Due to smoke damage throughout Stockdale Center, the student dining at Monmouth College is expected to be closed for the rest of the semester.
President Clarence Wyatt thanked students for their patience and understanding in a letter to the campus community.
“Despite the disruption and inconvenience, we have much to be grateful for,” Wyatt said. “We are thankful that no one was injured, and that the damage, which could have been much more extensive, was limited.”
Firefighters were called to campus around 2 p.m. on Oct. 6 and found smoke billowing from the southwest corner of Stockdale Center.
The fire started in a dry goods storage area and was extinguished before it spread elsewhere in the building.
Firefighters are still investigating the cause, but they do not believe the fire was intentionally set.
Mellinger Commons in the Center for Science and Business is now serving as the main dining area, with alternate locations also being set up.
The college also plans to bring in food trucks, special desserts, pizza, and wings on a regular basis to feed the student body.
The college’s student mailroom and Office of Student Activities have also been relocated.
Wyatt said the campus has retained a mediation company to develop a timetable of the work that needs to be done before Stockdale Center can reopen.
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