| Rubbing Elbows Faculty live with and teach students in residence halls 
From left, resident associates Justin Angotti and Becca Krichinsky with John Richardson and the cast and crew from My Celebrity Home
John Richardson remembers the butterflies in his stomach as resident assistants Justin Angotti and Becca Krichinsky led him, eyes closed, from his Anderson Hall apartment to the residence lounge. “Their faces were wreathed with special smiles, sort of like parents leading their children downstairs on Christmas morning,” the School of International Service (SIS) professor recalls; he knew something was up on that October morning. The students had given Anderson’s first-floor lounge a much-needed punch of personality, with help from the cast and crew of the Style Network’s My Celebrity Home makeover show. In September, Style Network had approached several D.C. area universities about a campus-themed special episode. The producers were won over by Angotti and Krichinsky’s proposal to remake the room to thank Richardson, who has lived in Anderson Hall weeknights for the past four years. With a $3,000 budget and Los Angeles hotspot Dolce as their inspiration, Angotti, Krichinsky, and six students who helped with painting, transformed the sterile room into a vibrant gathering spot. Gone are the landlord white walls, replaced with a bright apple green. Dozens of shimmering new throw pillows dot the room, and dramatic curtains mask a bare wall. The room’s focal point is a leather-topped table that can seat more than 20 students at Richardson’s frequent Sunday night dinners—more than twice the number he can entertain in his apartment. 
“The transformation was breathtaking. But even more moving was the expression on their faces,” Richardson says of Angotti and Krichinsky. “I could not have imagined a more moving acknowledgment of my four years living in Anderson Hall than this very special gift,” continues Richardson, who prepared a feast of Moroccan lamb and couscous for 30 students that very night. Richardson, who is the director of the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE), moved into Anderson in 2002 for a pilot faculty in residence program that he and Gail Hanson, vice president of campus life, were eager to try as a way of “tying residential life into the intellectual life of the university,” says Hanson. As faculty resident, part of Richardson’s job is to make life more pleasant for students. His fridge is stocked with Klondike ice cream bars, and his couch, a popular spot for conversations about everything from politics to literature, is inviting and well worn. A culinary enthusiast, Richardson also prepares dinner for students five to six times each semester, something he can now do more expansively in the “Dolce” lounge. After four years he’s acclimated to life in the residence halls. Like any new resident, though, Richardson says it took time to develop a true sense of belonging. “I was surprised at how difficult it was to get noticed, at first,” he recalls. “Moving on campus was a significant event for me, and I thought it would be a significant event for students, but it really wasn’t. It took some time, and it took me doing different kinds of things to be noticed.” That effort has become “one of the most valuable and rewarding experiences” of his career he says. “Several other faculty were intrigued by John’s adventure and have followed in his footsteps,” says Hanson. John Doolittle, School of Communication (SOC), lives in Hughes, while W. Joseph Campbell, also of SOC, maintains an office in McDowell. Patrick Jackson, SIS, moved into an office in Leonard last spring. 
His interest piqued by Richardson’s setup, Doolittle moved into Hughes in February 2006. He’s lived there weeknights for two semesters and has become “more confident and more comfortable” in the community. “I’ll go down in my robe in the morning and pick up a paper, and have a conversation with a student on my way back to my apartment,” chuckles the CTE associate director. “It’s a pretty good life.” “I think students appreciate that a faculty member is willing to spend time with them and wants to share their space,” he says. Campbell, who has maintained an office in McDowell for three years, has developed an appreciation for students’ dedication. He teaches two classes in the McDowell office and when not teaching spends time chatting with his neighbors. “Some days I will arrive very early in the morning, and students will be hard at work on the computers” in the small lab near his office. “It’s been a very enriching experience, because I’ve gained new insights into student life,” says Campbell. “I’ve learned that they take their role as student incredibly seriously; that’s very gratifying for me . . . to see.” The program has worked so well, says Hanson that the Nebraska Hall renovation will include a faculty apartment and a fifth faculty member will move into the renovated hall in the fall of 2007. As for the future she says, “We are still developing variations on the theme, and I hope we can preserve the experimental spirit of the program, achieve some diversity among resident faculty, and plan for succession.” —Adrienne Frank The episode of My Celebrity Home featuring AU was aired on the Style Network on December 13. |
