Since late September, staff and faculty members have been transitioning out of Mary Berry Hall due to black mold found within the building. 

According to Bret Mills, the vice president for business and finance for Simpson College, air quality testing was conducted this past summer due to moisture issues on the first and third floors. The initial results did not call for relocation of employees. Though after staff expressed concern early in the fall semester, testing was done again, which yielded different results.

“The new results revealed the presence of Stachybotrys, Aspergillus/Penicillium and Chaetomium. The spore count was at a level that might cause symptoms such as sneezing and coughing in people with allergies or sensitivities,” Mills said via email. 

According to the Cleveland Clinic, black mold is a fungus that thrives in warm, damp spaces containing copious amounts of cellulose, such as paper, drywall and wood. Symptoms of black mold exposure can include coughing, sneezing, congestion and worsening asthma symptoms for individuals with asthma. 

Nick Proctor, professor of history, is one of the faculty members who relocated, and described having to move as another task on his to-do list.

“My office is pretty full of books and files and things, most of which I don’t need access to, but that I sometimes do need access to,” Proctor said. “Yesterday, I went back to my office in Mary Berry like four times because there was something in there that I needed, so it’s just kind of a time suck.”

A professor who requested anonymity expressed concerns regarding being housed in Mary Berry and the “safe zones” in the building. 

“They found mold in the air, on surfaces and inside of things. From my perspective, even if a floor is deemed safe, it’s probably still lingering in some capacity. I didn’t want to take the risk,” the professor said. “I didn’t want to continue to stay where I was and then find out that I actually am being exposed.”
Relocated staff have not been given a timeline for when they can return to Mary Berry, and a lack of clear answers regarding the building’s future adds to the feeling of uncertainty among staff. 

“For me, the lack of communication, or ineffective communication is the biggest issue,” the anonymous professor said. “We’re all basically creating these potential theories or ideas in our heads, and I think that’s where the issues stem from. If we all had the same story and information, we would be potentially more unified, and the situation wouldn’t feel as murky as it does right now.”

Wesley McDowell, the flex undergraduate assistant (UGA) for the Speech and Debate team, spent significant time in Mary Berry before the team relocated to McNeill Hall and Wallace Hall. 

For McDowell, the loss of the Speech and Debate space in Mary Berry meant the loss of a third space used for productivity and social engagement with team members.

McDowell expressed frustrations with having to find different meeting spaces frequently as a UGA who holds weekly meetings at specific locations.

“Each of the Speech and Debate UGAs hold at least one hour long session in which they sit in one location, and team members can filter in and out and get help, practice their events and things like that,” McDowell said. “A really big part of that is knowing when and where your UGAs are going to be every week, and we’ve had to see a lot of moving around and shifting that location, which has definitely resulted in less attendance for those and a significant decrease in consistency for some of the new members.”

Between all of the unknowns and frustrations, there has been praise for the administration in their handling of the situation. Staff who were required to move to different buildings expressed gratitude for the smooth process and accommodations made for them. 

“Communication has been ​​as good as possible under the circumstances, because there are still a lot of unknowns,” Proctor said. “Most of the people who are housed in Mary Berry met with the President, so it’s not like the administration is inaccessible. I think, authentically, they did not have answers to a lot of the questions.”

Mary Berry remains accessible to staff and students at this time as administration continues to work with air quality specialists to establish the best course of action.