Edna Andrews, Seymour Mauskopf and Barbara Wise, Duke University.
FOCUS Interdisciplinary Programs represent the most recent development of a long standing Duke academic culture of serious undergraduate teaching. Faculty at all ranks teach at all levels of undergraduate instruction and infuse their teaching with issues and perspectives of their cutting edge research. In recent decades at Duke and other research universities, interdisciplinary research has come to the fore often because research problems have necessitated the melding of multiple disciplinary approaches. In line with Duke's objective of fostering research informed undergraduate teaching, the FOCUS programs represent a concerted effort to bring interdisciplinary perspectives to bear on thematic programs for entering undergraduates. This program was cited as a "Seed of Change" in the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching's Boyer Report. We will first describe the nature and structure of our programs (a living and learning experience) and then, through discussion of selected examples, we shall detail how these interdisciplinary collaborations come about, and are developed into FOCUS programs. We will also share our consideration of the benefits that these interdisciplinary programs bring to their students, the university and their participating faculty.
Dr. Frances Arndt, University of North Carolina, Greensboro.
As new residential programs are launched yearly, we at the 28-year-old RC of UNCG have come to place special value on a strong sense of tradition. Though eager to discover new identities and ideas, undergraduate students are also much attracted to past activities and rituals that have evolved over years. They also enjoy launching their own, hoping that they will be important enough to repeat and become traditions. Reliving the past gives meaning to the present. Our presentation will describe the origin and function of several of the lasting RC traditions as a way of encouraging other conference participants to recognize their own.
Ted Brown & Ken Wolf, Murray State University.
This presentation describes a team-taught interdisciplinary first-year composition and world civilization class held at a residential college. An English professor and a history professor worked with the same group of students in a 3-hour block in order to link the content and goals of the two courses. The instructors will discuss how the course was arranged and taught, outline the strengths and weaknesses of the approach they used, and offer suggestions for other teachers trying similar ventures.
Dr. Vickie J. Claflin and Jillian Oshea, University of Maryland.
Gaining synergy from the living/learning environment at the University of Maryland enables honor students to develop teams and work on four year research projects connected with the Gemstone Program. This session focuses on the principles behind collaborative research conducted by undergraduate honor students and how the living/learning environment stimulates the development of the whole student. By means of dyads and discussion, participants will consider the intellectual, emotional, physical, spiritual and cultural development of gifted students making a connection between living/learning environments and student development.
Cynthia W. Clark, St. Lawrence University.
One of the challenges that comes with living-learning programs is to try and coordinate the work of student staff, student affairs professionals, and faculty for the benefit of the students in the program. When conflict happens within the living-learning community, this inter-disciplinary team must come together and perform interventions. The focus of this workshop will be to give participants an understanding of strategies for living-learning program interventions and the difficulties that may arise because of the special structure of the college team. This program will include case studies of interventions successfully used in the First-Year Program at St. Lawrence University.
Dr. John A. Doody and Kathleen J. Byrnes, Villanova University.
This program will highlight Villanova University's first year learning community program, The Villanova Experience, from an administrative and implementation point of view. The Villanova Experience builds on the interdisciplinary Core Humanities seminar which all freshmen are required to take and offers students the chance to enhance their first year experience through intellectual discourse on academic and life issues through a second weekly seminar program in the residence hall. Students share class time, build community in the residence hall, and form lasting relationships with peers, faculty, and student life professionals. The Villanova Experience provides students with the opportunity to become more active and engaged learners inside and outside of the classroom. Over the last two years we have learned much about faculty and student life working together. We have learned there are obstacles that arise when collaboration is attempted. We also have learned that we have common goals and that student learning can only be enhanced from our exploration and collaboration throughout the University to create the desired seamless learning environment for our students. This conference program will detail the creation of the Villanova Experience program and how the program is being collaboratively administered as it is growing. The program will also explore new types of learning communities that we are now experimenting with and will share some of our dreams for the future.
W. Keith Duffy, Leslie Bentley and Brett Holden, Bowling Green State University.
This session will be of particular interest to graduate students involved in living/learning communities. Due to inadequate faculty lines and funding, fledgling residential learning programs must often rely upon graduate students to realize educational goals. Because of this, some important questions arise: l) Should administrators expect full-time participation of graduate students in a residential college? Also, graduate students may be searching for full-time employment elsewhere after graduating. What impact does this have on "faculty consistency?" 2) What happens when immersion in a learning community disrupts degree attainment and career goals for a graduate student? Is there a realistic way for graduate students to balance the unique demands of participation within a residential setting and burgeoning scholarship? 3) Some programs promote themselves as providing accomplished, experienced teaching. What concerns might parents have when they learn that graduate students--some of whom may have more limited teaching experience--will be instructing their children?
