For its new inhabitants, calling Smith Warehouse home has had its share of ups and downs.
During the last year, the University has consolidated several offices across campus into the building located near the East Campus bridge. Smith Warehouse—which is still under construction—currently houses the offices of DukeEngage, the Robertson Scholars Program, the Office of Undergraduate Scholars and Fellows, the University Registrar and the Bursar’s Office. The International House and the Career Center are also slated to move within the next few months.
Several members of the departments that have moved to Smith Warehouse said student traffic has decreased since their relocation.
“We are seeing fewer students in our office,” Margaret Riley, director of the Global Education Office for Undergraduates—formerly known as the Office of Study Abroad—wrote in an e-mail. “It does appear that students find getting there to be a challenge.”
She added that traffic has increased at the Global Education’s satellite office at the Pratt School of Engineering.
Barbara Wise, assistant director of OUSF, also said she saw an immediate drop-off of students visiting because of the ongoing construction, but it has not affected the office’s basic operations.
“Those who need us find us,” she said.
Duke Performances, which was previously located in the Bryan Center, has not been affected by the decrease of students visiting their current location, Director Aaron Greenwald said.
“Duke Performances does not require students to come through the office on a day-to-day basis. It requires students to come to our performances, which are not held here,” he said.
Since moving, the department has enjoyed better access to the Durham community and to East Campus, Greenwald noted. He added that he is confident Smith Warehouse will eventually become the corridor between Duke and Durham.
The University has made efforts to make the location more accessible for students.
The C-6 bus route was recently implemented to connect Smith Warehouse with West Campus. In addition, Saladelia Café, which opened three weeks ago at Smith, has already become a gathering spot for the building’s occupants.
“Eighty percent of customers are faculty members or Duke employees; not too many students yet,” employee Logan Hornbuckle said.
Faculty members housed in Smith also noted that working in the renovated building has its advantages. The move has facilitated more interaction between departments that had previously not had the opportunity to work together, Wise said.
Kristin Hill, a fellow for the Robertson Scholars Program, said that, compared to their old offices, Smith Warehouse “is inviting, warm and now with the little shuttle, convenient.”
The relocation of the departments to Smith has elicited mixed reactions among students.
Juniors Vijai and Ajai Atal said the trek to Smith is difficult and “maze-like,” and that the new bus service has not been advertised enough.
Others said they appreciated that Smith allows many departments to be in close proximity to each other.
“It’s nice that everything [is] there,” sophomore Dan Barron said.
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