Student struggle continues to save U.Va. Rotunda magnolias

by Ted Strong, timesdispatch.com
November 22nd 2011

CHARLOTTESVILLE — University of Virginia President Teresa A. Sullivan has reached out to the student body about changes at the school’s famed Rotunda in an email to all juniors and seniors, though the fate of the magnolias surrounding the building remains unclear.

In the wake of the announcement of plans to renovate the building’s roof — including the felling of the magnolias — students have been calling for the trees’ preservation and for amended construction dates aimed at minimizing the number of graduations held while the building is under construction. The commencement ceremony typically takes place on the Lawn, of which the Rotunda is one boundary.

Sullivan apologized for any confusion on the issue and promised clearer communication moving forward. The construction schedule is still being worked out, and efforts are underway to minimize its effect on commencements, she wrote. The roof renovation is the first part of a larger renovation plan. It is also the only part so far fully funded.

“Some of you also have raised concerns about the recommendation to remove the generations-old magnolia trees that flank the Rotunda,” Sullivan wrote. “The Board [of Visitors] members were informed that the magnolias are at the end of their projected lifespan and were planted too close to the building. Arborists — our own as well as outside experts — believe that the repair work on the Rotunda will only exacerbate the trees’ already fragile state. These are matters that we must consider further.”

The trees as they are now can be maintained, university arborist Jerry Brown said, but the scope of the project — something Brown doesn’t know — could mean that it would be better to start fresh.

The exact age of the trees isn’t clear, Brown said.

“No one seems to know, which is a surprise to me,” he said, adding that his own research hadn’t turned up anything definitive.

They’re likely less than 100 years old, but the best way to be sure would probably be to cut down the storm-damaged tree in the west courtyard and count rings.

Magnolias live 80 to 120 years under optimum conditions, according to the U.S. Forest Service’s guide to trees.

“President Sullivan’s response remains vague, and bears no mention as to what has previously been sent out by the Office of the Architect,” wrote students Yatzek Krzepicki and Brittany Saunders, chief organizers of the Save the Magnolias Campaign, in an email. “Before the statements seemed to focus on scaffolding and concerns about potential storm damage. Now, the email only cites the end of their lifespan, and implies that the root structure has some role to play, although it’s unclear as to whether this is to the detriment of the Rotunda or to the trees.”

The two also pointed to uncertainty about the exact age of the trees and to the 1973 to 1976 renovation of the Rotunda, which apparently left the trees intact.

Overall, the two wrote, they are “heartened” by Sullivan’s commitment to communication.

Sullivan also praised the students rallying to the trees.

“The work needed to preserve this great building is complex,” she wrote. “With the good will of all, we will preserve the Rotunda and enable future generations to value and celebrate it.”

Original Page: http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2011/nov/22/student-struggle-continues-save-uva-rotunda-magnol-ar-1476795/

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