Academia reaches out to students through Facult

Friday, November 22, 1996

FACULTY:

Participants create evening seminars, adding to dorms’
benefitsBy Carol McKay

Daily Bruin Contributor

Traci Mann’s living situation is interesting, to say the
least.

"For us," she said, "the weirdest thing is explaining it to
other grown-ups. They always react funny, like ‘you’re living
where? On purpose?’"

As a participant of the Faculty-in-Residence (FIR) program in
Hedrick Hall, Mann lives near students, eats in the dining
facilities and hangs out in the dorms with her husband Steve Engle,
also a FIR.

"It’s probably less weird for us (than other FIRs) because we
don’t stand out that much," she said.

At 28, Mann probably doesn’t appear to be a faculty member to
the students living in the dorms. She says that because she and her
husband are not much older than the students and because their
apartment is isolated in the basement of Hedrick, interaction with
students is limited.

"In a sense, we’re living in a fishbowl," she said.

Although few faculty members apply for positions as FIRs,
according to Mann, the interview process was " … grueling. They
were evaluating us as people, not as employees."

Now that Mann is a FIR, she says it is difficult to get students
to utilize the services which she and her husband hope to
provide.

"There is never a random knock on the door. It seems like we
need to invite people formally," said Mann, who is a researcher in
psychology. Workshops Mann has presented include topics covering
HIV prevention and media images of women.

Being a FIR is a big commitment, Mann said. Most meetings and
activities take place in the evenings, often three nights a week.
FIRs are required to initiate and implement one program per
quarter, and according to Rick Murray, the residential director of
Rieber Hall, they are expected to have a minimum of 12 contact
hours per week with students.

Dr. Chand Viswanathan, a FIR at Delta Terrace who has presented
workshops on women in academia, said the three-year commitment is
worth the result.

"(The program) really helps students to discover that faculty
members are human beings who they can approach and solicit.

"Students gain experience in approaching and relating to faculty
members on an individual basis that they can’t get in class or on
campus," said Viswanathan, a professor of electrical engineering
and the vice chair of the Academic Senate.

Murray also feels the program brings education to a more
personal level.

"Students who utilize the faculty in our program often come away
having a more personalized educational experience at a university
where numbers are the norm," Murray said.

However, he would like to see more FIR positions created.
"Thirteen faculty for 6,200 students is not a great ratio," Murray
said.

Students who work with faculty members in residence hall
government find their services useful.

"They’re helpful and enthusiastic," said Darren Lepke, a
first-year physiological sciences student. As a program assistant
for Dykstra Hall, Lepke found talking to FIRs much easier than he
had expected.

Lepke, who organized a workshop on leadership skills, invited
atmospheric sciences lecturer Jeffrey Lew, the FIR at Sproul Hall,
to speak.

"He was awesome. He’s a big ‘Star Trek’ fan, and he related a
lot of his stories to the show," Lepke said.

Like Mann, Lew lives with his spouse in the dorm, and sees his
role in the program as a sort of counselor.

"I’m here to help develop programs, facilitate academic and
social progress, to form a bridge between residents and faculty,"
Lew said. "I’m just a resident, but I think the students kind of
set me off as somebody different. I want them to see me as their
neighbor."

Lew hosts discussions each week on leadership skills,
incorporating themes from episodes of "Star Trek." He said that
usually about half a dozen students attend.

"It’s hard to get students to come," Mann said of the numbers of
participants at most residence hall programs.

"They have tons of other stuff to do ­ studying, working,
having fun. Students are busy," she said.

Some students may expect that living across the hall from a FIR
would cause strain on their social lives.

"It’s not really a big deal," said Katie Donnelly, a first-year
communications studies student. "At first, we thought it would be
really weird and that we would have to be careful about noise, but
I hardly ever see her."

Donnelly said she has hosted parties with loud music and has
never been asked to be quiet by anyone.

FIRs typically have larger, furnished "apartments" in the dorms
and are blessed with personal bathrooms. However, Viswanathan is
one FIR who lives in an off-campus apartment.

"My dorm room was flooded, so I never moved in," he said of his
assigned room in Delta Terrace. Last year, as a FIR at Hershey
Hall, Viswanathan also did not live on campus.

"I want to live (on campus), but I haven’t been able to," he
said.

Despite living off campus, Viswanathan spends a lot of time with
students, and the connection he forms with them is evident in his
office. A large vertical banner is hung on the wall, colorfully
reading, "Happy Birthday, Dr. Vis." His long, often incorrectly
pronounced name is affectionately shortened by students.

At Hershey Hall, he formed connections which are still
strong.

"I really enjoyed my experience at Hershey. There were a number
of wonderful people, all beautiful in spirit," Viswanathan
said.

KRIS FALLON

FIR participants Allison and Jeffrey Lew bond with students.