In terms of housing, there is Gonzaga for freshmen, Loyola for sophomores and townhouses for juniors: but could a residence hall for faculty be next?
Faculty housing is just one of many ideas that may become a reality as plans progress in the implementation of the second initiative of University President Fr. von Arx’s strategic plan: the integration of living and learning at the University.
“Anyone who has spent as much time as I have not only working at universities but also living in student residence halls, cannot help but be deeply concerned about the dissociation between living and learning in the lives of undergraduates today,” said von Arx in his inaugural address, when he first introduced his three-goal vision for the University.
This initiative’s focus is on implementing strategies to bridge gaps between what is learned inside the classroom and what is experienced outside of the classroom, according to Dean of Students Tom Pellegrino, who is chair of the committee assigned to undertake this task.
“The question is, what are students going to do with their 80 waking hours of spent outside of the classroom?” asked Pellegrino. “We want to find ways to make them more meaningful.”
“I would wish,” said von Arx in a speech at faculty retreat, “that [students] could understand that work hard/play hard is not the antimony that they think it is, but a mutually conditioning relationship!”
There are three components on which the committee is focusing to make this happen. First, the committee is looking at the current organizations and structures that provide opportunities to connect living and learning, and ways of incorporating more of an integrative approach to these and other facets of University life.
The second task focuses on assessing the physical changes on campus that could be made to foster for a more cohesive community living environment.
This includes looking at student living areas such as in the lounge in Loyola Residence Hall, where Pellegrino acknowledged that “pleasing aesthetics” can make a positive impact on student engagement.
The third task focuses on the curriculum, which has led this committee to work closely with the committee actively focusing on first initiative of integrating the core curriculum. Pellegrino said that these two areas are closely related and must be cohesively implemented so “students can make more sense of the overall integration.”
An important way this vision of integration of life and learning may materialize is via the restructuring of the FYE program in hopes that this mind-set will be instilled from the start of students’ college career, according to Pellegrino. Mentoring by students, faculty and staff will be another important component of this vision.
Changes in residence halls may also be made, including more student government in residence halls, theme housing, and even faculty housing.
Communications professor David Gudelunas thinks the initiative is admirable.
“The difference between someone’s ‘on time’ and their ‘off time’ isn’t nearly as much of a dichotomy as we might assume. Going out on a Friday night should mean something other than being a distraction,” said Gudelunas. “I hear from my students that they do talk about their courses outside of class, and I think that is something that we should encourage.”
FUSA President Hutchinson Williams ’08 agreed. “I think it’s a good idea.. This year, as a junior, I have found that everything really does seem to be linked. It is important to be able to make those connections.”
Some students, however, do not think the initiative is necessary on campus.
“I feel as though the college experience is more than just book learning, and I salute Father von Arx for recognizing this,” said Evan Berard ’07, “but I think that ‘out of class’ education lies in real life experiences, and efforts by the University to manufacture such experiences usually don’t have a significant effect on students.”
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