Virginia M. Fichera, Jeffery A. Schneider and Arlen P. Speights, SUNY Oswego.
The world wide web presents opportunities that appear scarcely to have been exploited for residential education. As part of a new Global Living and Learning General Education Project, an interdisciplinary team from SUNY's LxC Select consortium is attempting to explore the collaborative potential of the Web as nexus of communication for residential education. The world wide web provides for multimedia/hypermedia experiences which support the implementation of curricular strategies based on Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Theory. The presenters (faculty from varied disciplines, members of the Languages Across the Curriculum Program at SUNY Oswego) will discuss the scope of the planned course and demonstrate the technological tools currently under development.
Albert Gardner, Katherine McAdams and Patricia Mielke, University of Maryland.
An interactive presentation on the College Park Scholars Program, a living/learning community begun in 1994 for selected students over the first two years of study at the University of Maryland at College Park. College Park Scholars features ten faculty-directed academic theme programs with shared courses, field experiences, internships and extracurricular educational and social activities, all with extensive faculty involvement.
Chris M. Golde and Aaron M. Brower, University of Wisconsin - Madison.
Last spring two faculty members taught a class for residential learning community students entitled "The College Experience as Revealed in Films." We met to watch movies about college life and discuss what these popular culture images reveal about public expectations of the college experience. Join us to watch some film clips, explore the issues raised in the class, and discuss how you can bring this program to your campus.
Doug Gruenewald Ph. D, Iowa State University.
The program will describe the reorganization of a Residence Life program at a Research I institution. Our new department mission ("...advance the academic mission of Iowa State University....") required the creation of an Academic Services unit, consisting of four staff members. The unit is the focal point of the student affairs division collaboration with the academic side of the university. The Academic Services staff work with a university learning communities steering committee, learning communities, academic support programs in the residence halls, and developed a Living/Learning/Leading model to focus Resident Assistant and Hall Director staff on the creation of an "academic culture" in the residence halls.
Doug Gruenewald, Iowa State University.
The Design Exchange is a partnership between the College of Design and the Department of Residence. The program was developed and grew following a "cold sales call" by the Department of Residence ("Have we got a deal for you."). The program evolved into a learning community for 25 male and 25 female first year design students clustered together on two residence hall floors. They were provided with: two live-in upper class peer mentors; their own design studio space in the basement of the residence hall; exclusive use of computers. By the nature of the curriculum most students had courses together. Additionally, faculty and staff from the College of Design and the peer mentors presented bi-weekly help sessions and organized field trips. Assessment results following the first year of the program will be shared.
Dr. Marylu Hill and Mark Doorley, University Villanova.
This program will offer a ground level view of the implementation process of the Villanova Experience program, a learning community for first year students at Villanova University, from the perspective of the faculty. The faculty presenters have participated in the faculty/student life teams who jointly plan connections between individual Core Humanities Seminars and the residential seminars. We will address specifically the benefits of collaboration between faculty and student life professionals and the resulting positive effects on student learning, particularly as the Villanova Experience bridges the gap between classroom discussions and the lived experience of the residence hall. Through the interconnection of the Core Humanities Seminar and the residential seminar, we, as faculty, are offered a unique opportunity to demonstrate to students that "academic" questions are never purely or solely academic but impact daily upon the "real-life" choices we all face every day. In addition, this workshop will include practical suggestions for team building between faculty and student life professionals as well as methods for extending academic discourse into the residence halls.
Mary L. Hummel, David Schoem and William Zeller, University of Michigan.
The University of Michigan recently completed a comprehensive multi-year process to design a framework of Living-Learning programs for first-year students. This presentation provides an overview of the proposal process and key components. These components include: neighborhoods designed to support academic success and enhance campus community, facility renovation designs to create academic space in residential facilities, the development of new living-learning programs, enhancement of existing programs, an assessment model, a small-class model and financial configurations. Discussion of the proposal process will focus on change strategies in a large public research university and relations between academic and student affairs.
Cecilia Infante and Carie Richard-Vinarcik, University of Michigan.
