East Wheelock is currently the only residential cluster on campus where professors live together with students. The faculty associate complements the Community Director, bringing a variety of programs to its residents.
Brison cited her interest in working with students as the main reason she wanted to live in East Wheelock.
"I really enjoy interacting with students outside the classroom," she said.
According to Dean of Residential Life Martin Redman, Brison was chosen from a pool of eight applicants because of her experience working with students.
"She and her family will undoubtedly continue the excellent tradition that has been established in making a difference in students' lives at Dartmouth," he said.
Brison, who also teaches in the Women's and Gender Studies program, is a faculty adviser to the women's hockey team, the Dartmouth Civil Liberties Union and Dartmouth Undergraduate Law Journal, a member of the Tucker Council and the Tucker Foundation's Hurricane Katrina Executive Committee, and an active participant in the college's Sexual Abuse Awareness Program.
She said she intends to draw on her areas of academic specialization, including philosophy of law, social and political philosophy, ethics and trauma theory in her role as faculty associate.
"There will be discussions about political and legal controversies such as conflicts of rights and hate speech," Brison said about future programs. "I am also interested in getting students to watch performing and sporting events, be it buying tickets en bloc to watch a Glee Club concert or a hockey game."
Brison said she is looking forward to moving out of the wilderness in Thetford to the buzz of Hanover.
"We will be moving from a place where we can't see our neighbors to a place surrounded by students, and my son will love that," she said.
Living next to students, however, is not without its problems. According to Schweitzer, noise is a concern with the perpetual construction on campus, as well as the parties thrown by Alpha Delta and Chi Heorot fraternities located next to the residential cluster.
"Students are free to make as much noise as they want during weekends, but I think it is ridiculous that registered parties can be held until 1 a.m. on weekdays," she said.
Brison said she did not believe that Wheelock's location would be an issue.
"I think I know what I'm getting into," she said. "I know students in Heorot and they're great guys."
Despite the noise, Schweitzer says she enjoyed living with the students and meeting with them in an informal setting.
"Students find being in the house special," Schweitzer said. "There is even a loyal group of 30 to 40 students who come over to watch 'The West Wing' every week for the past four years now."
Schweitzer and Luxon, who are married, are relinquishing their post so their children can live in a home with more privacy. They will complete their fifth year in residence at 13 East Wheelock St. and return to their home in Norwich, Vt. at the end of the academic year.
