Students typically meet with their professors in their offices
on campus. But sometimes students can meet with their professors in
their homes ““ the residence halls.
The Faculty-In-Residence program enables faculty and staff
members to live in residential hall apartments on the Hill.
“We want faculty to be parts of a larger university.
It’s very difficult for them to do that if they have to
commute for an hour or an hour and a half,” said Executive
Vice Chancellor Daniel Neuman.
The issue of faculty members commuting from distant locations
seems especially problematic for UCLA because it is located in an
area known for costly housing.
“Certainly being able to help faculty with the opportunity
of getting housing that’s closer to the University, which is
expensive, will enhance our competitiveness,” Neuman
said.
Another aspect of the FIR program that is attractive to
prospective faculty members is the resulting ability to interact
more with students.
“It mediates an interest to the university to have faculty
who really not only feel that they are here but that they can
actually practice being part of the university community,”
Neuman said.
To many faculty members, the chance to interact on a more
personal level with the students is more appealing than the chance
to live closer to campus.
“I thought it would be a great way to meet students. It
completes the idea of academic life, because you’re
interacting with students not just in the classroom, but in the
residence halls too,” said Atmospheric Sciences professor
Jeffrey Lew, who has been a Sproul Hall FIR for seven years.
History department professor Kevin Terraciano, who has been a
FIR for three years, thought the chance to live in the residence
halls was a golden opportunity since, though he had graduated from
UCLA, he had never lived in the residence halls.
“I love living here. … The community we have here with
faculty, staff and students all living together is really unique.
… I feel much more a part of the university community, and
there’s no better way to get to know the students,”
Terraciano said.
The university is interested in FIR programs not only because
they appeal to faculty members, but also because they help students
become more involved and academically successful, said Suzanne
Seplow, Office of Residential Life director.
FIRs are required to have a minimum of 12 contact hours a week
and must organize at least one program per quarter.
“It’s a little challenging sometimes because it gets
busy, and sometimes you have to disappear for days,”
Terraciano said.
FIRs also assist in programs and workshops and attend meetings
with residence hall staff members.
Being a FIR is not as much a separate job as it is an extension
of his teaching to the residence halls, Terraciano said.
He has held a number of academic programs in De Neve, including
workshops on study strategies and suggestions on what classes to
take. Terraciano has also brought in graduate counselors to give
students a chance to talk about academic matters.
In compensation for their work, FIRs receive free room and board
in a residence apartment, as well as a 19-meal dining plan.
“It’s a luxury for us, aside from space limitations.
We don’t have to worry about utility bills or plumbing
problems,” Terraciano said.
Space limitations can be an issue for a FIR, since residence
apartments in the high rises are limited to one-bedroom
residences.
“It is hard to attract faculty with one-bedroom
apartments, because even faculty without families want some office
space,” Seplow said.
To try to provide a solution for this demand for two-bedroom
apartments, the new high rises, Hedrick North, Rieber North and
Rieber West, will include two-bedroom apartments for the FIR.
“We want to get the most qualified faculty, and we
don’t want to be limited by space,” Seplow said.
Despite the space limitations, Terraciano, who lives in De Neve
with his wife and one-year-old daughter, feels the residence
apartments are a great place to raise a family.
“It’s a whole new dimension to the university.
It’s great for children to be able to make use of the
resources, and there’s always friendly young people,”
Terraciano said.
FIRs also express that living among students enables them to
incorporate their casual interactions with students in the
residence halls with their professional relationships with students
in the classroom.
“Having faculty in the residence halls breaks down the
stereotypes and boundaries about the faculty and makes them more
approachable. It also helps faculty understand what young students
are going through, and what are the real life issues they deal
with,” said Cheryl Sims, ORL assistant director of
programming services.
Through increased interactions with students, faculty members
say they have gained a better knowledge of what is important to
students and what they experience.
“I have learned a lot about students since living here,
and it has affected my abilities to relate to students in the
classroom. It has been a very positive influence and
experience,” Terraciano said.
However, although the faculty are more accessible to the
students, oftentimes students do not know that a faculty member is
living in their building.
To try to get to know the neighboring students, the FIRs hold
various activities and programs.
Lew is known in Sproul for his Mexican hot chocolate and
“cookie patrol,” which is when he hands out cookies to
students studying diligently for finals.
Different FIR members have differing personalities and outlooks
on what the FIR program is about. Whereas some faculty members
stress the importance of the academic university life, others, like
Lew, focus more on the entertaining aspect of learning.
“You should have fun while you’re at school.
It’s the ideal learning mode because you’re more
receptive to what you need to learn,” Lew said.
Terraciano also tries to incorporate academics with programs
entertaining for students.
“My programs are a combination of both. Through the fun
programs you can meet students. But it doesn’t really matter
what the program is, as long as you do it together,”
Terraciano said.
These programs with students sometimes lead to long-term
acquaintances, and many times students who no longer live on campus
return to visit faculty members they had become close with.
“There are a number of students that we still see on a
regular basis. They’re like old friends,” Lew said.
To become a FIR, faculty members go through an application and
interview process.
Initially FIR appointment is for three years. After which, if a
FIR wants to continue working in the program, they reapply
annually.
“We try to look for well-rounded members who have a desire
to interact with students and create an intellectual
community,” Sims said.
Most faculty who become FIRs are very appreciative of it and
often reapply to remain FIR.
“You get used to this life with the students and you
forget you’re aging because everyone’s always the same
age, since they’re all first-years and second-years.
It’d be hard to give that up,” Lew said.