In February 2022, Arcadia University finalized a deal with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to purchase Bishop McDevitt High School in an effort to expand the campus footprint. The property, which includes over 18 acres of land, nearly 96,000 square feet of classroom space, as well as various athletic fields and parking lots, sold for $6.5 million last winter and is located just steps from Arcadia’s Oak Summit Apartments. In 2014 the university signed an agreement with Bishop McDevitt allowing Arcadia athletics teams to utilize the high school’s athletic facilities for at least the next 40 years. However, Bishop McDevitt closed its doors after the 2020-2021 school year, at which point the university saw the opportunity to expand its campus and took it. What Arcadia plans on doing with its new facilities has yet to be revealed, however rumors are swirling of using the high school for things like chemistry labs, physical therapy classrooms, and space for a potential division-three football team. However, $6.5 million is a large price to pay to expand campus when there are equally large and arguably more urgent projects that could be undertaken on Arcadia’s main campus.
Since acquiring the massive Oak Summit apartment complex, located adjacent to campus, a number of years ago, few renovations have been done to much of the building leaving it looking dull, dingy, and dated as well as presenting numerous and recurring issues for the university and it’s students. Personally, just this year my apartment in Oak Summit has had a plethora of issues that could be avoided with both more regular maintenance and renovation. First, upon move-in I found out my apartment had a Bee infestation lasting the first two weeks of the semester and which was never successfully exterminated. I’ve also had issues with an HVAC system that cools the apartment with varying degrees of success and leaks water into the laundry room every few days. There have also been issues with cloudy windows, leaky faucets, and a sliding door that doesn’t lock and rattles in the wind. I’m positive that similar issues are abundant in the aging complex, but there are also significant issues with the aesthetics of the complex. I understand that these are college apartments and aren’t necessarily expected to be luxurious, but furniture and fixtures that look like they’re from this century would make a huge difference.
I understand Arcadia’s drive to expand some of their most popular programs and athletics with the purchase of Bishop McDevitt, but are the students that this expansion attracts really going to want to live in a building that is constantly in need of maintenance and looks like it’s stuck in the 1970’s? Much of the same can be said about the dorms on campus. These buildings are old, and while they’re simpler to maintain and upgrade, still have their fair share of issues including, notably, instances of mold and rodents in the connected buildings. Even without those issues, simple renovations to the dorms could also become a great point of attraction to potential students.
Speaking of buildings that could use an upgrade, the most dated and unequipped classroom building on campus is undoubtedly Taylor Hall. Taylor, being one of the oldest academic buildings on campus, aside from Murphy and Spruance, has missed out on several opportunities for upgrades and renovations as buildings like Boyer and Brubaker-Easton have been built. Currently, Taylor Hall, which is known for being the building for education majors, presents much like a high school. Its long hallways lined with classrooms are dark and dingy. Its classrooms aren’t much different. Aside from being in need of a facelift, Taylor is also the only academic building to not have any central air conditioning, creating what must be a difficult learning environment during the beginning and end of an academic year.
Aside from extensively upgrading some existing campus facilities, another place that could have benefitted from the money that Arcadia spent on Bishop McDevitt is in club funding. While most clubs, who all receive their funding allotments from Student Government (SGO), don’t require exuberant amounts of money to fund their events for the year. There are some specific circumstances in which the student activity fee that all students pay just isn’t enough. Since last Spring, I’m sure most Arcadia students have heard about the Media and Communications department working to restart The Arc radio station on campus, of which there has been a huge interest in. While the university may make it sound like the radio station is operational, the actual story is quite different. One of the people who originally pitched in to help restart The Arc and was promised that the club would have $50,000 to buy new equipment and renovate the booth located in the dining complex. What he wound up receiving was $300 to buy a turntable and some paint. While he’s trying to get more funding this year to continue making improvements, right now I don’t think anyone would call The Arc operational.
Buying Bishop McDevitt was undoubtedly a great public relations opportunity for Arcadia. Additionally, owning land close to the rest of campus to expand the most popular programs and sports ventures at the university has the potential to boost student recruitment. However, it was also a major oversight by the university not to make meaningful changes on campus to systems and facilities that are constantly in use, not just for the existing student body, but to further cater to those students whom this campus expansion may attract.
Arcadia University expands campus footprint with purchase of former Bishop McDevitt High School
Arcadia and Bishop McDevitt Sign Long-Term Agreement for Facility Use, Academic Program
