The professiors are moving in
A new trend encourages faculty to move into dorms
Jenna Mink
Issue date: 3/22/07 Section: News
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Picture this: you walk into the community bathroom of your dormitory to take a shower when you hear a familiar voice singing in the shower next to yours. Come to find out, that voice belongs to the guy down the hall, who happens to be your English professor.
Several colleges and universities are encouraging faculty to move into campus dormitories and Eastern is one of them.
"We are extremely interested in it," said Kenna Middleton, director of university housing. "We've actually really worked to increase the engagement of faculty in the halls."
It is enriching when faculty share an on-campus residence with students, because it can help students become more comfortable around their professors, she said.
"When you see them with their hair standing out and eating breakfast, or when you see them coming from Wal-Mart with 50 bags of groceries," Middleton said, "I think it very much humanizes what sometimes is a classroom setting where you don't always see different sides (of the professor)."
Eastern has experimented with faculty and residence halls. The first year Case Hall opened as the "first year experience hall", the university advertised for faculty residents, and an academic advisor moved into the hall.
And sometimes professors are asked to live in specific dorms based on the subjects they teach.
For example, some schools ask professors who teach general studies (such as English and history) to live in the first year experience halls.
And, while Eastern faculty members do not currently live in the residence halls, there is a program at Eastern that encourages faculty to interact with students in the dorms, according to Middleton.
The faculty and staff investors program allows faculty to come into the dorms and teach students different skills. For example, a professor who likes to knit might come into a hall and hold a knitting presentation, Middleton said.
Currently, an Eastern professor works with the hall directors of an outdoor recreation theme floor to plan programs for the residents on that floor.
Still, Middleton said getting faculty to move into the dorms is on Eastern's radar, but there are still some issues that need to be resolved.
One issue is faculty tends to stay in dorm apartments, and Eastern generally houses one apartment per resident hall, which goes to the hall director. The university cannot get rid of hall directors to make room for faculty, Middleton said.
And the university will have to advertise the available faculty housing.
Living in campus dormitories will most likely appeal to new faculty members who might need a place to stay or those who already rent an apartment, Middleton said.
But most faculty members do not stay in the residence halls for a long time. They generally stay a year or two, she said. "They live just like you live," Middleton said. "So when the (fire) alarm drops, they're out the door at three in the morning."
Reach Jenna at jenna_mink6@eku.edu
Several colleges and universities are encouraging faculty to move into campus dormitories and Eastern is one of them.
"We are extremely interested in it," said Kenna Middleton, director of university housing. "We've actually really worked to increase the engagement of faculty in the halls."
It is enriching when faculty share an on-campus residence with students, because it can help students become more comfortable around their professors, she said.
"When you see them with their hair standing out and eating breakfast, or when you see them coming from Wal-Mart with 50 bags of groceries," Middleton said, "I think it very much humanizes what sometimes is a classroom setting where you don't always see different sides (of the professor)."
Eastern has experimented with faculty and residence halls. The first year Case Hall opened as the "first year experience hall", the university advertised for faculty residents, and an academic advisor moved into the hall.
And sometimes professors are asked to live in specific dorms based on the subjects they teach.
For example, some schools ask professors who teach general studies (such as English and history) to live in the first year experience halls.
And, while Eastern faculty members do not currently live in the residence halls, there is a program at Eastern that encourages faculty to interact with students in the dorms, according to Middleton.
The faculty and staff investors program allows faculty to come into the dorms and teach students different skills. For example, a professor who likes to knit might come into a hall and hold a knitting presentation, Middleton said.
Currently, an Eastern professor works with the hall directors of an outdoor recreation theme floor to plan programs for the residents on that floor.
Still, Middleton said getting faculty to move into the dorms is on Eastern's radar, but there are still some issues that need to be resolved.
One issue is faculty tends to stay in dorm apartments, and Eastern generally houses one apartment per resident hall, which goes to the hall director. The university cannot get rid of hall directors to make room for faculty, Middleton said.
And the university will have to advertise the available faculty housing.
Living in campus dormitories will most likely appeal to new faculty members who might need a place to stay or those who already rent an apartment, Middleton said.
But most faculty members do not stay in the residence halls for a long time. They generally stay a year or two, she said. "They live just like you live," Middleton said. "So when the (fire) alarm drops, they're out the door at three in the morning."
Reach Jenna at jenna_mink6@eku.edu
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