By Josh Wagner//
Hood College students returned this fall to newly renovated dormitories.
The renovation to Smith Hall included the removal of old carpeting, the installation of new flooring, upgrades to the bathrooms and new mattresses.
“The Smith Hall project was primarily an interior finishes project,” said Robert Klinedinst, vice president of Finance.
Smith Hall renovation also included safety upgrades, making the residence hall more secure for students.
“We have installed carbon monoxide detectors in the building so that does make it a safer building and the elevator is operational now,” Klinedinst said.
Hood College plans similar renovations to other residence halls.
“What we are focused on now is doing incremental improvements in the other residence halls, and we did a lot this summer in Smith,” Klinedinst said. “We painted the exterior windows and doors. We took all the carpet out of the building, put in new flooring, and painted the interiors.”
Over the summer, bathrooms were renovated in Coblentz Hall and roof dormers were repaired in Shriner Hall, according to Klinedinst.
Repairs to the roof of Meyran Hall are underway.
The work on the dormitories will continue in the summer of 2026.
“So right now, we’re in the process of figuring out what building next summer in terms of raising the level of you know finishes and quality of finishes in Coblentz, Meyran, and Shriner to bring everything up to you know nicer finishes and code-compliant stuff,” he said.
Memorial Hall and Smith Hall renovations have both been completed as part of Hood College’s campus improvement projects.
“Shriner, Meyran, and Coblentz are the three that we will need more work like we did in Smith Hall this past summer,” Klinedinst said. “We will be planning that this semester in terms of what the scope is.”
Among other upgrades planned are renovations to bathrooms in Coblentz and a new elevator in Meyran.
Rather than closing a dormitory for a complete renovation as was done with Memorial, the college plans to make incremental improvements.
“So just continuing that process of renewal and improvement regularly and trying to do as much as we can each summer,” Klinedinst said.
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