Co-ops Spark Little Faculty Interest

A poll taken to determine whether faculty members would buy University-built cooperative apartments has apparently failed to uncover substantial interest in the scheme.

Figures released this week by L. Gard Wiggins, administrative vice-president, showed that less than 17 per cent of the respondents designated a cooperative apartments as their first choice for a new residence. An additional 15 per cent said they would prefer a garden apartment.

Wiggins said that the results of the poll would be analyses and recommendations made to the Faculty within a month. The work is being done by the University Planning Office.

One thousand eight faculty members--about half of them on the Faculty of Arts and Sciences-responded to the survey. Professors and assistant and and associate professors comprised about 40 per cent of the participants.

Over 46 per cent of those polls said they were dissatisfied with their present accommodations. Reasons given included lack of room (22 per cent), excessive distance from Harvard (18 per cent), excessive cost (18 per cent), lack of privacy (11 per cent), lack of public transportation (11 per cent), and poor neighborhoods (8 per cent).

When they were asked what sort of new accommodations they would like, however, over 49 per cent said they wanted a single-family dwelling. A two family house was the least popular choice, with only 4 per cent of the responses.

In explaining their preferences, 44 per cent of the faculty members cited privacy as the deciding factor, and 21 per cent mentioned a desire for a garden area. Another 11 per cent said they wanted more space, and nine per cent said they were motivated by considerable of economy.

Of those who lived in one or two story houses, the poll showed, 54 per cent owned their own homes. The average price of houses was $30,000, and more of them were bought between 1950 and 1959 than during the past years.

The survey also indicated--based on an analysis of a small sample of replies--that most faculty members who owned automobiles had only one car, but that 4.5 per cent had more than two. About 47 per cent of the faculty members said they lived within 15 minutes of where they worked.