University of Michigan student housing

 

North Quadrangle Residential and Academic Complex

The residence hall system at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, which is called the University Housing (which is a unit of The Division of Student Affairs at the University of Michigan), is the sixth-largest campus housing system in the United States and the third-largest family housing operation, accommodating up to 12,562 people. The dormitories, or residence halls, are organized into three distinct groups or "neighborhoods": Central Campus, Hill Neighborhood (between Central Campus and the University of Michigan Medical Center) and North Campus. The students that live in the University Residence Halls are represented by the University of Michigan Residence Halls Association.

The largest dormitory, Bursley Hall on North Campus, has a capacity of 1,277 students, while the smallest accommodates 31 residents. Although there is no mandatory requirement to do so, approximately 95% of the incoming class chooses to live within the University Housing system. A majority of upper-class and graduate students live in off-campus apartments, houses, and cooperatives, with the largest concentrations in the Central and South Campus areas. Graduate students, students with families, faculty and staff can choose non-residential University accommodations in the Northwood community on North Campus. Comprising 21 buildings in five interconnected areas, Northwood includes nearly 1100 apartments, from studio units to three-bedroom townhouses.

Recent developments

Alice Lloyd Hall is currently undergoing renovations and is scheduled to reopen for Fall 2012. South Quadrangle and West Quadrangle are both receiving new landscaping. South Quad had the front shrubbery replaced, the sidewalks widened, underground sprinkling put in, and new sod to replace the dirt and weeds. At West Quad, both courtyards and the side yard had underground sprinkling and sod installed.

North Quad is the university's first all new housing construction since 1967. On December 15, 2006, the UM Board of Regents approved the North Quad design. The 370,000 square feet building, blending Collegiate Gothic and Arts & Crafts styles, opened in Fall 2010. It is located on Central Campus at the intersection of Huron and State St., on the former site of the Frieze building. Two column caps from the Frieze Building are located in the courtyard. Additional elements from the Frieze Building are incorporated into the exterior architecture, most notably the Carnegie Public Library façade facing Huron Street. The residential tower houses approximately 450 upper-level undergraduate students. The facility combines living and learning with a large classroom wing housing the School of Information, Screen Arts and Cultures, Communications Studies, the Language Resource Center and the Gayle Morris Sweetland Center for Writing. The academic tower features 19 classrooms and three labs, television and video production studios, faculty offices, and a dining center.

Stockwell Hall was recently renovated to upgrade most of its facilities. After the renovation, the hall changed from female only to coed leaving the smaller Barbour/Newberry, Cook, and Henderson as the last remaining all-female halls .

Couzens Hall was closed for renovation after the Winter 2010 term. The renovation repaired and updated infrastructure, including: new plumbing, heating, ventilation, fire detection and suppression systems, wired and wireless high- speed network access, renovated bath facilities and accessibility improvements. New spaces were created in the vacated dining areas that are no longer needed since the Hill Dining Center, located in Mosher Jordan Hall, became operational. New and reorganized spaces within the facility revitalized the old residence hall and created spaces for living-learning and academic initiatives, student interaction, and creation of community. The renovation process was completed for the start of the Fall 2011 term. According to the University of Michigan Housing website, Couzens Hall has been "identified for energy-efficient design [...] making its estimated building performance among the top 25 percent of facilities in the United States"

Residential Life Initiative

The Residential Life Initiative began in 2003 as a campus wide effort to reinvest and improve student housing and dining facility spaces. This included updating the physical infrastructure of the buildings, making the residence halls safer through fire suppression systems, and adding a technological backbone to meet the demands of current students, such as wireless internet connectivity. RLI also has a focus to strengthen the connection between student living and learning in the residence halls. With the construction of the Hill Dining Center, the space that had been dedicated to student dining facilities were transformed into additional study areas and classroom spaces for living learning programs.

Two percent of student room and board rates are dedicated to funding the RLI projects. Already, the Initiative has seen the complete renovation of Mosher-Jordan, Stockwell, and Couzens residence halls, the addition of the Hill Dining Center and North Quad, the ongoing renovation of Alice Lloyd residence hall, and the planned renovation to East Quad. This is in addition to fire suppression systems added to every residence halls, and numerous other improvements such as wireless internet in Markley and the renovation of the Blue Apple snack bar & lounge in Bursley.

As part of the Residential Life Initiative, Mosher Jordan Hall, which opened in 1930, closed at the end of the Winter 2006 semester for extensive renovation. The hall was the first to undergo major renovations. Plans included the addition of air conditioning, a new main entry with a grand staircase, ADA compliance, new elevators, wireless internet, music practice areas, and other improvements. Plans also called for the construction of the Hill Dining Center, seating approximately 700 guests. Since its completion in Fall 2008, all existing cafeterias in the Hill neighborhood with the exception of Mary Markley Hall have closed.

Campus Neighborhoods

Central Campus

• Betsy Barbour House
• Cambridge House
• East Quadrangle
• Fletcher Hall
• Helen Newberry House
• Martha Cook Building
• South Quadrangle
• West Quadrangle
• North Quadrangle (opened Fall 2010)

The Hill

• Couzens Hall
• Alice Lloyd Hall (Slated to close for renovation Summer 2011 and to re-open in Fall 2012)
• Mary Markley Hall
• Mosher-Jordan Hall (MoJo)
• Stockwell Hall
• Oxford Housing

North Campus

• Baits I & II Houses
• Bursley Hall - largest dormitory with a capacity of 1,277 students.
• Northwood Houses (freshmen only)
• Northwood Community Apartments

Other

• Henderson House
• Lawyers Club

External links

• University Housing
• Housing disability accommodations
• Campus Life: Housing
• Student Services: Housing
• Student Housing Research Project