When students are as likely to join a living/learning program because it guarantees them a room in a specific residence hall as they are to join out of a desire for closer contact with faculty, then we need to reevaluate the efficacy of L/L communities today--especially at large research universities. This presentation will focus on four principal challenges faced as we endeavored to reinvigorate and reshape one of the oldest living/learning programs in the nation: 1 ) establishing an academic, interdisciplinary foundation for the program; 2) engaging faculty support and participation, given the tenure rewards system; 3) communicating across the cultural divide between student and academic affairs; 4) updating the facilities to meet contemporary classroom needs. Any current or prospective director of a living/learning community should receive useful materials and information for tackling the unique difficulties of running a residentially based educational program at a large research university.
Dr. Steve lance and Lisa Mongno, University of Central Arkansas.
This presentation focuses on one question: How can the composition classroom become a site inviting students to "Re-Invent the University," arising from Bartholomae's famous essay? The assignments examined are collaborative heuristics, involving classroom-associated activities that re-focus composition in a residential college. A model of the composition classroom as a center for exploration into the academic community will be given. The writing-across-the-curriculum assignments discussed cause students to integrate their views of academic life and communities, to interview professors outside of composition, and to generate a conversation between students, students and teachers, and teachers from many disciplines, all intended to "re-invent the university."
Dr. Valerie Lehr and Dr. Virginia Schwartz, St. Lawrence University.
The First-Year Program is a living/learning experience where students take a year-long credit bearing course and live together in a residential unit. As a result, the FYP relies heavily upon faculty involvement in both the academic and residential lives of students. This provides a multitude of problems: faculty who come into the program fall onto a continuum from those who want to teach, but not be involved with residential issues to those who tend to get overly involved in residential issues, to the degree that they want to work autonomously, that is without consulting with appropriate resources. In this presentation, we will discuss: (1) ways of motivating faculty to participate in such a program; (2) faculty development initiatives to prepare faculty to work in such a program, (3) structures and resources that help the program to run smoothly. Finally, we will talk about the ways that students respond to different levels of faculty involvement.
Cathy McHugh Engstom, Adrea Jaehnig and Hilton Hallock, Syracuse University.
This program examines various strategies, benefits, and challenges involved for residence life staff to work in collaboration with faculty and graduate students to design and implement assessment initiatives dedicated to residential learning programs. A concrete example of how a group of faculty, students, and staff are assessing the impact of the community standards model for student learning and development using Upcraft & Schuh's (1996) principles of assessment is provided.
W. Robert Midden, Tom Klein, Keith Duffy, Leslie Bentley, Brett Holden, Jack Nachbar, Catherine Zweig, Susan Prior, and Undergraduate Students, Bowling Green State University.
This will be a collaborative presentation involving students, staff and faculty describing the first year of a new residential college at Bowling Green State University. This program emphasizes collaboration among students (288), faculty (14) and staff (6) by having faculty present in offices in the residence hall, by having small classes (maximum 28 students), by faculty and student participation in a variety of extracurricular community-based activities, by use of active learning strategies in the classroom, and by involving students in all aspects of program design and implementation. The structure, operation and assessment of the program will be described.
W. Robert Midden, Bowling Green State University.
Many universities and colleges require all students to take some science courses in their undergraduate programs. These general education science courses are almost always devoted to a single discipline in science and teach the fundamental principles of that discipline. Students often complain that they don't understand how that knowledge will ever be useful to them. This presentation will describe a science course designed in collaboration with science reference librarians, for nonscience majors. This course helps students learn how to use library paper and electronic resources to investigate medical and science topics of their choice. Students also develop a set of specific criteria for deciding their confidence in the validity and reliability of science information from various sources. And they learn about the nature of science and how it is practiced.
Deborah Richie, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Mary Hummel, University of Michigan.
Collaboration between universities can help facilitate the growth and success of living/learning programs. The Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Residential Program at the University of Michigan and the Women in Math, Science and Engineering (WIMSE) Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign both strive to provide women with academic and social support within the residence hall. During the 1997-98 academic year both programs administered a survey developed by the Michigan staff. This presentation will provide participants with a brief description of both programs, the highlights of the findings from both surveys, and a discussion of the implications for practice.
Stephen J. Romanoff Ph. D. and Joseph Austin, University of Southern Maine.
Michael J. Mullett, University of Southern Maine (Gorham).
The first-two years of the Russell Scholars Program have been successful due in-part to the collaboration of learning community faculty/administrators and student affairs personnel. In this residential learning community, where faculty offices and classrooms are in the residence hall, collaboration was crucial in order to mitigate the initial confusion over issues of mission, jurisdiction, and disciplinary policy. Subsequently, student affairs came to regard the academic focus of the learning community to be key to the success of a residential program as much as the faculty regard the residential component to be fundamental to the success of the program's academic objectives.
