The four newest members of the faculty fellows program have settled into apartments alongside students in the South 40.
Courtesy photo
Six of eight faculty fellows converse following this year’s Convocation in August. From left to right are Anca Parvulescu, PhD, assistant professor of English and in the Interdisciplinary Project in the Humanities, both in Arts & Sciences; Erin McGlothlin, PhD, associate professor of Germanic languages and literatures in Arts & Sciences; Brian Carpenter, PhD, associate professor of psychology in Arts & Sciences; Ian MacMullen, PhD, assistant professor of political science in Arts & Sciences; Joseph Thompson, PhD, academic coordinator in African and African American studies in Arts & Sciences; and Margaret West, associate director of the John B. Ervin Scholars Program and assistant dean in the College of Arts & Sciences.
Since 1998, Washington University in St. Louis faculty members have been living among students for three-year stints with the goal of helping integrate academic and residential life.
The program emerged in response to the realization that there was a growing gap between professors and undergraduate students on college campuses. In addition, many faculty members wished to extend their interaction with students outside the academic realm.
This year’s new faculty fellows are:
- Brian Carpenter, PhD, associate professor of psychology in Arts & Sciences, in Thomas Eliot Residential College;
- Erin McGlothlin, PhD, associate professor of Germanic languages and literatures in Arts & Sciences, in Ruby/Umrath/South 40 Residential College;
- Anca Parvulescu, PhD, assistant professor of English and in the Interdisciplinary Project in the Humanities, both in Arts & Sciences, in Liggett/Koenig Residential College; and
- Margaret West, associate director of the John B. Ervin Scholars Program and assistant dean in the College of Arts & Sciences, in Wayman Crow Residential College.
The four faculty fellows join four others currently living in the South 40. They are: Lutz Koepnick, PhD, professor of German in Arts & Sciences, and Jana Harper, senior lecturer in book arts in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, in William Greenleaf Eliot Residential College; Joseph Thompson, PhD, academic coordinator in African and African American studies in Arts & Sciences, in Park/Mudd Residential College; and Ian MacMullen, PhD, assistant professor of political science in Arts & Sciences, in Brookings Residential College.
“Washington University students are incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to interact with such a dedicated, talented group of faculty fellows,” says Jill Stratton, associate dean of students and director of academic programs. “The eight fellows join 37 faculty associates who spend time with students in the residential colleges. I am grateful to our faculty partners for making the South Forty such a dynamic living-learning community.”
Carpenter previously served as a faculty associate in Rubelmann House, where he enjoyed interacting with students. He has many interesting plans for students this semester.
So far, he has accompanied residents to an outdoor performance of the Saint Louis Symphony on Art Hill in Forest Park and an evening tour of the Missouri Botanical Garden.
He is participating in intramural mixed doubles tennis and has plans for a euchre tournament in the residential college.
McGlothlin says she joined the program because she was impressed by the excitement and enthusiasm of the students.
“The students in Ruby/Umrath/South 40 are great,” she says. “I really love working with the RAs (resident advisors). They are interesting, helpful and enthusiastic.”
McGlothlin planned several events this fall, including apple picking, baking apple pies and a resident’s reading group of a novel by Francine Prose. Prose will be awarded with the third WUSTL International Humanities Prize Nov. 30 and reading group participants will have the opportunity to meet her at a reception.
Parvulescu became a faculty fellow because she wanted to experience what really goes on in students’ lives.
“I think a majority of student learning happens outside the classroom,” she says, “with peers as a function of the space they live in.”
Parvulescu already has held an open house in her apartment and plans to host a book launch, featuring her recently published book, Laughter: Notes on a Passion, which will provide another opportunity for students to learn about her and her work.
West hopes being a faculty fellow will allow her to act in a variety of roles, ranging from adviser to friend.
She plans to make her apartment a place where students can gather to share her love of cooking and baking. Also, West will continue to be a part of Crow Cakes, the monthly pancake study break, for Wayman Crow residents.
For more information on the faculty fellows program, visit reslife.wustl.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=160&Itemid=182.