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Frist a sure bet as new 'place to be' on campus
Ruth Stevens
He smiles widely. The director of the one-year-old center thinks the University's investment is paying off handsomely. And the numbers support his claim: • The average daily use at Frist is calculated to be between 10,000 and 12,000 people, with more than 6,000 daily cash/point transactions and many people making multiple visits. • The center last year scheduled, hosted and facilitated 9,687 events, programs, meetings and conferences.
• The center's Web site, where people can find everything from a list of events taking place there to instructions on how to reserve a room, is averaging 35,000 hits per week. "Frist is well on its way to becoming the new hub of activity and learning on campus," he says. "After the first year, we are established to a far greater degree than I even anticipated. I jokingly refer to 250 years of pent-up demand." Collaboration not competitionThe center opened its doors on Sept. 9, 2000, after six years of planning and construction. The idea for a campus center, however, had been discussed off and on for many years. One hurdle was that some at Princeton feared the center would divide rather than unite the campus. "When I came a year and a half ago, I was not new to the campus center business -- I have 30 years of experience -- but I was new to Princeton," says Breitman, who previously managed student centers at Rutgers and East Carolina universities. "I spent the first six months talking to people and trying to help different segments understand that this was a good thing. It was interesting because people were concerned that it was going to negatively impact their area or interest. I spent a lot of time talking to those people about how Frist could be seen as a place that could be a collaborator, a partner and not a competitor -- that Frist would add to rather than take away from the Princeton experience."
"Being the community center means not only furthering our own activities, but promoting the activities of others with the hope that people will come to the center, see what's happening here and elsewhere on campus and, as a result, go to those events," Breitman says. Last year, the center independently sponsored three activities that will take place again this year: an open house at the beginning of the year (see box on this page); a holiday open house in December; and Frist Fest in May. In addition, the center co-sponsored activities like a civility forum with the ombuds office, a karaoke night with Butler College, a Valentine dance with the Graduate Student Association, an international festival with the International Center and a dance performance with the South East Asian Students Association, among others. The nearly 10,000 events taking place at Frist last year were fairly evenly divided among various campus constituencies. About 27 percent were organized by students or student organizations, 33 percent by faculty or academic departments and 47 percent by staff or administrative units. The place to beOne of the most successful events the center's staff staged was in conjunction with the men's basketball team playing in the NCAA tournament in New Orleans against the University of North Carolina in March. Breitman and his staff decided to set up three rooms in which members of the campus community could watch the game on TV, and put out the word by e-mail. They didn't know what to expect, given that it was the first Friday night of spring break. "We had 2,400 people in the building!" Breitman says. "Students told me that they stayed here and delayed their break. It was electric. People sent me e-mails saying, 'This is what Frist should be -- a place where everybody could experience this together.' Who won or lost wasn't the point -- the point was that we got together as a community." Fred Hargadon, dean of admission, was one of those e-mailers. "I kept asking myself, 'What on earth did we do before there was Frist?'" he wrote in a message to president's cabinet members. "Last night was as good an example as I've seen of the great addition to this campus that the Frist center is, of its enormous potential, and of the thoughtful leadership that Paul is giving it." The Daily Princetonian had weighed in much earlier with its approval. In an Oct. 23, 2000, editorial, the student staffers praised Frist, writing, "It is everything the University said it would be and more. A place to eat, a place to study, a place to watch the Subway Series, a place to check e-mail, a place to hang out, a place to buy stamps, a place where you can charge everything to your account with one simple swipe. We are college students and we are impossible to please. We hate change, but we like Frist.... As everyone predicted, Frist has permanently changed the face of campus life." Breitman says that the best evidence of Frist's success is that it has become "the place to be." "A sort of a synergy is taking place," he says. "People are, because of the positive experience that they've had here, now thinking of new uses and purposes, and Frist is kind of the focal point. It's being ingrained in our community." He credits the relocation of the Orange Key Guide Service from Maclean House to Frist with positioning the center as the "front door" of the University. Campus tours begin and end at the Welcome Desk, where visitors can also peruse information about the University and the community. Breitman notes that he's had a lot of interest from the other Ivy League universities and various other institutions in the center. "We're all competing for the same students academically," he says. "What is becoming an additional important factor in many cases is the quality of life on campus as it relates to the students' concerns and parents' concerns. When students are not in class or studying, what else is there for them to do? What alternatives are there to alcohol?" Learning experiencesThe first year has not been without a few "learning experiences." Breitman says some clients weren't used to the center's full-service philosophy. "In the first couple of weeks, people would reserve space and, lo and behold, prior to the program, building services would show up with tables and chairs that people out of habit ordered," he says. "We own our own tables and chairs. We are a managed facility, and that whole concept of sitting down in the events office and telling us what you want to do and how you want to do it and for us to contact the custodians and for us to set up tables and chairs at no price and for us to contact catering for you and to facilitate that kind of program planning -- people didn't understand that." As a result of complaints about food prices, some adjustments were made, including the addition of lower-priced "daily specials." "Part of that problem was that we didn't do a good enough job of explaining to people that they were comparing apples and oranges," he says. "We raised the bar. The prices were higher, but the value was better." Several mechanisms have been put in place to ensure the center is responsive to the University community, Breitman says. Occupants of the building -- from the Frist staff to representatives of the special interest centers and academic departments housed in the building -- meet quarterly. Breitman also meets regularly with his staff as well as with the staff members from the departments with whom he has a "dotted line" reporting relationship, such as dining services, facilities and media services. He also seeks input from his 90-member student staff, which last year had a turnover of only one student. "When we talk about servicing a client, it is transparent who reports to whom," he says. "We're all trying to create a level of satisfaction with the underlying attitude that we want people to come back and feel they're part of Princeton." Feedback cards are available throughout the building on which users can provide suggestions and comments. Breitman says he received 30 to 40 cards each week during the academic year, and the staff responds personally to those who give their names. In addition, the staff has conducted focus group interviews with faculty, staff and students. The center also has a 15-member advisory board representing all University constituencies. Feedback has resulted in everything from changing billiard room policies to posting notices on rooms to let users know when the space is reserved and when it is open for spontaneous gatherings. "What we've learned is that we need to listen to our clients and find additional ways to do that," Breitman says. "We have learned that we need to continually look for new ways of meeting people's needs." "With Paul Breitman's leadership, breadth of experience and vision, the Frist Campus Center is not just a structure, but it has a 'soul,'" said Janet Dickerson, vice president for campus life. "He has worked closely with Stu Orefice, director of dining services, to be responsive to Frist customers' preferences. He is organized, and anticipates potential problems and works quietly to resolve them before they emerge. He and his talented staff, whom he had to hire within six months, are responsive, and reflect the mosaic of the community we serve." Breitman says the key to the center's success in the past year has been the support of the entire University community. He's hoping to maintain the momentum generated this past year into 2001-02. "This summer we've focused on the coming year and, now that people have expectations (which they didn't have last year), how can we continue to meet and exceed those expectations so that we don't have a sophomore slump?" he says. "How do we stay committed to moving forward? That's a challenge. By the amount of enthusiasm already registered this fall, we're confident we'll be able to do that." Dickerson added, "One challenge we now face is that Frist may not be large enough for all the functions and activities that yearn to be there. Also, many students have suggested that it should always be open 24 hours! These are delightful challenges, for just a year ago some people wondered whether it would attract enough users to be viable. What a year it has been!"
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