CONVERSATIONS University of Missouri students assist at the D+D Farm Animal Sanctuary. PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI Living Learning from All Sides What makes a successful learning community? Depends on who is asking. The concept of the learning community goes by many different names depending on the campus. But regardless of their formal title, the idea of bringing the residential and academic experiences closer together has become a hallmark of campus housing. But how does one determine if a learning community is successful in its mission? The answer to that question may depend on what hat the asker is wearing. Whether the person sits on the front lines of student involvement or in a higher administrative position will impact the factors that they assess and what draws their attention. It's not that one necessarily is more "right" than the other, but different positions may certainly hold different priorities. The Talking Stick spoke with three campus housing professionals to better understand how these different KNOWLEDGE DOMAINS 58 in this article TALKING STICK By James A. Baumann viewpoints can complement each other to create a full 360ยบ view of a learning community and its role within a campus housing operation. Joining the Talking Stick for this conversation are Shana L. Warkentine Meyer, the vice president for student affairs at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph; Matthew Brown, director of housing and residential life at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater; and Tyler Page, an area coordinator for residential life at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Talking Stick: Please provide a brief description of the living-learning communities offered on your campus and your role with them. Matthew Brown: Oklahoma State has been offering living-learning communities for 15 years. They have evolved from numerous thematic communities to nine LLCs that are specifically connected to academic colleges and programs. The colleges of engineering, agricultural sciences, human sciences, and honors have specific buildings solely for students from their colleges. Within the College of Engineering building there are also options to participate in smaller communities that include a women in engineering and multicultural engineering program. Some of the smaller academic program-based communities include the Journalism and Broadcasting House and TEACH, which is a community for education majors. My role has largely been at the Resident Educational Services Develop learning outcomes and program goals for residential learning communities. Assess the effectiveness of residential learning communities.