The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 40, No. 2 & Volume 41, No. 1 - 55

A Phenomenological Study of Faculty-in-Residence

kind to each other, beyond the realm of everyday kindness. One faculty member shared his
experience:
We were there during . . . a snowstorm . . .
and students just went out and did what
they could. They . . . helped clear this snow.
I remember seeing a student on this ice and
this snow [using a] wheelchair trying to get
through. He was just having a hard time.
Another student comes [from] behind him
and just takes him where he needs to go. . . .
We would see these acts of kindness there
that really touched our lives for the better.
In this case, students cleared the sidewalk
during a winter storm and helped someone in
a wheelchair navigate across the ice and snow,
demonstrating that they are willing to engage
in their society based on their knowledge and
emotions, just as the faculty do in the FIR
program.
The faculty also experience student culture,
another intangible beneﬁt of the program. As
part of the student culture, the faculty engage
with students in the residence halls and dining
halls and through community service. This
involvement enables the faculty member and
students to better understand each other's life
experiences and help some faculty understand
that the student culture is caring and human,
as one faculty member eventually learned:
I was absolutely terriﬁed of students and, um,
thought I was just way too nerdy and way too
square and way too old, and that they would
hate me. I was sure that they would hate me;
and, in moving into the dorms at that same
time, just spending time with students and
seeing what they care about and what their
lives are like and that they're really human
and they're not just you know perfect, cool
teenagers.

As this faculty member explains, by more
thoroughly understanding residence hall students, faculty are better able to relate to all students, and their classroom interactions with
students improve with this more comprehensive understanding of students' complex lives.
These faculty are less likely to see students as
a monolithic group and more easily able to see
them as fully human with individual needs
and issues.
Further, the social status of faculty-in-residence on campus grew not only with students,
but also within the university's administration.
Faculty-in-residence attend special events and
utilize priority seating, placing the program in
public view and emphasizing the institution's
support of it. Such social circles enable faculty
to expand their campus networks and enrich
their campus experiences.

Transitions. Although faculty experience
an increase in social status while a part of the
FIR program, they must make the transition to
life on campus, much like a ﬁrst-year student
transitioning to life in a residence hall. In the
case of faculty, we refer to this as the "ﬁrst
year of transition" to life in the residence hall.
One faculty member explained his transition
this way:
We were overwhelmed. As much as we
wanted to do it, I'll tell you we were scared
to death. . . . We did not think we were up to
the task and I remember my wife, as soon
as we moved in, she looked at me and she
goes, "You know, we don't deserve to be
here." And I said, you know, "You're probably
right". . . . They were the biggest expectations
that we put on ourselves, and we knew what
the program entailed and we wanted to give
it our all.

The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 40, No. 2 & Volume 41, No. 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 40, No. 2 & Volume 41, No. 1