Mary Ann Salotti Ph. D., California University of Pennsylvania.
This workshop explores the challenges and the positive outcomes associated with providing collaborative, educational programming in residence halls, using a Relationship Enhancement Workshop series as a foundation for our conversations. California University of Pennsylvania's experience stems from workshops which dealt with the dynamics of relationships between students, between students and faculty members, as well as residential staff and students. This participant model elicits reaction, including discussions of psychological, sociological and diversity issues, and explores solution-focused alternative thinking. Concomitantly, our team members (workshop co-facilitators) enhanced their own relationships as they developed and presented their campus workshops. Conference attendees selecting this workshop will be introduced to practical approaches to educational programming, which they may implement in their own learning/living environments.
Howard Schein, University of Illinois,Urbana-Champaign.
Ann Minnick, Michigan State University.
Students need an opportunity to share their Residential College and Living/Learning Center experiences with each other. This forum will provide a semi-structured environment to facilitate sharing on issues such as student involvement: in the life of the program, in the life of the center, in academic programming, and in co-curricular programming; getting all students involved in the program; co-curricular programs that work and that don't work...and why.....
Howard Schein, Deborah Richie and Alison Barber, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Ann Minnick, Michigan State University. Carl H. Ziegler, Indiana University Collins LLC.
Attendees of this session will explore the issue of academic programming (e.g., courses and academic support programs) in Residential Colleges and Living/Learning Programs. The co-sponsorship of RCs and LLCs by academic and student affairs units can prove to be both beneficial and problematic when addressing academic issues. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss the challenges and strategies facing various institutions, including their own. Issues will include philosophical and operational issues, the influence of student-centeredness on academic programming, funding, course and curriculum development, faculty involvement in instruction, and the influence of academic programming on the life of the students in the RC/LLC.
Cortney Antonson, American Association for Higher Education.
Institutions face a two-headed technology support service crisis--demand for services is outrunning budgets, and a shortage of qualified staff makes it difficult to fill existing support positions. One solution: a comprehensive program for training and utilizing students to provide technology support for students and staff. STA+ programs train undergraduates in both technology and consultation skills in order to help students and faculty integrate innovative computing applications in class work and research.
Jody Heckman, Ken Wigton and Easter Antisdel, Miami University.
Learning communities require collaboration from many facets of the university. Therefore, diverse techniques are required to market these communities. Assessing the impact of these programs is one way to demonstrate their effectiveness. In this session, participants will engage in an exploration of a wide range of assessment approaches that provide information to various constituents and will share samples of assessment ideas and results. Participants will leave with an understanding of the challenges and strategies facing various assessment methods.
David Schoem, University of Michigan.
This program is designed for conference participants seeking to develop a living learning program on their own campus. It will provide the "how to" of living learning programs, taking a sensible yet critical step-by-step approach to the issues facing every successful program. The program is also designed for those wishing to strengthen their existing programs by providing a careful analysis of issues facing programs and offering concrete suggestions for addressing difficult challenges.
Scott Seyforth and Christine M. Golde, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
What is it like starting a new residential college at a large, research university? Come join us in a discussion about the planning process, bridge-building across campus, beginning collaborative efforts, and the opening of a new residential learning program! We will share insights gleaned from the first year and discuss the politics of starting a new residential college at a large, decentralized research university. Faculty, staff and students will discuss their involvement in the project and engage the audience in discussion .
K. Cherie Sheridan, Barnard College.
Leadership development is a buzz word in student affairs, but what does it mean in the implementation? This interactive workshop is designed to provide you with a foundation of knowledge to begin new or expand upon existing leadership programs. We will examine the merits of integrating leadership education into our residential settings. Additionally, we will overview a diversity of leadership development programs, looking at how various formats thrive in different contexts. By exploring both the philosophical "whys" and the practical "how tos" of making leadership development a reality on our campuses, we will leave with concrete ideas about leadership development and how to make it happen!
Dr. Kay H. Smith and Dr. Gregory S. Blimling, Appalachian State College.
Ken Gallaugher AIA, Little and Associates, Architects Inc.
