University of Virginia Library

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At a called meeting of the Board of Visitors of the
University of Virginia at 2:00 o'clock P. M., on above
date, in the President's Office,

Present: The Rector, and Visitors Craddock, Harmon,
Shackelford, Irvine, Drewry, and Flood,

The Board having been called to order by the Rector,
the following was adopted:-

Resolved: That the resignation of Dr. Carl Ridge Meloy,
Adjunct Professor of Pathology, be accepted with regret and
with expressions of appreciation of his ability and faithfulness.

In view of the purpose of Dr. C. W. Kent not to stand
for re-nomination at the expiration of his term of office as
a member of the State Board of Education, the Rector and Visitors
desire to place on record their appreciation of the very
high quality of service he has rendered in that office, and
to express their gratitude to him for his valuable work for
public education in Virginia.

Resolved: That Dr. James Morris Page be nominated by
the Rector and Visitors to the General Assembly for election
to membership upon the State Board of Education for the term
beginning

Resolved: That the sum of $54.00 be appropriated for the
printing of a monograph of Thomas Jefferson, by Professor William
M. Thornton.

Resolved: That the sum of $50.00 be appropriated to the
Department of Pharmacology for equipment and apparatus.

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Resolved: That a student assistant be granted to Dr.
J. C. Flippin in the laboratory of Clinical Diagnosis.

Resolved: That the salary of Miss M. J. Hurdley, Superintendent
of the Hospital, be increased from $65.00 to
$75.00 per month, from October 1, 1909.

Resolved: That Messrs. Harmon, Shackelford and Moon
be appointed a Committee to confer with the authorities of
Charlottesville, with regard to the water situation, with
authority to said committee to act on behalf of the University
Corporation.

Resolved, further: That the report of Mr. John B. Moon,
counsel for the University in regard to the contracts between
the University and the City of Charlottesville, in relation
to water supply, be received and spread on the minutes; and
that, in the event the above named Committee be unable to
come to a satisfactory agreement with the authorities of
Charlottesville, then, that Mr. Moon, as Counsel for the University,
with the advice and concurrence of said Committee,
be authorized and directed to take such legal steps as he
may deem necessary to protect and enforce the rights of the
University in the premises.

Resolved: That the Report of the Committee on University
Commons be received and adopted and spread on the minutes;
and that the Board suggests to the Committee, in addition
to the scheme suggested in the report, that the Committee
consider the feasibility of assigning certain rooms within
the University to be occupied by students, who shall, while
occupying said rooms, board at the Commons.

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The Report follows:

December 13, 1909,

President Edwin A. Alderman,
University of Virginia.

Dear Sir:

Your Committee on Commons Hall begs to submit the following
report covering the operations of Commons from the
inauguration of this enterprise on September 1, 1908 to December
1, 1909, together with plans for balance of the current
session.

The financial statement furnished by the Bursar for
session 1908-1909, exclusive of Summer School, which is a
separate account, shows:

             

1.	Total cost of supplies delivered at Commons,	$22,687.89
2.	Total cost of operating expenses, including pay-rolls, heat, light, laundry, phone, maintenance of equipment, etc. __________	8,433.37	$31,121.26
3.	Total income from sale of meal tickets at $15.00 per month,	$22,239.19
4.	Total revenue from outside sources, special services, banquets, etc.	4,464.89
5.	Inventory stock on hand June 17, 1909—	1,791.21
6.	Appropriation by Visitors,	600.00	29,095.29
	Balance Deficit,		$ 2,025.97

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The number of students served during session 1908-1909
is as follows: September, 222; October, 220; November, 210;
December, 184; January, 180; February, 161; March, 144; April,
120; May, 97; June, 51; making a total of 1589. The average
number served per month was 159. The average cost of food
supplied per man was $12.20 per month. The average cost for
service per man was $5.20 per month.

