All students are aware of the commuter parking situation that exists on the Quinnipiac University campus and the inability for students to find adequate parking in time to make it to class. However, little is known about the faculty parking situation at the university.
Students seem to know minimal amounts about faculty parking because they are more worried about their own dilemma.
“I don’t know much [about the situation], but I think the faculty has a hard time with parking only in actually getting into the lot [as a result of the line of students’ cars],” said Meredith Somers, a junior journalism major.
Professors seem to share in the mixed opinions of the students when it comes to the parking situation.
“Main campus parking can be a nightmare. I am the mercy of the parking gods when I arrive a few minutes before my first class is to start,” said Moira Malone, an adjunct professor in the drama department. “I was 25 minutes late to a class last semester once due to lack of parking in any of the lots.”
“Although I personally have never had a problem with parking, I have been told that parking on Tuesdays and Thursdays is horrible because of the many lab classes that go on during those days,” said Linda Danaher, an adjunct professor in the physical therapy department.
“Tuesday at about 12:30 is horrible,” said M.L. Ruinin, an adjunct professor in the physical therapy department and a co-worker of Danaher. Both professors park in the lot near Buckman Theater.
However, not all faculty members struggle to find places to park their vehicles on campus.
“I’ve been teaching for nine years and don’t feel the parking has changed much. I rarely have a problem with parking,” said Sue Gallagher, a full-time professor in the occupational therapy department.
Gallagher parks in the Quinnipiac Law School parking lot closest to Echlin Center.
Dean Joseph Woods of the health science department feels the same way. “I park in the law school lot and have never had any problems with parking,” he said.
Every faculty member seems to have a different parking experience, and many people are willing to give reasons why.
“It depends on which lot [the professors] park in, or what events are happening on campus,” said a security officer who asked to remain anonymous.
The officer also added that if faculty were to have any problems with parking (especially in the Buckman Theater lot), it would be due to students parking in the incorrect lots or spaces.
At the present time, no one at the university has an assigned parking space. When asked who would even be eligible for their own spot, the security officer said, “No one [would have an assigned parking spot] except, of course, President Lahey.”
Students are left to wonder if there is abundance or a lack of parking for faculty. If there are too many spots for faculty, this could mean that the university prioritizes its faculty over its students. While the faculty does help maintain the integrity of the university, the students are the ones who pay tuition.
“I’m going to be a senior next year, and I know I’ll probably hate the excess [faculty] parking that I can’t get to, [especially] while it just piles up with snow in the winter,” Somers said.
Even with the suggestion at an appropriate amount of faculty parking, there are still professors who disagree.
“The parking problem is an epidemic to all on the campus, not just faculty/staff and not just students,” Malone said.
It seems as though the faculty parking situation is a questionable area. If there is a problem with faculty parking, no members interviewed said that they have fought over a spot or had to stalk spot-holders down rows in order to obtain a spot.
It seems that while the faculty parking situation might be better than that of commuter students, it is still far from perfect.
