Ohio University is predicting that closing Shively Court will save the university about $1 million.
The Shively Hall residence will remain open, but both Shively Court and Grab ‘n’ Go will be closed the next academic year, Carly Leatherwood, a university spokeswoman, said.
That leaves just The District on West Green and Nelson Court on South Green as campus dining halls.
The university evaluates the needs of each venue every semester, Leatherwood said. No other venues are planned to close at this time.
Shively Court was chosen to be closed because of how close it is to Nelson Commons and the cafe in Nelson, South Side Espresso Bar.
Nelson Court, which will now serve breakfast, has a larger seating capacity and more amenities, Leatherwood said.
All current staff members, including student employees who decided to return in the Fall Semester, will be reassigned to other Culinary Services positions.
The students who worked at Shively Court were told to look at Nelson Court and the District on West Green for other employment opportunities, according to an email from Laura Rodgers, the current Shively hiring coordinator.
The transfer process for employees is easy, Rodgers said in the email.
In the summer of 2018, Shively Court had $1.8 million of renovations that were funded by Culinary Services, according to a previous Post report. Those renovations were for a “front-of-house” refresh, Jim Sabin, university spokesperson, said.
“The fact that this dining area was just renovated at the cost of $1.8M raises further questions about the management of university finances,” Loren Lybarger, president of the OU chapter of AAUP and professor of classics, said in an email.
Lybarger said OU has been in an “unsustainable arms race” to keep enrollment up by spending money on the student experience, like residence hall and dining area renovations, while investing comparatively less in the university’s actual academic mission.
