by Lauren Way (lway@gwu.edu)
The Faculty in Residence and Faculty Guide program at GW is a partnership between Academic Affairs and the Center for Student Engagement. The program has ten Faculty in Residence who live in apartments in the residence halls and welcome students into their homes, and ten Faculty Guides who facilitate educational and cultural development through community building in designated halls.
Faculty in Residence and Faculty Guides host programs, events, and have informal interactions with GW residential students and help foster a stronger sense of community and build relationships between students and faculty. Students are able to interact with faculty from disciplines that they may not have encountered yet, and they form individual relationships with faculty who become mentors, advisors, and resources for them throughout their time at GW.
Faculty in Residence and Faculty Guides work with the Resident Advisors, Residence Directors, and Area Coordinators in their communities to host activities in the residence halls, around GW’s campus, and in the DC Community. They tap into their unique networks to give students opportunities and experiences that they may not otherwise have. For example, Randi Kristensen, the Faculty in Residence for Thurston Hall, takes residents to NPR each semester to meet Bob Mondello, an arts and film critic and theater commentator for All Things Considered. Students go on an insider’s tour of the NPR building with Randi and Bob and learn about working at NPR and in public radio. Participants of this program and others like it are introduced to professionals in their chosen fields, learn about internship opportunities, meet future mentors, and lay the foundation for graduate school, law school, and their future careers.
In fall 2017, nearly half of all events were community-based. While events may have more than one categorization (a community event that also has an intellectual component, for example), the data demonstrates the central goal of the Faculty in Residence and Faculty Guide program: to give students and faculty members an opportunity to connect and build relationships outside of the classroom. Students experience further intellectual development, expand their network, and explore other fields and academic disciplines while building individual and community relationships in their residence halls.
Lauren Way is a Area Coordinator in Residential Engagement overseeing the Faculty in Residence and Faculty Guide program.
