The Office of the Provost and the Office of Student Affairs hosted an all-University retreat Friday at Newcomb Hall. The annual event consisted of a series of formal and informal engagements among students and faculty members.
This year, the retreat focused on improving the quality of student-faculty relations at the University. Pat Lampkin, vice president for student affairs, said this year's topic was suggested by Student Council President Darius Nabors.
According to Fourth-Year Trustees President Ross Baird, the retreat had diverse attendance. Students holding leadership positions were invited along with a selection of individuals representing a cross-section of student life at the University.
The retreat's planning group was composed of students from each of the University's schools, Lampkin said. This ensured what she called an "academically strong" group of interests at the retreat.
A document created in preparation for the event by the Office of the Provost references surveys of University alumni which show that the level of satisfaction with student-faculty interactions amongst "underrepresented groups,"-- such as black students -- is lower than that of other students in certain instances.
According to Lampkin, the retreat's planning group took these survey results into consideration. As a result, a range of students from all races and ethnicities participated in the retreat.
Baird confirmed the diversity of students at the retreat.
"Underrepresented groups were well represented," he said.
Students and faculty discussed how to increase opportunities for interaction both in and out of classroom.
Baird said the most significant out-of-class experience he had with his professors came from research he had done for an independent study program. The goal within his discussion group was to discover ways to provide these types of opportunities to more students, he added.
Participants also discussed the possibility of opening a residential college for students studying the arts. The idea stemmed from the University's Gateway to the Arts plan, which will eventually result in the creation of a new art museum and a performance hall.
According to Baird, most of the participants agreed that the University should preserve the "first-year experience," in which students are grouped at random instead of by subject interest, but noted that residential colleges do have their place at the University.
According to Lampkin, this year's retreat produced findings to be used later in the semester in the University's Quality Enhancement Program. This program was designed for an assessment of the University by the Southern Association of Colleges, the University's accrediting agency.
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