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The Dartmouth
July 19, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Webster renovation to reduce public venues

When construction begins this summer to convert Webster Hall into a Special Collections library, the College will lose a major venue for large public events on campus.

The renovation of Webster, which can hold about 800 people, could leave the College unable to hold medium-sized events, like musical acts, comedians and speakers, Programming Board Co-Chair Bob Bordone '94 said.

The Collis Student Center was designed to increase the programming space for the students, according to Dean of Student Life Holly Sateia.

"Our primary concern was restoring it to a programming space," Sateia said.

But due to Webster's planned closing, actual programming space will decline, Bordone said. "Students, ultimately, with the new student center, will be the losers," he said.

A group of students from the Programming Board is talking to administrators about the change and is investigating options for a future without Webster.

The group said it hopes to expand to include other students who are concerned with losing space on campus, like representatives from the Rockefeller Center and the Hopkins Center.

Director of Facilities Planning Gordie DeWitt said he did not think the decision to renovate Webster would be changed, and added that no new medium-size building will be constructed.

"I don't think that is a decision that is going to be reversed ... An 800 or 900 seat lecture hall is not on anyone's list of priorities." DeWitt said.

The elimination of the performance space in Webster means the College only has room for small events with fewer than 300 people and large events with 1800 or more people, which will present difficulty for arranging events, Bordone said.

Collis Common Ground has an occupancy of 580 people, but with the addition of a stage and chairs, occupancy is about 300, Sateia said.

"Space is always a problem on this campus," she said.

Leede Arena, which has a capacity of about 1,800 people, is another option but is usually booked by the Dartmouth College Athletic Council, which has authority over the arena, Bordone said.

And Spaulding Auditorium in the Hopkins Center is generally reserved for films and cultural events, Coordinator of Student Programs Linda Kennedy said.

Rock bands cannot be signed more than about six weeks in advance, but movie scheduling is done a term in advance and cultural events are done up to a year in advance, meaning that most days are booked, Kennedy said.

DeWitt said it was his understanding that Collis would serve as a replacement for Webster's space.

But Sateia did say "it would be nice to have another space that could accommodate another 800 people."