Today I finished My Freshman Year, a book that recounts anthropology professor Rebekah Nathan’s research project that involved enrolling as a first year undergraduate student and living in a residence hall at her university. Next week I’m moving stuff into the student apartment building at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, and on July 1 I’ll start living there. While I won’t be a “student” who disguised her faculty identity like Nathan, I share her initial excitement to live among students again after a long time as a faculty member (15 years in Nathan’s case; 14 years for me). I’ll also be the “Dean in Residence” in the Exploration Living-Learning Community. Over the summer the Dean of Students, the Director of Residence Life, and I will determine my specific role for a sub-group of students who are interested in social science and education careers. My initial thoughts include: eating dinner once a week with these students, organizing a once a month movie night to discuss films with strong social science themes, and taking the students to once a month department open houses so they can explore specific majors in the social sciences and education. I welcome any additional ideas you have, readers!
I should note that I’ll really be the “Dean in Semi-Residence,” as the students will live in a traditional dormitory while I’ll be in the apartment complex next door. I have no qualms about going back to a dorm — my first year of college (1986-1987) and last year of graduate school (1998-1999) were in this type of building — but my wife vetoed that possibility, as she did not want to be running to a bathroom at the end of a hall in the middle of the night during visits. I guess that I would also get tired of that too. Two units in the apartment building are available for visiting faculty, so I’ll be in one of those.
I was the co-creator of a 2012-2013 University of Minnesota Living-Learning Community (LLC), Huntley House. I’ll miss these guys, but maybe I can call on them in the future to start a similar LLC at UW-P? I’m getting ahead of myself, though. Bring on the Exploration LLC students!
Comments 5
Patrick Troup — June 11, 2013
As an individual that has had the pleasure of working with Dean Jacobs, I am totally envious of the opportunity you, as students, have to interact with a dean. Walt and I spoke about him doing something similar with a living and learning community we created at the University of Minnesota. Seeing it actually come to fruition is wonderful to see. I implore you to get to know him and interact with him as much as possible. This is truly a unique opportunity. Good luck and enjoy!
Letta — June 14, 2013
I lived in a "focus"-driven college house; the University I attended basically owned a full street of old, three-story brownstones, and had outfitted them with a first floor apartment for a graduate student in the area of study and assigned undergrads to the buildings by that area of study. (This was a rough process; some areas of study didn't gain enough eager students for the focused housing, and so there were always a melange of students in practice.) I was in the classics house. We hosted a number of receptions with the faculty from related departments at the house, and those connections were invaluable. I liked both the formality of hosting professors in my "home" and the connections fostered by actually talking to my professors in a social setting. Sometimes we had more specific outings and whatnot, but the little reception/parties were really the highlight I remember; without a "thing" we were doing, the conversations were really wide-ranging and I got to learn about how my faculty mentors got into their careers and where their sometimes-winding career trajectories had taken them along the way. I suspect it helped a number of students see possibilities for their majors they hadn't expected; in fact, it's where some of my first editing clients asked if, well, I would be up for some editing work.
Walt Jacobs — June 14, 2013
Thanks Letta, I'll have to add student/faculty receptions to the list!
Letta Page — June 17, 2013
I forgot to add that it also revealed that our profs had the same sorts of funny speculative conversations about *us* that we did about them -- it was astounding, then, to find out that they wondered who among us was dating another student, etc.! Another chance to humanize your professors is always a good thing.
Walt Jacobs — June 17, 2013
Agreed. Hopefully we'll be able to put lots of people, places, and things into sharper contexts!