By Fall term, Baker Library, Dartmouth Hall and several other College landmarks may be adorned with "elegant" signs.
College Architect George Hathorn said plans for the signs are 75 percent complete, but the ad hoc committee directing the project still has to determine how to fund the project.
Hathorn and Michael Getter, director of Facilities, Operations and Management, chair the committee, Hathorn said.
Getter emphasized that thus far, the College has only authorized the committee to study College signs.
"Once the project is fully developed and a funding level is established, the project will be reviewed for aesthetic and monetary" concerns, he said.
Getter said he has not seen a full layout of sign placement yet, but "the signs will be used sparingly."
Hathorn said if everything runs smoothly, plans for the project should be completed in June. If funding is allocated, the signs could be erected as early as this fall. But he said the project would be expensive.
Getter said the cost will depend on several factors.
"The major factor is how wide a scope the College adopts," he said. "Well-made signs that are useful and informative and lasting are not cheap. We have no factual estimate yet."
Hathorn said the changing character and expansion of the College has made the signs necessary.
"In some ways this project is kind of a metaphor for the way Dartmouth has developed in the last 15 or 20 years," he said.
"Before Dartmouth was a provincial, insulated institution that didn't deal too much with outsiders," Hathorn said. "The lack of signs implied a sense that if you had to ask someone how to get somewhere, then you didn't belong at the College."
Hathorn said the signs illustrate Dartmouth's attempt to reach out to other people and be more welcoming.
"There are such a variety of programs during the summer and the other three terms," he said. "The need for the signs is a result of Dartmouth changing, in a way."
Getter called the signs "elegant, but elegant in not a frilly or lightweight sort of way. They are very tasteful with classic lettering very much in keeping with Dartmouth landscape and architecture."
"There already is a Dartmouth College sign in front of the Hopkins Center," he said. "It is a sign and map." He said signs and maps will be placed in more locations on campus.
College's Design Review Committee has reviewed and approved the signs project. Before implementation, it must also be approved by the College Provost, President and faculty advisory committee, Hathorn said.
John Roll and Associates will design the signs will be designed by, a graphic design firm located in Cambridge, Mass., Hathorn said. Roll was a member of the Class of 1967. Hathorn said the committee decided on Roll's firm because they admired his signs at other campuses, especially at Smith College in Massachusetts.
"Although we have just been working with Roll for three or four months, the need for signs has been a topic of conversation for more than 10 years," he said.
Alik Widge '99 said he thinks the idea "makes sense."
But Molly Anderson '99 said she has not had trouble finding her way since arriving at the College this fall and is afraid the signs might turn the College into a tourist attraction.
"It depends on what the signs look like," she said. "If they are big ugly things they will have a negative effect on aesthetics of the place."
