When Dean of Residential Life Mary Turco thinks about the future of Dartmouth's residential life system, she envisions residence halls full of living, learning and socializing.
These plans came one step closer to fruition this spring with the release of the Committee on the First-Year Experience's report, which incorporates many of her ideas.
Her vision for the future of the College's residential system is based on the principle of greater continuity and stability in College housing.
Turco said she would like to have many different kinds of people involved in the residential-life system, like alumni, graduate students and faculty.
Having a faculty member live in or near each residential cluster would lead to more out-of-class interaction between students and faculty members, she said.
Dean of the College Lee Pelton, chair of the Committee on the First-Year Experience, said there are many benefits of involving faculty in residential life
"We have the opportunity to further sustain a community where students and faculty are interacting and having significant contact outside of the classroom," Pelton said.
Committee member John Strayer '96 said, "many students fear that faculty members will serve as some sort of overseer or parental figure, but the truth is that their presence will give freshmen the opportunity to jump right in and develop the culture of faculty-student interaction."
The committee recommended the creation of several all-freshman residential clusters, with faculty members living nearby and overseeing the intellectual and academic programming of the clusters.
Two years ago, the College brought graduate student advisors to live in a handful of clusters. The program will be evaluated this year and expanded to other clusters if the College thinks it was successful.
Turco said she foresees more alumni involvement in the College's housing system.
According to Turco, eight alumni classes already sponsor programs affiliated with residential halls. The Class of 1960 sponsors a Senior Scholars Program that awards money to undergraduates living in residence halls for the completion of senior honors theses.
Turco also said she sees the dormitories themselves changing.
She said she thinks in the future more students will want to live in different kinds of on-campus housing -- like academic affinity housing and quieter study dorms.
Turco also said she would like to see the College add new beds.
And, according to Provost Lee Bollinger, building a new residence hall is financially feasible.
"The College could afford over the next five to ten years to build additional dormitories," he said.
According to Turco, funding for her ideas will be provided by the college and possibly supplemented by money raised through alumni and other contributions.
Some of Turco's ideas are smaller things -- like some form of cable in dorm rooms, more dining options in residence halls and new staffing programs designed to complement the Undergraduate Advisors and Area Coordinators.
