Scheduled to move to Laws Hall after renovations there are completed, the department of comparative religion is sad to be leaving its home in Old Manse as soon as 2011.

"The relocation means a real shock for us because the Old Manse is a comfortable place to be," said Jim Hanges, associate professor of comparative religion. "It's served us well because it not only provides our faculty offices but we have a very nice seminar room here."

He added that graduate students also enjoy the space because their classes are usually held in the building and their offices are close by as well.

"It's in many ways become sort of an embodiment of the program," Hanges said. "It's become a space with which the students and faculty identify. This is our space on campus."

Lisa Poirier, a professor of comparative religion, agreed.

"It contributes to a real sense of community in the department," Poirier said.

Hanges explained the original purpose of Old Manse, built in 1852, was to house ministers. He said the Presbyterian Church owned the building and used it as the campus ministry building in the 1960s and 70s.

Old Manse was then purchased by Miami University and the department of comparative religion has been there ever since. Hanges, who attended Miami, served as a graduate assistant and has some strong ties to the building.

"There are some of us who have a pretty deep sentiment about this old place and we hate to see our department relocated," Hanges said.

He added that because of the building's central location on campus, he could see the university designating the property for another use.

"My guess is that whatever the plans are for this building also include probably the whole block," Hanges said.

Other departments which are to be located near the comparative religion department in Laws Hall are to include history and other humanities departments, according to Hanges.

Poirier, though not looking forward to the move, sees reason in the consolidation.

"I think there's a general push to consolidate the humanities into certain spaces on campus and this might be tied to it," Poirier said.

However, both Poirier and Hanges are concerned about student accessibility to professors. They both agreed that faculty needs large office spaces to store books and other research materials, and without this space, faculty will spend more time at home completing research, meaning less time in their offices.

"I will be in my office less. All my research materials have to be with me," Poirier said. "The study of religion is a textual field. Access to books is necessary to do my research."

Both Poirier and Hanges expressed concern for what exactly would be housed in Old Manse after the move.

Bob Keller, university architect and campus planner, said that he doesn't know specifically what will happen with Old Manse but the university has looked into using that block (at the corner of High Street and Talawanda) in its long-range housing plan.

"This is long range so we don't know when exactly it would be done," Keller said. "None of our plans, though, have included the removal of Old Manse."

Hanges, however, was concerned about which department would want to relocate to Old Manse.

"Departments have toured this building," Hanges said, citing the Honors department among several others. "They generally come away with a view that this building would not serve them well. We've been in the building as these people have toured the building."

Hanges said, speaking for himself and his colleagues, that the department has concern for spending the money to relocate when no other office has been interested in the building.

"If we're content to be here, why not just leave us here and save the thousands of dollars?" Hanges said.