Cynthia Dondero: A Home Away from Home

Students looking for a home base are lucky to have Cynthia Dondero, the marketing and summer conference coordinator for University Courtyard. Fifteen years ago, she started out on campus working for the Nursing Department in the master's program through the Foundation. Two years later, she moved on to the dean's office in the School of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, where she worked as a state employee with the California Technology Institute (CATI) almost from its beginning. For four years now she has put her publications and scheduling skills to work for Housing through the Association, the nonprofit support arm of the university. This month she spoke with the Journal.

Q. What is the most challenging part of your job with Housing?

A. I think it's finding a balance between marketing -- so students know what we have to offer - and summer conferences -- so people from around the United States and even around the world can use our facilities. It's a challenge to balance those two things and to accomplish them.

Q. What kind of projects are you involved in?

A. I work on two phases. One is to make sure that new people attending the university can find out about on-campus housing. This involves a wealth of things, from being involved in the University Open House and Housing Sneak Previews to making sure that Outreach Services and other areas on campus have materials available. For the summer, we have between 50 and 80 groups that pay to stay in the residence halls. They stay from a few days to six weeks. Sometimes there are young children involved, and other times we have groups of people who are 60 to 70 years old. They use the campus facilities for workshops, classes and sporting activities. Campus and off-campus groups stay in the residence halls during the summer.

Q. When were the residence halls first built?

A. They were built in the 1950s. There were three halls completed, Baker, Homan and Graves. Those have remained our community-style halls. Then six additional buildings were built in the late 1960s. Those were community-style buildings but have been made into suites as part of the renovation in August of 1995.

Q. How much money was spent on the renovation?

A. Approximately $12.2 million was spent for the renovation.

Q. What was your role in bringing it about?

A. I was lucky enough to be involved in the planning process, where we went from concept to design, to actually doing the renovation. I was one of many people involved in this process. We also involved the campus community as well as our residents - future, current, and past - in helping us make decisions about changes students would like to see.

These suggestions played a significant role in determining how we should renovate. I let students, the community, faculty, staff, high schools, community colleges, and prospective students know that we had made a change.

Q. What kind of change did you make?

A. We wanted to make sure that every resident who moved in benefited. So we did the entire complex. Everyone who lives on campus now has our new furniture. We don't have any of the metal furniture or wood veneer furniture that the majority of the other universities have. We have wood furniture that's loft-style. Students can move the furniture around in a number of configurations in their rooms. Since we're not in an earthquake area, we don't have to bolt everything to the floor, so it gives them a lot of flexibility. All rooms - both community-style and suites - also have new carpets, new blinds and new paint.

Q. The suites have a balcony entrance rather than an interior entrance?

A. Right. In response to what students were telling us, we wanted them to have a living room, a bathroom, and from one to three bedrooms. There can be from two to six people living in a suite. In order to accomplish that, since the community-style halls were set up with an interior hallway for access to the room, the concept for the suites was to have balcony access and cut doors into the brick walls for every single suite. That provides access to the living rooms. All the living rooms are in the front, and all the bedrooms are in the back. This allows for more quiet in the sleep area. The central interior hall was eliminated.

Q. What are the benefits of the new design?

A. We have upgraded the facilities, not just with new furniture and improved living spaces, but with better security and even a computer lab. Students can be proud to live on campus. In their freshman years they can stay in one of the three community-style residence halls and get to know everyone. Then the following year, they can move into a suite and enjoy all the advantages of an apartment without having to buy furniture. It's convenient for them, too, because if they forget a book or a paper, they can come back and pick it up, and they can study in their rooms between classes. Also, I think students don't realize how much safety and security is a part of where they live. We installed an electronic key system, so if they lose their key, their new key will erase the old code. So this means strangers won't have access to student rooms. We also have public safety assistants who patrol the grounds in the evening and early morning hours. Besides all this, we took an office area and added an IBM-compatible computer lab with two laser printers (one of them high-speed) as well as access to e-mail and the Internet.

Q. Do you think the cost of the renovation was worth it?

A. Absolutely. If you talk to our residents, they will tell you that it was worth it. The furniture, carpeting, and blinds will last a long time. The money invested in the key system was also well worth it. I always tell students who are going home to another city to go by a different university and take a tour of the residence halls. Also when we give tours, I ask people if they've seen residence halls in other universities. We stand up very well compared to what other universities have to offer, with both what we provide to our students and the cost that it's provided to them at. I think for the university itself that this is a wonderful recruiting tool.

Q. Will the renovation eventually pay for itself?

A. Yes, I think so. We got authorization to issue tax-exempt bonds for these monies, and we're paying the bond amount back in installments every year. That money is taken from the fees that the students who live on campus are paying. We also budget our expenses based on the residents who are living here. We don't have any other source of revenue, so we have to make sure we can operate from student fees and what we bring in during the summer.

Q. Do you have more students in the residence halls now than you did before the renovation?

A. We do have more students than we had the five or six years leading up to the renovation. There was a period of time when more students at all universities lived on campus, although there has been a move away from living on campus at all universities. But I think what we have to offer them still attracts them to us.

Q. How many students are in the residence halls this fall?

A. We have 747 students living on campus plus approximately 30 staff. We can accommodate just under 1,000 people, so right now there's still room for students interested in living on campus. We offer tours not just to students, but to staff and faculty interested in learning more about living on campus.

Q. What is it like to live on campus?

A. We have a lobby with big-screen televisions that show 12 different movies every month -- usually recently released movies. We also provide basic cable to the students' rooms and lobbies. This is included in the cost of campus living. We have a 24-hour customer service desk, a fitness center, swimming pool, and recreation centers. Although there is a charge to use billiards and video games, the net proceeds go toward the Residence Life Program, which offers activities, events, and social and educational programs throughout the year. Also, the program offers an ear for students who want to talk about their problems and concerns. That's something that's really not available off campus. We definitely provide a unique living experience for residents.

Q. You seem to find your job fulfilling.What do you like the most about it?

A. I don't feel as if I'm sitting in an office behind a stack of papers where I can't make any difference. At this time in my life I really like knowing I can make changes, that the things we do aren't set in stone. We hold focus groups and conduct surveys to find out what our residents want and we make the changes that we can. I think being able to listen to students' interests and concerns and have some impact in their lives has become really important to me.