In Thomas Jefferson's original architectural plans for the University, he complained that traditional schools that housed students, teachers, classrooms and dining halls under one roof were unattractive and likely to catch on fire. He suggested that faculty live in separate lodges, fitted out with classrooms and study space, that adjoin rows of students' rooms, creating what he called the Academical Village. Although fires are no longer as pressing of a concern, colleges are favoring this 19th-century approach as a way to foster relationships among students and professors in one integrated living space.
George Washington University is encouraging professors and family members to join students in residence halls, providing the incentive of free rent and additional funding to take students to dinner or hold programs.
"I've learned that students stay up a lot later than I do," said Jeffrey Sich, an associate professor who is currently living with 200 sophomore students in a dormitory. "I learned where to find ear plugs at CVS."
GWU has had its program in place for the past 12 years, and other universities have had them for the past few decades. Duke University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are two such schools, and since the 1970s, they have allowed faculty to live on campus among students.
Joe Gonzalez, associate dean of residence life at Duke University, said the arrangement could "engage students in conversation that they might not otherwise have" on a daily basis.
The University also has a similar program - one that was intended to start as early as the 1950s. "It has been a conscious part of U.Va.'s design from the beginning. McCormick residences were designed that way, which were built long before I was here," said John Evans, director of accommodations in the Housing Division.Faculty members did not actually live in those spaces until 1986, however.
Currently, nine professors are living in on-Grounds residential colleges, many with their family members.
Proponents of the program find that immersing professors in student dorms allows them to connect with students in a more intimate setting. "I do think that with the size of the University, it helps the students get to know faculty and for professors to get to know students out of the classroom setting," Evans said.
Asst. Art Prof. Eric Ramirez-Weaver is living in Tucker Hall, a part of the Brown Residential College, with his 14-month-old daughter and wife. "We just thought it would be a lot of fun, primarily because my wife and I are very social, and we just wanted to interact with the students."
Dennis Collins, director of housing at MIT, said the arrangement likely fosters a closer relationship among students and faculty.
"Faculty choose it because they want to become involved not just academically with their students, but also socially," Collins said. "They want to be a part of the other side"
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