Using the figures above and estimating on the basis of
an average attendance of 200 men, it follows:

             

1.	Total sessional cost of food supplies,	$27,750.00
2.	Total sessional cost of operating expenses,	9,023.00	36,773.00
3.	Total income from sale of meal tickets,	$30,000.00
4.	Total revenue from outside sources, (item 4 above)	4,464.89
5.	Inventory stock on hand June 17, 1909 (item 5 above)	1,791.21
6.	Appropriation by Visitors, (item 6 above)	600.00	36,856.10
	Balance surplus,		$ 83.10

We believe this statement justifies the Committee's early
contention that an average attendance of 200 from a total registration
of 785 in the University would guarantee the financial
success of Commons.

Your Committee believed our students were divided financially
into two classes: 1. Those to whom $15.00 per month

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charged for table board at Commons was burdensome, possibly
preventing their return to the University; and 2. those who
desired and could afford a better board than $15.00 per month
could possibly furnish. Acting on this belief we decided that
Commons could better serve the paramount purpose for which it
was established, and at the same time attract a larger number
of students, if we changed our plan of boarding from a fixed
ménu giving three meat meals a day at $15.00 per month, to
the combination plan which has worked so successfully at Harvard
University. The combination plan consists of a fixed
ménu with only one meat meal a day, and a list of extras giving
wide range of selection, from which orders are taken at
the student's wish. The fixed ménu with one meat meal a day
furnishes all that is necessary for good health and growth,
while the "extra card" permits the indulgence of a more elaborate
taste. The fixed ménu is purchased by meal tickets at
$12.50 per month, while the extras are paid for with coupons,
the charge being only sufficient to cover cost of food supplied,
plus the necessary addition for its preparation and
service. This combination plan was inaugurated at the beginning
of the present session, and by popular vote taken on
October 21, resulting in 102 for and 38 against, it is con-
tinued at present.

The Bursar's financial statement for this session, from
September to November inclusive, is as follows:

   

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1.	Total cost of supplies delivered at Commons,	$ 6,663.49
2.	Total cost of operating expenses, including pay-rolls, heat, light, laundry, `phone, maintenance of equipment, etc.,	2,655.46	$ 9,318.95
3.	Total income from sale of meal tickets at $12.50 per month,	$ 4,581.79
4.	Total income from sale of coupon books,	788.00
5.	Total revenue from outside sources, special service, banquets, etc.	624.39
6.	Inventory of stock on hand December 1, 1909	2,323.23	8,317.41
	Balance Deficit,		$ 1,001.54

The total number of students served during three months
of present session are as follows: September, 183; October,
129; November, 136; making a total of 448. The average number
served per month is 149. This does not take into account
the foot-ball men for whom special arrangements were made.
The greater monthly deficit this session when compared with
the same months last session, is in our opinion directly due
to the decreased attendance, and not to the change in our plan
of boarding. The Store-keeper's books show this year's plan
slightly more economical than last year's plan.

On November 1, 1909, Mr. H. C. Bardin tendered his voluntary
resignation as Manager of Commons, to be effective
December 31, 1909. His reason for leaving the service, as
stated in his letter of resignation, was plain discouragement
because of his inability to make Commons a financial
success. In discussing his successor the Committee decided

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that the employment of a woman would both reduce the cost of
operation and perhaps attract a larger number of students.
Accordingly we have engaged the services of Mrs. Virginia T.
Bell of Staunton, Va., who will assume the duties of manager
on January 1, 1910. Mrs. Bell is at present manager and cateress
for the Van Dyke League House in Lynchburg, Va., and
was formerly for several years cateress for an institution
similar to our own connected with a school for girls in Washington,
D. C. By her employment we will save in salaries at
least $100.00 per month; but this saving will not enable us
to meet expenses; and a deficit of not less than $2000.00 for
the remaining six months of this session must be expected unless
the number of boarders can be greatly increased.

In seeking to find the reasons for our small attendance
at Commons, we have discovered the following fact which is
given here for your information and serious thought. The
cheapest dormitory rates in the University plus the cheapest
board at Commons is in excess of the combined cost of room
and board at the cheapest student boarding houses in town.
This is because of our comparatively high dormitory rates.
It means that the poorer students are forced, because of our
higher room rents, to live outside the University grounds.
To them, Commons is not easily accessible, and in most cases
impossible, because almost all of these landladies compel
their roomers to take meals with them. It follows that those
rooms most accessible to Commons, namely the University dormitories,
are filled with students who can afford and desire
more expensive board. Thus Commons, falling as it has between

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the two stools, cannot hope to have a full attendance unless
the present dormitory rates are lowered.

