Its Time to Lock in, Taylor Gym

Taylor Gym is more than a fitness center. It sits at the heart of campus as a social spot for students to better themselves and build community.

When they’re not breaking a sweat from climbing up and down Lehigh’s campus, some students choose to carve out time for physical activity in between classes and work. 

Despite the prevalence of exercise on campus, Welch Fitness Center (Taylor Gym) hasn’t been renovated since 1995 and the equipment is too old to keep up with student demand.

It’s supposed to serve nearly 6,000 undergraduate students with only 10,000 square feet. 

We’re not the only who think we’re standing a little too close to our peers lifting free-weights.

Genna Albano, assistant director of fitness and campus recreation, shared similar thoughts. 

“The Welch Fitness center is not adequately sized for the population we serve,” she said.

That gap becomes clearer when Lehigh is placed next to its peers. With less than half of Lehigh’s enrollment, Lafayette College houses a 110,000-square-foot recreation center and a separate 6,600-square-foot fitness center.

Wake Forest University tells a comparable story.

With a smaller undergraduate population of around 5,600, the school’s fitness and recreation facility spans over 180,000 square feet, with 18,500 square feet dedicated specifically to cardio and weight equipment alone. 

Lehigh is a highly regarded institution with the resources to match. So why isn’t it meeting the standard set by schools with smaller enrollments?

Albano said staff have proposed expanding Taylor Gym before COVID-19, but university priorities have shifted elsewhere. She said she is not aware of a current strategic initiative to expand fitness facilities. 

In addition to limited space, the budget to update equipment isn’t sufficient. 

Albano said the department has faced numerous challenges trying to repair aging equipment with limited funds, and they have had to make difficult decisions about taking equipment offline permanently over the past two years.

After Student Affairs staff heard the athletic department’s concerns, they proposed an annual budgeted amount to the university for new equipment. 

Prior to this academic year, Campus Recreation did not receive annual wellness fee allocations. 

Albano said she is pleased that Lehigh recognized the need to support campus wellness by investing $100,000 annually to help improve and maintain fitness facilities and equipment, beginning with this current academic year. 

She said while this amount cannot support all needs at once, it will make a significant impact and improvement within the first year.

Until then, students and faculty are left feeling the shortfall.

Treadmills, among the most popular pieces of equipment, come with wait times at peak hours, especially in winter, when students don’t want to walk outside to get their steps in. 

Students stand behind the machines, staring down their peers, waiting and hoping someone will finish in time so they aren’t late to their next class. 

In 2020, 10 treadmills were built into Singleton, Hitch and Maida residence halls, but the fix does little for students who still have to make the trip across campus.

Some students have stopped waiting altogether, choosing to pay for memberships at outside gyms instead. 

Their frustration lines up with broader research: a study conducted by Fort Hays State University found that students who choose off-campus fitness facilities over their school’s gym most often cite crowding, facility size and outdated equipment as their top reasons for leaving.

Taylor Gym is supposed to be a place where students build community and better themselves. Instead, many are left waiting in line or walking out the door. 

Why hasn’t the university given Taylor Gym the attention it deserves and resources it needs? 

For now, that question goes unanswered.