Faculty members join students in residency

UNC Housing and Residence Life introduced a new program this academic year with faculty members living in residence halls.

The Faculty in Residence Program members are Mary Angeline, an English professor; Matt Birnbaum, assistant professor in higher education and student affairs leadership; Lyda Ellis, an instruction librarian and assistant professor of University Libraries; Diane Gaede, an associate professor in recreation and tourism; Lee Anne Peck, a journalism professor, and Gary Swanson, the Mildred Endowed Chairman in journalism.

According to the Housing and Residence handout, several of the goals of the faculty in residence program are to increase interaction outside of the classroom between students and faculty, to provide role models for the students and to showcase the approachable nature of the faculty.

There are currently six faculty members in residence. Four of the faculty members live on West Campus, and two of them live on Central Campus. Each of the members was selected through an application and hiring process that occurred before the fall semester began.

Each of these faculty members has become prominent parts of the residence hall community in which they live. All of them are expected to be involved in hall programming for about 10 hours each month. They also create programs for the students to participate in both on and off campus. Some of these activities have included movie nights, trips to Denver and weekly creative writing groups.

Birnbaum is the faculty in residence for Harrison Hall and said he enjoys the experience of living in a residence hall and being able to interact with students.

“I know that I get a deeper appreciation for the experience undergraduate students have, the issues they face and how they solve them,” Birnbaum said. “I learn as much as the students. This experience helps me to better understand undergraduate student culture.”