Watauga College, a residential college program at Appalachian State University which is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary this year, is currently involved in building a new residence hall/academic complex for the program. We, the faculty in Watauga College, are working closely in this effort with our Office of Student Development and the firm of Little & Associates, Architects, to assure that the needs of the students and the needs of the academic program are met. ln our presentation, we will describe the collaborative process by which we have examined models, set goals and are implementing those goals in the design and construction of this new living-learning complex.
Dr. Trudy Somers, Jerry Dieringer and David Mayhew, Towson University.
This session is a panel discussion of the Towson University Richmond Hall project to create a living-learning environment for the Honors College from inception to fruition. Topics include how to deal with the challenges of coordinating different university divisions (academic, student life, administration and finance) along with integrating various Honors spaces on campus. Discussion covers planning and construction phases and the pitfalls to be avoided. Some problems to be discussed will include accessibility, program control and space utilization, budget, and planning cycles. It is a presentation of collaboration in action.
Jerry A. Stark, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
The discussion of the need for a redefinition of the term "learning community" is placed in the context of a review of the historical experiences and outcomes of the University Learning Community Program at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh over the past decade. The term "learning community" is generally based upon a concept of student peer group. Based upon the experiences and outcomes of the University Learning Community Program, that definition should be expanded to include an organizational analysis of (1) the role of the faculty, (2) the place of the learning community itself within the organizational hierarchy and (3) the tendency toward bureaucratic routinization which all innovative programs must face.
Jerrold Stein and Jim Mackin, State University of New York at Stony Brook.
The Living Learning Center program at Stony Brook is a system of residential colleges that is coordinated jointly by Student Affairs and Academic Affairs faculty and staff. Eight Living Learning Centers, each with a unique interdisciplinary theme, offer courses taught in the residence halls and co-curricular activities that enhance the educational experience. The Living Learning Center program facilitates long-term professional relationships between students and the University faculty. These relationships usually develop in settings where students are engaged in active learning. Educational and social activities sponsored by the residence hall staff, particularly Resident Assistants, integrate the academic theme of the Living Learning Center and offer other opportunities for students and faculty to interact. Assessments of the Living Learning Center program, conducted jointly by Student Affairs and Academic Affairs administration, show that the program is successful in achieving many of the goals espoused by institutions of higher education. The program has been shown to improve overall student classroom performance and to increase student retention. Course evaluations indicate that students are more satisfied with and learn more in courses taught through the Living Learning Center program than in other University courses. A quality of life survey instrument shows that Living Learning Center students are much more satisfied with their overall residential experience and also reveals that they feel that their educational experience has been enhanced by their living experience more than other residents.
Jayme Millsap Stone, Michael L. Mathis, Lauren Weatherly and John Wilkerson, University of Central Arkansas.
The community of learners at Hughes Residential College (HRC) consists of faculty and students working together to expand academic, civil, and social interactions at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA). Formal and informal contact between faculty, first-year students, and student mentors have forged a sense of community and collegiality unmatched in Arkansas higher education. Hughes Residential College consists of a live-in, tenured faculty member, a hall director and college coordinator, twenty (20) faculty associates who teach general education core courses, fifty sophomore mentors, 180 first-year students, and an eighty pound golden retriever named Chi. Faculty will discuss various theoretical, methodological and practical aspects of designing and implementing a residential college program. Students will discuss their participation in HRC as first-year students and what made them return as sophomore mentors.
William J. Seller Ph.D. and Bradford Angelini, University of Michigan.
The resurgence of Residential Learning Programs have brought new types of demands on residence hall facilities. On most campuses, residence halls have typically been designed to provide space for supporting student life outside of the classroom, with little regard for complementing formal classroom instruction and/or for providing academic support services. This program will present a conceptual framework for the creation of viable academic and educational space in University Residence Halls - including classrooms, faculty offices, academic support service areas, libraries and computer labs. Potential institutional funding models will be presented as well.
Greg Ziebell, Patrick Call "PC", David Williams and Donna Swaim, The University of Arazona.
In keeping with the theme of this Sixth International Conference, this presentation is about faculty involvement in the residence halls and collaborative ventures between academic units and Residence Life. This program includes information about the Faculty Fellows and other student-faculty interaction efforts, and a variety of cooperative programs: residential Courses in Common; First-Year Colloquia; the Spanish Language Immersion Program (SLIP); the Women in Science, Engineering and Math academic floor; Library Information Literacy Assistants; the residence hall Tutor Program; and collaborative efforts with The Writing Center and The University Learning Center.
Dr. Bob Perkins, Alma College.
Regina Zmich M.A., Michigan State University.
