Over 20 professors applied to be one of six house professors in the new residential cluster system being implemented in 2016 as a part of the “Moving Dartmouth Forward” policy initiative, senior assistant dean of residential life and director of residential education Michael Wooten said.
The College’s goal is to announce the selected professors by the end of this month, interim Dean of the College Inge-Lise Ameer said.
Interested professors first wrote a letter of intent to Provost Carolyn Dever, in which they detailed a vision for their respective houses and their qualifications for the position. Professors are now undergoing an interview process — conducted by a committee comprised of faculty members, administrators and the Dean of the College — and the Provost will make the final decision, Wooten said. He would not further clarify who is on the committee.
Ameer said that the search committee is looking for a set of diverse professors from across the College and its graduate schools. She also said that professors who have a track record of engaging with students, such as by inviting students over to their house for dinner, prior to this initiative are preferred. In having a variety of professors living in houses, Wooten said more students will feel that they are being represented. These professors will serve as leaders and mentors for the students in their cluster, Ameer said.
“I think having professors integrated into the residential life of students, the after-five p.m. and after-classes life is so exciting,” Ameer said. “They are going to bring a level of engagement and intellectual creativity to the houses.”
Wooten said that the pool of professors who applied is strong, as the professors are already deeply involved with their students and are well regarded in their fields.
Once selected, the professors will go through training, which is still being developed, and prepare over the next year for the initiative.
Wooten said that the student advisory committee will be merged with the chosen faculty members in order to generate ideas for training and programming. A routine education will be established for the faculty members about what is the best way to improve what they are offering to students, Wooten said.
Because there were more applicants than spaces available, the College will likely create an affiliate program, Wooten said. Faculty members that cannot live in one of the houses but have an interest in the project may still be involved in the program and will attend events in the houses, Wooten said.
Biology professor Ryan Calsbeek applied to be a house professor. He said that he applied not only to help improve students’ experiences, but also because of the interaction that could exist between students and his wife and kids.
“I teach the [biology foreign study program] and my kids come with us to Costa Rica and interact with undergraduates there,” Calsbeek said. “We’ve gone to social gatherings at sorority houses or just been out to dinner with students and all of those experiences have been great for our kids and for our family as a whole.”
Calsbeek said that he feels the teaching he does on the FSP is his most influential because spending many hours with students in a non-classroom setting helps to breaks down teacher-student barriers.
If selected, Calsbeek said he would like to have a variety of activities for his students, including growing vegetables in the organic farm, taking cooking lessons and cooking a meal for low-income families who go to the Upper Valley Haven, an nonprofit organization that provides food, shelter and education to those in need.
Calsbeek also expressed interest in running athletic trainings and activities, culminating in a philanthropic 5K or 10K run.
The alternative social space for students will also help give them a long-term identity that will exist beyond Dartmouth, Calsbeek said.
