Louisburg College Department of Housing and Residence Life is a featured program.
“Programming with Faculty in the Residence Hall” Faculty Fellows is one of the many co-departmental programming efforts at Louisburg College. The Department of Residence Life works with a few select faculty members to offer four programs in each individual residence hall through out the academic year.
The purpose of this programming effort is 1) for students to engage with faculty outside of the classroom, 2) for faculty to come into the residence halls, and 3) for residence life staff to work with the faculty members both in and out of the classroom.
Each faculty member is paired with a residence life staff member and tasked with implementing four engaging events in the residence hall, after hours. Each Faculty Fellow program is strategically planned to meet at least one of the five programming dimensions that make up our programming module [Social, Diversity, Academic, Community Outreach, and Health and Wellness]. The faculty and staff work together to plan and execute each of the four programs.
Below are the four sample programs that were implemented in one of the women’s residence halls:
Star Gazing and S’Mores
An English professor, an Astronomy professor, and a Community Director paired in early October to put on an astronomy infused night full of fun and new experiences for Louisburg College students. The program was focused around looking at the stars, identifying constellations, and engaging in social interactions between faculty, staff, and students outside of the classroom. Many students were given the opportunity to look at the stars through a telescope, ask one on one questions of faculty, and make s’mores for the first time ever!
This event was very successful as nearly 75 students attended. The women were actively engaged both academically and socially with faculty, staff, and their peers. Students were in awe of how much fun they could have and how much they could learn with a telescope pointed at the night sky.
Walk on the Wild Side
In line with the Health and Wellness dimension of the programming model, the women’s residence hall Faculty Fellow pair planned a hike to the De Hart Botanical Gardens in late October. Faculty, staff, and students went on a half mile hike through the gardens. Discussion was focused around both plant and wild life that could be found in the gardens, as well as proper hiking etiquette. Students were supplied with bottles of water, healthy snacks, and nature guidebooks to facilitate their experience. As the group made their way through the trails, they asked questions about what they saw along the way.
Students were very engaged in the experience and were eager to learn from both the faculty and staff. Many of the women identified this as the first time they had ever been on a hike, as well as the first time they had put their cell phones down for more than a few minutes.
GeoCapsule
The first Faculty Fellow program of the spring semester was focused on students leaving their legacy at Louisburg College. Current LC students gathered to write letters to future students. The women who participated brought small tokens to represent the memory of their time and experiences at the College. All of these items were gathered, sealed, and put into a GeoCapsule. The plan is for the GeoCapsule to be stored until spring of next year, when again this Faculty Fellow program will be hosted and students will have the chance to open up the letters written from women who came before them!
Go Fly a Kite
This Faculty Fellow program was focused around the social dimension of the programming model. Students joined their Community Director and an English professor for an afternoon of childhood fun! The faculty, staff, and students engaged in building kites, flying kites, and blowing bubbles. The faculty spearheaded this program because kite flying is a hobby of hers and she was ecstatic to share the science behind kite making and flying. Students used this afternoon program as a break from studying for finals and a means of relieving stress.
Reflection
The Faculty Fellow programming initiative at Louisburg College has success in that faculty, staff, and students actively engaged with one another outside of the classroom, and more specifically after hours and in the residence halls. Students reported more rewarding relationships with the faculty and staff, and the faculty and staff reported better rounded relationships with the students.
Submitted by Nicolette Stanfill, Community Director, Louisburg College