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Jaguar Hall gestation: The head and heart of building a ‘communiversity’ By TimHudson in Hudson On Higher Learning January 20, 2010

Last March, Jeffrey Di Leo (dean of School of Arts & Sciences) and I were arriving back in Victoria after a conference in Mexico, having been met at the airport by Charles Alcorn (managing editor of the American Book Review). The not-yet-approved plans to add freshmen and sophomores at UHV were on our minds, and we were in full-tilt brainstorming mode. About that time, we passed by the old Holiday Inn on Rio Grande. (By the way, I still call it that. When Dee Dee and I first came to Victoria, that is where we stayed, Room 117, if I recall; the place was already past its “sell-by” date.)

Not surprisingly, the parking lot was almost empty – and we all sort of looked at each other, as if to say, “Hey, what about making this our ‘dorm’?” We were all thinking that it could possibly solve one of our great dilemmas – namely, IF we actually got permission to admit freshmen, where in the heck were we going to put them?

So, here we are less than a year later in full-tilt “hotel-to-student housing renovation business” – and like many such “ideas,” there is a LOT more to it than you might imagine – just ask our CFO Wayne Beran, who spearheads the entire project. That Bob Seger quote comes to mind: “I wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then.”

As educated folks in the field of higher education, we like to approach things analytically, making rational decisions based on evidence and accepted methodologies. We “do our homework,” so to speak. And believe me, we studied this issue of student housing from every possible angle – even following up on one crazy “idea” to purchase motor homes and create the first-ever transient student housing motor home park. Well, I said it was crazy. In the end, the hotel conversion concept was the only one that withstood the analysis. It was the best choice considering all variables such as time, community, costs and location.

But even then, to be honest, the “pull-the-trigger” moment was somewhat a leap of faith. Famous American author Nathaniel Hawthorne often wrote on the theme of “head and heart.” Remember the story of the unpardonable sinner who always made completely rational, analytical decisions – to the extent that his heart was hardened and his fate doomed?

When you think about it, almost all major decisions arise from a blend of head and heart considerations – reason leavened with faith and vision, data hooked to dreams.

So, now we are in the process of “transforming” this old hotel space, an exercise in practical matters if there ever was one – how to fix the roof, how to secure the property, how to configure the rooms, how to meet the budget, etc. But we also are tempering this process with our ongoing dreams of making Victoria a home, not just a place to live, for our new students, our new citizens. These are individuals whose life stories will be forever altered by their encounter with our space, our place and our people and, come to think of it, individuals who will change our life stories, as well.

We have a great “can-do” team at UHV that will make all practical arrangements for the success of this venture and will make sure we analyze each decision. We’ll do our homework, you can count on it.

But, perhaps more importantly, we have a great team of “brainstormers” and thinkers committed to the future of Victoria as a desirable, high-quality destination, a place where the university is an integral partner in creating an enviable quality of life for everyone. Maybe we’ll call it a “communiversity” town.

And if you have any practical suggestions or even outrageous ideas for this exciting, if somewhat complicated, “head/heart” process or other ways we might collaborate to brighten Victoria’s future prospects, we’d like to hear from you.

Meanwhile, I am anxious to see who gets Room 117 this coming fall. I know our brief stay there changed our dreams.

UHV page

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