While first-generation college students typically have the ability and desire to succeed, factors such as the quality of parental support, low self-esteem, high financial need, and a strong sense of being different often make it more difficult for them to adjust to a residential environment, seek help in a timely manner, and persist to graduation. Consequently, it is of little surprise that these students typically frequent community colleges, select "career-specific" majors, and demonstrate higher rates of attrition than students from college-educated families. This presentation will focus on methods for identifying first-generation college students, developing collaborative efforts between faculty, academic advisors, and student affairs professionals working with them, and designing programs to meet their particular educational and developmental needs.
Sandra Gregerman, University of Michigan.
This session will describe two programs to improve the success and retention of diverse students through the creation of learning communities. The Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program, a non-residential program, creates faculty-study research partnerships coupled with an intensive peer advising component. The 21st Century Program, a residential program, includes a "University 101" type seminar and subject mastery workshops involving collaborative learning. Both programs are conducting longitudinal research to measure their efficacy in improving retention and academic achievement of diverse students. The presentation will cover the history and rationale, program components and research methodology.
Dr. Steve Lance, University of Central Arkansas.
This presentation focuses on the use of e-mail to foster stronger composition skills in student writers as we create in the residential college a combined multiple class that synthesizes the strengths of the separate classes into an electronically unified whole. In the process, as residential composition students interact more and more through distribution-list exchanges, the familiar nature of the residential college becomes a useful asset as both the "academic" writing community and "social" student community consolidate into a close and flexible collaborative learning entity. This presentation will thus provide a representative survey of student e-mail selections that characterizes the presenter's response to the residential college challenge and demonstrates its beneficial effects on his writing students.
Ann Minnick, Geoff Wyatt, Sean Hyland, Stephanie Higdon and Catherine Chen, Michigan State University.
What is the essence of a residential college? Can students who are not in residence still be a part of a residential college? Is the nature of the community in a residential college different for those who are in residence than it is for those who are not? Will community be enhanced or diminished if residency is mandatory? These are the questions that James Madison College was forced to confront during the past year when a proposal to implement a second year of residency was put forward. This panel of presenters, who were involved in the Madison debate, will explore these questions with an eye toward defining the nature of a residential college.
C. Chad Argotsinger, University of Vermont
The Living/Learning Center at the University of Vermont offers students the opportunity to initiate and coordinate their own programs. Typically over half of the programs offered by the Living/Learning Center each year are student-designed programs. Current and past student program directors will explain the process of creating and running student-designed programs, including some of the challenges and rewards of their experiences. This session concludes with an open discussion about student leadership opportunities in the residential/educational setting.
Sue Dinitz, Jack Drake, Shirley Gedeon and Jean Kiedaisch, University of Vermont.
The FOCUS Program at the University of Vermont, a series of first-year seminars that are interdisciplinary, team-taught, and have a residential component, assumes that having students who are taking a course together and also live together will enhance their academic experience. In this presentation, one team of teachers discusses specific ways they successfully integrated their students' living and learning, while another team describes the factors that made this integration difficult. The audience will be invited to contribute their own ideas about how to successfully integrate a residential component into an academic course.
Tom Simone, University of Vermont.
The University of Vermont's Integrated Humanities Program is about to celebrate its 20th anniversary. A faculty member who has been involved with the program since its inception will discuss why this interdisciplinary course was, from its inception, located in the Living/Learning Center, and why the residential component was viewed as an integral part of the course. Student alumni of the program will also be present to share their thoughts on how the program contributed to their success.
Amy White and Scott Markland, Miami University.
When was the last time you reflected on your core values and theoretical constructs as they relate to your professional practice? What process do you utilize to reflect upon and refine your methods? This session will provide an opportunity for student affairs educators working in residential colleges and living/learning programs to spend time focusing on the art of praxis (what you do, and why) related to your respective communities. Using metaphor to guide our discussion, we will begin to uncover how values inform our practice, examine the process of refining our methods, and explore the multiple demands of working with students in our unique environments.
Al Filreis, Univeristy of Pennslyvanna.
Carl Reidel, conference keynote (luncheon)
President James Garfield once said of a Williams College Professor that, "the ideal college is Mark Hopkins on one end of a log and a student on the other." Reidel will stress the necessity to rebuild the collaborative relationship between students and faculty by removing the barriers of
discipline, major, and department through residential and field-based education; and to recognize the societal need for interdisciplinary generalists who can ask the right questions in an age of complexity and uncertainty.
Dr. Judith A.Ramaley, conference keynote