Oct. 3, 2018: Information on Fran's House

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,

I'm writing to address both the very valid concerns and the misinformation that is currently being expressed around Summit House. Commonly referred to as "Fran's House," this is an affinity home that has served our LGBTQ community for the past several years. Before that, this affinity group was located in Galloway House. (As background, affinity groups apply for housing each year without the guarantee of a particular house. While some houses have been assigned to the same group year-to-year, other houses have been assigned to new affinity groups in response to student interest.)

While it is true that Summit House will be razed before the start of construction for a new academic building that will house the Freeman College of Management and our Department of Art & Art History, rumors that the University has no intention of providing a suitable replacement for Summit House are false. Our colleagues in Student Affairs and Facilities have been evaluating housing options for the past few months and have more recently involved other partners on campus to think creatively about potential solutions.

Among the challenges to finding similar housing accommodations is that Summit House is unique. It has 19 beds, two common areas (including a basement), a small kitchen, and shared bathrooms. None of the other 12 affinity houses on campus have beds for 18-20 students; they are either smaller or larger than that. Given that we use all of our bed space on campus, we cannot give up bed capacity by converting a larger house into something that better aligns with the benefits offered by Summit House.

We will continue our ongoing discussions about a suitable replacement for Summit House, both in the near-term and on a longer-term basis. Please be assured that there will be an adequate, accommodating space on campus for our LGBTQ community members.

My best,

John