For Glenn M. MacDonald, participating in the University’s Faculty Associates Program is really about one thing: connecting with students in ways that aren’t always possible in the classroom.
“I just really enjoy the undergraduates,” said MacDonald, Ph.D., the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics & Strategy in the Olin School of Business. “They are smart, different and lots of fun. I truly enjoy interacting with them.”
The program, sponsored by the Office of Residential Life, started in 1997 in response to the realization that there was a growing gap between faculty members and undergraduate students. Many faculty members wanted to extend their interactions with students outside the academic realm.
Today, many campuses across the nation have well-developed faculty/student interaction programs, including Cornell, Stanford and Northwestern universities and the University of Michigan.
The WUSTL program began with six associates and has grown to 33, along with four faculty fellows, who are faculty members who live in apartments in residence halls. The need and interest continue to be great, and more volunteers are needed.
Faculty associates volunteer to work with resident advisers and a floor of about 50 first-year students in a residential college. Associates receive a credit on their meal card and a small expense budget for programs.
MacDonald, the faculty associate for the first floor of Koenig Residence Hall, said students truly value having a supportive adult around.
“When I’m on the South 40, I’m not really there as an official of the University,” he said. “I’m there in a much less structured role, which allows me to chat with students in a casual and friendly way.”
The program helps integrate faculty associates into the life of the floor by allowing them to share particular interests, both academic and extracurricular, with the residents.
Last fall, MacDonald organized a trip to The Pageant concert hall in University City with a group of residents to see the band Story of the Year. In April, he plans to take another group to see Steve Vai.
“I really just try to keep an eye out for the students,” he said. “I go over to the residence hall every Friday at 5 p.m. and wander around for an hour or so, checking into what’s happening. If I see an open door, I pop my head in and say hello.”
Faculty associates benefit by receiving informal feedback from students that allows everyone to feel more effective in the classroom. In addition, faculty help improve the undergraduate experience through their informal contacts with residents.
“There are only a few students on the floor whom I feel I don’t know at least reasonably well,” MacDonald said.
He feels the time commitment is more than worth it.
“It’s only an hour or so a week. That’s it,” he said. “And through that time, I’ve been able to develop relationships with these students that wouldn’t be possible just in a classroom setting.”
He said the program is about fostering better interaction between professors and students.
“That’s it; it’s not formal,” he said. “It’s not structured. Just spending a little time with the students really is the most important thing.”
Faculty interested in learning more about the Faculty Associates Program are invited to attend one of two breakfast meetings from 8-9 a.m. March 22-23 at Whittemore House. Interested faculty should make a reservation with Thomas Witholt at tbwitholt@wustl.edu.
A list of current faculty associates is online at reslife.wustl.edu/fac_info/associates.htm.
For questions about the program itself, call Jill Stratton, assistant dean of students, at 935-7576.