To improve conditions, we suggest the following changes:
1. Offer rooms in the Randall Building to students at one-half
their present price, on condition that the occupants
perform their own janitor services, and on further condition
that they board at Commons.

2. Increase all other Dormitory rates in the University by
15%, and offer a reduction of 25% from these new rates to
all students who board at Commons.

Permit our first suggestion to become an established
fact, and you enable students to combine board at Commons
with rooms in the University at less expense than the cost
of cheapest outside room and board.

Act favorably on the second suggestion, and provided
half these men eat at Commons, our attendance will have
been increased and the University will receive as much
revenue from the dormitories as at present.

As a matter of further information we beg to report
that the Committee inaugurated at the beginning of this
session the student-waiter system. We were unable to obtain
more than one half the number of students necessary
for this service, and as it was impossible to piece them
out the plan was abandoned after a two weeks' trial. We
hope the plan will be tried again next session, and we believe
that by earlier advertisement, it will have a fair
chance of success.

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Respectfully submitted,

(signed) J. L. Newcomb,

W. M. Lile,

H. E. Jordan,

B. R. Payne,

Committee on Commons Hall.

Resolved: That the request of the Park Place Corporation
that the University level up and improve the lot east of the
Hospital, belonging to the University, be acceded to, at a
cost not to exceed $100.00, with permission to said Park Place
Corporation, to open a street through said lot, and lay granolithic
walks, as requested, subject to the approval of the
Superintendent of Grounds and Buildings.——

——Mr. Harmon not voting on this resolution.

Resolved: That the President be authorized to make a
contract by March 1, 1910, with some competent expert, for the
inauguration of a modern system of accounting at the University.

Resolved: That the application of Dr. Theodore Hough for
a lease for 50 years of two acres of land on the McCormick
Road, East of and adjoining the property leased to Dr. R. H.
Whitehead, be approved; the lease to be in the form and upon
the same condition and same consideration, heretofore prescribed;
and the Rector is hereby authorized to execute such
deed of lease when prepared by the Counsel of the University
in the name and behalf of the Rector and Visitors of the University.

Resolved: That the letter of Spencer Cornick be referred

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Resolved: That the petition of the Golf Club of the
University be granted, and the golf-course be rented to them
at a nominal rental equivalent to the sum now received from
the lessees.

Resolved: That the petition of I. K. Moran be granted;
and that the resolution, adopted by this Board December 2,
1907, with reference to lease to Professors, of residence
building-sites on University ground, be and is hereby amended
so as to include Executive Officers of the University, under
the same rules and terms.

Resolved: That the President be requested to express to
Mr. Charles R. Crane, the thanks of the Rector and Visitors
of the University, for his generous gift.

Resolved: That Mr. John B. Moon, Counsel for the University,
be authorized to confer with a committee consisting of
the President, the Rector, and Mr. Harmon, with regard to the
codification into one statute of the State laws of the University—with
authority to said counsel and committee, to procure
the proper legislation in regard thereto.

Resolved: That the Bursar be directed to turn over to
Mr. W. B. Thomas of Norfolk, Va., the two old watches, BK pin,
some plated silverware, and a family Bible, belonging to the
estate of the late E. W. James, in response to the application
of Mr. Thomas for the same.

Resolved: That the Annual Report of the President for
the year ending July 1, 1909, to the Board, and of the Rector

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Resolved: That the Finance Committee be requested to invest
the sum of $2,775.62 reported by the Bursar as being in
bank, uninvested.

Resolved: That the report of the Finance Committee regarding
the re-investment of securities of the E. W. James
Estate, be accepted and approved, and the Secretary directed
to file same with the papers relating to the James Estate.

On motion, the Board adjourned, subject to the call of
the Rector.