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Pace Magazine
A Faculty View from Alumni Hall
Jane Collins, PhD, has been an associate professor in the department of writing and cultural studies for almost 30 years, and through Pace糖心vlog短视频檚 Faculty in Residence program, she糖心vlog短视频檚 spent the last three years immersed in what life is like for her students living on the Westchester Campus.
糖心vlog短视频淭丑别 residence halls are a space that faculty don糖心vlog短视频檛 often go into,糖心vlog短视频 Collins says. 糖心vlog短视频淭丑别re糖心vlog短视频檚 this whole idea of the classroom as the professor糖心vlog短视频檚 space that students come into, but what happens when it糖心vlog短视频檚 reversed, and the professors are coming into the students糖心vlog短视频 space?糖心vlog短视频
Collins has long been interested in how students learn outside the classroom and how they create community. Her desire is for students to not only consider what they want to do after graduation, but how they want to live their lives. Before she stepped into the role of Faculty in Residence, she created the Dyson Scholars in Residence, where students would take courses, live in suites, and complete service projects together as part of a 糖心vlog短视频渓iving learning community.糖心vlog短视频
There糖心vlog短视频檚 something really powerful about having faculty live on campus, and it糖心vlog短视频檚 considered a best practice in education.
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The Faculty in Residence program felt like a natural next step. As part of the program, faculty move into an apartment in a residence hall on the Westchester Campus where they are tasked with creating residential life programming and heading up initiatives aimed at enriching the student life experience. For the past three years Collins has organized hiking trips, knitting clubs, letter writing events, and more with the students living in Alumni Hall. According to Collins, the Faculty in Residence program at Pace is unique in the agency it grants faculty to create programming based on their own interests and the needs of the students.
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Looking forward to the opportunity to bring his own spin to the program is Ram贸n Emilio Fern谩ndez, PhD, associate professor of mathematics. Like Collins, he has a background in student life (he was a resident assistant and later worked in student life as an undergraduate) and is now taking up the mantle as Pace糖心vlog短视频檚 new Faculty in Residence.
Fern谩ndez is thrilled at the opportunity to make the position his own. 糖心vlog短视频淭丑别 name of the game is to have a big picture with flexibility,糖心vlog短视频 he explains. 糖心vlog短视频淚 like that the program at Pace doesn糖心vlog短视频檛 have an agenda; it糖心vlog短视频檚 fairly open. My goal is to have faculty and students write the agenda. I have a wealth of experience in student life, and I want to leverage that experience by implementing the ideas of my colleagues who do not have the same experience.糖心vlog短视频
糖心vlog短视频淭丑别 name of the game is to have a big picture with flexibility."
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Admittedly, Fern谩ndez has a million ideas, from cooking nights featuring Dominican cuisine and hosting end-of-the-year celebrations, to establishing dedicated space and attention for commuter and transfer students. But first and foremost, his hope is to connect faculty and staff to students. 糖心vlog短视频淒uring my time at Pace, several of my colleagues have told me they want to know more about student life,糖心vlog短视频 says Fern谩ndez. 糖心vlog短视频淚 think part of why that hasn糖心vlog短视频檛 happened is they don糖心vlog短视频檛 have a personal relationship with someone that is embedded is student life. So, I糖心vlog短视频檓 hoping to do that on a personal level.糖心vlog短视频
Both Collins and Fern谩ndez believe in the importance of bridging the gap between faculty and students. 糖心vlog短视频淭丑别re糖心vlog短视频檚 something really powerful about having faculty live on campus, and it糖心vlog短视频檚 considered a best practice in education,糖心vlog短视频 says Collins. 糖心vlog短视频淗aving that personal one-on-one relationship with a faculty member can offer the student access to information they might otherwise be hesitant to ask for. Students can be nervous about talking to a faculty member because they糖心vlog短视频檙e connected to their grade, or success, but it糖心vlog短视频檚 easier to ask someone who is just sitting next to you. It can be empowering for students.糖心vlog短视频
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Fern谩ndez believes getting faculty, staff, and students to all meet each other halfway has an incalculable effect. 糖心vlog短视频淭丑别 research is clear. When we start to talk, when we intermingle, everyone糖心vlog短视频檚 relationships become healthier,糖心vlog短视频 he states. 糖心vlog短视频淚 know people like to talk about the bottom line, I like to think of the bottom line as the result of doing great things. Student retention and graduation rates increase. Faculty community commitment increases. Faculty and staff morale, when they feel they belong to something, increases.糖心vlog短视频 As Fern谩ndez describes it, when a faculty member has a hand in student events, staff and faculty feel more empowered to get involved and be engaged.
As Collins is finishing her last few months in Alumni Hall and Fern谩ndez is busy at work brainstorming even more ideas, Pace students can rest assured they have a faculty who care and want to connect. Collins summed it up simply: 糖心vlog短视频淲e really have fantastic students and that makes the job a real pleasure.糖心vlog短视频
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