Outdoor Adventures.

The final decision for the move was made at the beginning of September, Smucker said. In January, Eigenmann Hall was looked at as a possible space for Outdoor Adventures, he said, and more space has been made available since.

“We’re thrilled about the space in Eigenmann,” Smucker said. “It will be a location for smoother operations.”

Originally when Outdoor Adventures opened, Smucker said they had a small amount of equipment.

In their current space at the Union, Outdoor Adventures’ boats and tents occupy small rooms in the basement, which creates congestion, Smucker said.

“You have to go through about three locked doors to get to the boats,” he said. “Then up about 100 steps with the boat to get to the back door of the Union.”

The reorganization has not yet begun in Eigenmann, Smucker said. Outdoor Adventures will use existing spaces there, and other spaces will be repurposed for the move.

A former food preparation area will be turned into boat storage, he said. The boat storage will be a brief 30-second walk away, but will now include a loading dock.

The proposal to install a small climbing wall is being explored as a way to bring
students into the store, Smucker said.

If students use Outdoor Adventures’ facilities, they are going to go despite the location, junior Sara Troutman said.

“A rock climbing wall would be pretty sweet,” she said.

The one significant drawback Outdoor Adventures will face is missing out on the hustle and bustle of IU’s central hub that is the Union, Smucker said.

“We’re hoping to create a satellite hub of student life at Eigenmann,” he said. “It could be beneficial to be closer to resident centers. The move could have benefits we’re not really anticipating right now.”