Despite the longstanding disputes between GW and Foggy Bottom residents, University and community officials said the Mount Vernon Campus enjoys good relations with its neighbors.

In Foggy Bottom, some residents have engaged in zoning battles and fought the University on almost all of its efforts to expand. But at Mount Vernon, located in the upscale Northwest neighborhood of Foxhall, opening campus events and facilities to the community has bred a mutually beneficial relationship.

“The philosophy that I have brought to my job is to open this campus up so that neighbors see it as a resource,” said Fred Siegel, who oversees Mount Vernon as an associate vice president.

Siegel and Alma Gates, a member of Mount Vernon’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission, cited the University’s decision to open GW’s playing fields to a local youth soccer league as an example of how it works with the neighborhood.

“I think there has been a great outreach made by Fred,” Gates said. “He’s included the neighbors in a lot of activities on campus. I can’t think of a situation where Fred has not considered a request made by the community.”

“We really reach out to the surrounding streets to let them know how we can do things for them and their kids,” Siegel said. “We want the neighbors to see us as a positive influence in their neighborhood, and we’ve accomplished this.”

The University invites local residents to events such as Sunday brunch and film festivals. It also grants residents access to the campus swimming pool and tennis courts, which are popular among community members, Gates said.

“One thing I credit the University for is making a constant effort to put on events and open them to the community,” said Bob Andrew, president of the Foxhall Community Citizens Association. “Not as many people take advantage of this as they should.”

Carole Al-Kahouaji, director of the Rock Creek International Primary Middle School, said that while her school, located near the campus, has little direct contact with the University, she sees it as a positive influence.

“We are an institution that supports education and students,” she said. “We were in support of them moving there and making it a vibrant campus, which they have.”

She added that when the school has approached the University to use or rent facilities, GW administrators have “always been very cordial.”

Andrew said he could not recall any problems occurring on campus that provoked community concerns. Mount Vernon’s liquor, drug and vandalism citations are proportionally lower compared to Foggy Bottom’s.

“I think if you look at problems that other campuses have, usually concerning drunkenness, there’s been none of that,” he said.

Mount Vernon has 460 residents, mostly freshman, in dorms clustered across its 26 acres of land. The campus is largely self-contained, so its lack of expansion into the community makes its relationship with residents more manageable than in Foggy Bottom.

Gates, however, said the relationship was not always positive, and that community members initially contested the establishment of the Mount Vernon Campus. In 1999, GW purchased the all-female Mount Vernon College and converted it into a second campus.

“Fred worked to make GW fit in here,” Gates said. “I just hope that the positive feeling that the community has will continue to grow because I think we are off to a good start and can continue with that momentum.”

Al-Kahouaji said community members were concerned about an increase in traffic when GW first moved to Mount Vernon.

“There are so many private schools in the area that people were worried about traffic issues because of buses and what-not,” she said. “But both the Mount Vernon Campus and (nearby schools) have done things to address that.”

Michael Akin, director of the Office of Foggy Bottom/West End Affairs, said the Foggy Bottom campus has been unable to engage in similar neighborly dialogue that can improve community interactions.

His newly created office has sought to better relations through the FRIENDS group, which holds regular meetings to discuss zoning and student behavior, among other things. But some residents have skeptically viewed the University’s overtures as half-measures designed to stifle dissent about its expansion into Foggy Bottom.

“From day one when GW moved into Mount Vernon they had a relationship with their neighbors that focused on open dialogue,” he said. “That relationship doesn’t exist here, and we are trying to change that.”