Education, Civic & Community

University Department Moving in Boston and MetroWest

Faculty offices, graduate student desks, the department office, and seminar rooms moved by our crew. Lab contents stay with each PI and the school's EH&S team.

(774) 421-9389

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10 States Northeast Served

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Planning a University Department Move

A department move is usually a space decision made above the department: a new building opens, a floor is renovated, or the dean's office reassigns space. The department administrator then runs the move, and the job is personal in a way a central office move is not. Every faculty member has an office packed with years of books, journals, and papers, and opinions about where the shelves go. Graduate students have shared offices or desks. The department office has the files, the mailboxes, and the copier, and the seminar room hosts the weekly talk.

Most of the weight is books. Faculty pack their own offices, or the department arranges packing for anyone on sabbatical with their permission, and we move the boxes, shelving, desks, and file cabinets and set each office to a simple sketch the faculty member gives us. Labs are a separate job. Anything in a lab, from benches and instruments to chemicals and samples, belongs to the principal investigator and the school's EH&S team and their vendors, and the crew's work ends at the lab door. Campus facilities sets the dock times, service elevator bookings, and building access. Campus-wide and central-office moves are a different job, touched on in our education and civic overview.

Who usually signs off: Department administrator or operations lead, with the chair approving room assignments and campus facilities granting access
Timing that works: Between terms or in the summer, set by the department administrator around the teaching calendar and the campus dock and elevator bookings facilities assigns.

What typically moves

Faculty office books, journals, and bookcases Packed by faculty in small book boxes labeled by office and shelf, then reshelved in the new office if they ask.
Faculty desks, file cabinets, and chairs Set to each faculty member's sketch, since many have strong views on desk and shelf placement.
Graduate student offices and shared desks Tagged by desk number, with each student's boxes kept with their desk.
Department office files, mailboxes, and supply room Set first so the administrator and mail are working when faculty arrive.
Seminar room tables and chairs Moved and set before the department's next scheduled seminar or talk.
Department reading room or small library Boxed a shelf at a time and put back in the department's preferred sequence.

Access and scheduling

Campus facilities controls the dock, the service elevator, parking for the truck, and building access, so the department administrator books those first. Many departments move between terms or in the summer. If faculty are teaching or holding office hours on the same floor, we can schedule the crew for evenings or Saturdays at your request, so hallways stay quiet during classes. Some schools also ask for a crew list so facilities can issue temporary building access.

Departments at universities in Boston, Cambridge, and Worcester are often in older buildings with small elevators, narrow corridors, and offices up several flights, while newer buildings share docks with dining and research deliveries. Risk management at the school normally asks for our insurance certificate before the first load, and we send it on request.

Protection and handling

Book boxes are the heavy part, so they stay small, and dollies carry short stacks. Bookcases are emptied and moved upright, and adjustable shelves and pins are bagged with each case. Old plaster walls, wood floors, and narrow stairwells get pads and runners along the route.

Faculty papers, student records, and research files stay with the faculty and department office; we move sealed boxes and never sort them. Lab contents are never on our list. Faculty and department computers ride wrapped and are plugged in at their new desks, and campus IT activates network ports, phones, and printers. If a faculty member keeps a small reference collection on a wheeled cart, the cart travels loaded and strapped rather than being unpacked.

Who does what

Some of this job belongs to other trades. The written plan names each one.

Lab benches, instruments, chemicals, and samples: The principal investigator, the school's EH&S team, and lab-relocation vendors handle them.
Dock, service elevator, parking, and building access: Campus facilities books them and sets the rules for the move.
Network ports, phones, printers, and AV in seminar rooms: Campus IT and media services set them up.

Not part of our work

Moving anything inside a lab, including benches, instruments, chemicals, or samples.
Sorting or discarding faculty papers or research files.

Around Boston and MetroWest

University departments across Boston, Cambridge, and Worcester occupy buildings from every era, from old brick halls to new research buildings. Departments near Kendall Square, the Longwood area, and the Fenway often share buildings with labs, while humanities and social science departments are more often in older buildings with small elevators and many stairs.

The crew that shows up

Eastside Movers crew in the snow outside Massachusetts colonials in winter

University Department Moving FAQs

Another question? Call (774) 421-9389.

Who packs faculty offices full of books?

Usually the faculty themselves, in small book boxes labeled by office and shelf. For faculty on sabbatical or leave, the department can arrange packing with their permission. We move the boxes, bookcases, and desks, and can reshelve books in the new office on request.

How is a department move different from a lab move?

Completely separate. Anything in a lab, including benches, instruments, chemicals, and samples, belongs to the principal investigator and the school's EH&S team and their vendors. Our crew moves the office side: faculty offices, graduate desks, the department office, and seminar rooms.

Can a department move while classes are in session?

Sometimes, but between terms or summer is easier. If faculty are teaching nearby, the crew can come after classes end or on a weekend, by request, and keeps carts out of classroom corridors. The dock and elevator bookings that facilities hands out usually settle the question.

How do faculty get their offices set up the way they want?

Faculty hand us a rough drawing of where the desk, shelves, file cabinet, and chair should sit. We set the office to the sketch, and books can be reshelved by the labels on each box. If the new office is smaller, the faculty member decides what goes to storage or surplus.

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Tell us both addresses, the building rules you know about, and the dates you cannot move. We will send back a written plan and estimate.

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