Arboretum & Landscape Committee
Annual Report: 1989-1990
For the Arboretum and Landscape Committee the past year has been, as usual, a busy and
eventful one, with some successes and some failures. The Committee feels acutely the loss of the
McGuffey Ash, but has been making plans for the use of the timber from the tree. Physical Plant will
arrange for the cutting and seasoning of the timber. It is our intention to make at least one piece of
ceremonial furniture for the University, and then to use the rest of the lumber for money-making
items. Mr. Sandridge has approved the use of funds so acquired to further landscaping on the
Grounds. We also face the loss of another of the major White Ashes on the Lawn. The large
specimen leaning over Pavilion V is considered to be unsafe. It was apparently damaged during the
renovation of the brick walks and has lost the support of much of its root system. It will be removed
during the coming year.
An extensive landscaping effort, involving several separate projects, is underway along
Alderman Road. On the west of the road, the deep depression is being filled, graded, and planted in
a joint effort by Dining Services, Physical Plant, and the Committee. The Committee is supplying
$8,500 for the plant material. This is the sort of cooperative project that is made possible by the
leverage of the Seward Fund. Across the street, three projects are in progress to rationalize what has
been up to now a rather untidy leftover area. The sidewalks are being extended up to Stadium Road,
a new parking area replaces the dangerous vertical parking beside Gilmer Field, there is a new bus
stop, and the steep slope by Gilmer Hall has been railed and planted. The Committee contributed
$2000 for a row of Tuliptrees along the bank by Gilmer Hall.
Four new memorial or honorary trees have been added to the Grounds over the past year.
On Founder's Day a White Ash was planted in honor of the retiring President and Mrs. O'Neil. Two
White Oaks were planted in memory of Dr. T. R. Johns, one in the cemetery and one on Hospital
Drive. In a joint ceremony an American Sycamore was added to the grove on University Avenue in
memory of Mrs. Vincent Shea, and an Arbor Vitae was planted by Gilmer Hall in memory of Mrs.
Betty Kayan, sister of Dean B. F. D. Runk. In this context the Committee reviewed its long-standing
policy against the erection of memorial plaques on the Grounds. After careful consideration of the
arguments on both sides, the Committee reaffirmed its position.
A major step forward has been taken in the mapping of the trees on the Grounds. Mr. Pfaltz
and Mr. Reed have been engaged in a programming effort to enable the Committee to produce maps
of the trees on the Grounds. The inventory of about 10,000 trees is about 2/3 complete in the
database on the IBM, and can be accessed via the ERDAS system to produce maps by species and
location. It is our hope that this system will grow into a management tool for maintenance and
renewal of our trees.
The Committee has been involved in several issues of a controversial nature this year. The
most serious was the case of the parking plan for Hospital Drive. The Committee, for aesthetic
reasons, and Physical Plant, for reasons of maintenance, both rejected the proposed plan for vertical
parking on the east side of Hospital Drive. The Committee's decision was appealed to the President
and was overruled.
Another potentially divisive issue is the question of the landscaping of the addition to the
Darden School. The Committee, which has always resisted the idea of the western access road to
the Darden and Law School parking lots, was asked to approve a landscape plan incorporating this
road. Despite the approval of the road as a part of the Sasaki Master Plan by the Master Planning
Council, the Committee once more rejected this solution, citing also the failure of the architects to
address the problem of the relationship of the buildings to Massie Road. The Committee agreed to
let the project go forward as a pre-planning study with the provision that there will be additional
study of the points at issue. The Art and Architectural Review Committee also has reservations about
the architectural design.
A final unresolved issue is the question of landscaping for the proposed Child Care Center.
It appears that budget limitations are likely to dictate that the building will be erected without any of
the modifications suggested by Physical Plant and by the Committee during the initial review of the
architects' proposals and without much in the way of landscaping. The Committee believes that the
project should wait till there is the possibility of adequate funding.
Other projects have proceeded more smoothly. Several will have major impacts on the quality
of the landscape, notably the precinct plan for Carr's Hill, the Stadium Road sidewalk project, and
the Soccer Stadium. The chairman would like to commend the project manager of the last of these,
Mr. Jeff Moore, for the exemplary way that he has kept the Committee informed of the development
of the project.
Many other projects have been reviewed during the course of the year. Although most of
them will have some impact on our lives they are too numerous to comment on individually:
1. A memorial garden for the hospital.
2. Landscaping for the Elson Student Health Center.
3. Painting of curbs for traffic control.
4. Landscaping for the Chemical Engineering Building.
5. Landscaping for the MR-4 Building.
6. Siting the dumpsters for recycling.
7. Siting the greenhouses for the Department of Environmental Sciences.
8. Landscaping for Bryan Hall.
9. Design of a ramp for approaching Newcomb Hall.
10. Siting a chiller for Zehmer Hall.
11. Landscaping for the new Forestry Building (now scuttled).
12. Replanting the box bushes on the Lower Lawn with funds provided by the Committee.
13. Landscaping for Stadium Road Housing.
14. Pruning the trees at Copeley Hill.
15. Improvements to the entrance of McKim Hall.
16. Spraying for gypsy moth.
17. An entrance for the handicapped to Alderman Library.
18. Review of the Master Plan for Blandy Farm.
19. An entryway from the hospital to the Link.
20. A memorial patio for the JAG School.
21. Plantings for Madison Hall.
22. Landscaping the Law School entrance
23. Landscaping for the Alderman Road dormitories.
24. Benches for the Claude Moore Library.
25. A sidewalk for the Heating Plant.
26. A precinct plan for the McCormick Road dormitories.
27. A minor redesign of Pavilion IV garden.
28. Redesign of the Mews garden.
29. Siting a transformer for Maury Hall.
The Committee will continue to hold rump sessions through the summer, to keep up with
events as they occur, until the new Committee takes over in the autumn.
Respectfully submitted,
J. J. Murray, Chairman
August 4, 1990
Mr. Raymond M. Haas
Vice President for Administration
The Rotunda
Dear Mr. Haas:
I am enclosing herewith my much belated annual report on the activities of the Arboretum and
Landscape Committee. My apologies for the delay, caused largely by my concentration on the
business of organizing the program at Mountain Lake. I shall alsosend a copy of the report to Mr.
Casteen to give him some idea of the functioning of the Committee.
With many thanks for your interest and support over the past year.
Yours sincerely,
J. J. Murray, Chairman
Arboretum & Landscape Committee
CC: The President
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