Faculty Programs in Residential Communities of Campus Life were designed to enrich the lives of undergraduate residential students, as well as to provide opportunities for faculty to extend their Cornell experience beyond the classroom.

Faculty-led programs in the residence halls provide the opportunity to foster intellectual, personal, and career development for students. In each of our residential communities, faculty members collaborate with residence hall staff members to develop and implement a variety of programs that range from social and community-building activities to academic and intellectual discussions.

Goals for the program include the exchange of ideas, intellectual development, career exploration, fellowship, personal connections, and shared experiences.

Program Highlights/Benefits

• Offers unique opportunity for faculty to interact with students outside the classroom.
• Provides students with a familiar mentor-advisor close to home.
• Creates opportunities for collaboration among residential communities.
• Bridges formal academic training with personal growth opportunities.
• Helps to establish an atmosphere of diversity and acceptance.
• Provides faculty with programming experience outside classroom.
• Gives faculty insight into student perspective.
  

About the Program

The Faculty Programs in Residential Communities of Campus Life are designed to enhance and enrich the lives of undergraduate residential students. Faculty-led programs in the residence halls provide a wide range of opportunities to foster intellectual, personal, and career development for students. In each of our residential communities, faculty members collaborate with the residence hall staff members to develop and implement a variety of programs that range from social and community building activities to academic and intellectual discussions. Goals for the program include the exchange of ideas, intellectual development, career exploration, fellowship, personal connections, laughter, and shared experiences.

Program History

• The Faculty in Residence program was established in 1980 to enhance the personal growth and development of students and to nurture their intellectual interest through informal interactions with members of the faculty. Since its inception, there have been more than 50 Faculty in Residence, and there are currently 13 faculty members and their families living in apartments within our residence halls. They participate in residence hall programs, act as mentors and role models for students, share meals with students, and are members of the residential communities in which they live.
• The Faculty Fellows program was added in 1985 to increase the number of involved faculty members and to enhance the integration of students' academic and social lives. Each residence area and community center has its own Faculty Fellows, and there are more than 85 Faculty Fellows this year. On a weekly basis, Faculty Fellow activities might include eating dinner with students; making egg rolls; attending a theater production, concert, or lecture; playing soccer; hiking a gorge and talking about its geography; or facilitating a discussion about physics, biology, advising, or ethnic cleansing.
• Dining Discussion Faculty Fellows were added in 1996 to provide opportunities for topic-based discussion of issues, current events, cultures, and ideas. The Dining Discussion groups meet weekly in one of the dining halls and facilitate discussions about women's issues, gay culture, archaeology, Himalayan culture, Hebrew, architecture, the gulf between the sciences and the humanities, classics, human development, music, Asian American studies and issues, the psychology of creativity, Russian language and culture, and Near Eastern studies.

Program Purpose

The purpose of the Faculty Programs in Residential Communities is to enhance the personal growth and development of students by providing opportunities for informal interaction between faculty and students. Faculty members serve as mentors, teachers, and leaders in the residential communities. Faculty - student interaction in residence halls, Community Centers, and in the dining facilities will bridge formal academic programs and out of classroom learning and developmental activities for students.

The success of the faculty program results from the collaborative efforts of several areas of the university. The Faculty Programs in Residential Communities Committee is one such area that combines faculty, staff, and students in order to monitor the program efforts. Campus Life functional areas working on the faculty program include Residential Programs, Dining, Facilities, and Marketing and Support Services. Residential Programs specifically focuses on enriching the undergraduate on-campus living experience through various programs and opportunities.

Program Goals

• To encourage a collaborative partnership between the residence hall staff and the Faculty Fellow/ Faculty in Residence within each residential community. Identify common ground on which staff and faculty are able to serve together to provide program direction for each respective community. Moreover, create opportunities for staff and faculty to offer cross-programming activities for various residential complexes and Community Centers.
• To provide a structure in which the Residential Programs professional staff can work effectively with the Assistant Director for Faculty and Special Programs to foster consistent and purposeful faculty involvement in residential communities.
• To create opportunities for students to immerse themselves in a number of different educational and social program offerings during the academic year by having faculty and residence hall staffs develop programs that are relevant to students and enrich their academic experience at Cornell.
• To provide opportunities for Faculty in Residence and Faculty Fellows to collaborate on programming ideas.
• To provide an approach to training Residential Programs professional and student staff that will prepare them to assist in the facilitation and implementation of Faculty Programs in Residential Communities.
• To develop an orientation and training program for Faculty in Residence, Faculty Fellows, and Dining Discussion Faculty Fellows that will prepare them for their role.
• To attract faculty who have diverse academic backgrounds and interests that bring an added mix of programmatic opportunities.

For information about the programs, please contact:
Mimi Benjamin
Associate Director for Faculty Programs in Residential Communities
1501 Dickson Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
(607) 255-5533