The Office of Residential Life will greet the twenty-first century with a new, more modern and professional structure designed to enhance residential life programming and opportunities for student leadership within residence halls.
Wesleyan, Dartmouth, Amherst, Brown,
and Bowdoin have residential life systems that are comparable to the
new MHC structure, which will be implemented beginning in fall 2000.
Last week, Rochelle Calhoun, associate dean of the College, and
Elizabeth Hockmuth, director of residential life, met with head
residents, resident advisers, hall presidents, student advisers, hall
committee programming chairs, and members of the Student Government
Association Executive Board and Housing Advisory Board to announce
the new program.
Under the new plan, the campus will be
divided into four residential life areas, each containing four or
five residence halls. Supervising and supporting the residence halls
and student leaders within these groupings will be four full-time
professional staff members with student affairs backgrounds, each
working with the halls within one area and living in a residence
hall. In the first step toward the establishment of this system,
Charlene Waldron, who currently shares two half-time positions
(resident adviser and assistant director of residential life), will
be promoted to the full-time position of associate director of
residential life in fall 2000.
The new full-time positions, Waldron's
position and three assistant directors, will consolidate the present
structure of eight half-time head resident positions, each supporting
one residence hall, and four half-time resident adviser positions,
each supporting two halls. Nineteen employees currently share these
half-time positions, since some couples share one part-time position.
The College has been moving away from
the head resident model since 1997 - 98, when three resident adviser
positions replaced six head resident positions. One additional
resident adviser was added this summer. At present, nine residence
halls have resident advisers and eight have head residents. The head
resident and resident adviser apartments that will become available
as a result of the reorganization will become part of a new senior
housing program. Details about this program will be announced early
next year.
"The reorganization is a great way to
maximize the impact of the resources we have available," says Dean of
the College Beverly Tatum. "While we have had a talented group of
part-time head residents/resident advisers, most are primarily
focused on their graduate studies or other full-time employment,
which limits the energy they have available to focus on campus life.
The presence of four full-time staff members whose professional
interests and training are in residential life will enhance the
support available to our student advisers and hall presidents in
their roles as student leaders, as well as facilitate the development
of new cocurricular initiatives."
Each assistant director will oversee
four or five residence halls and supervise and evaluate the student
staff members who work in these halls. In addition, the assistant
directors will coordinate living/learning programs and will assist
with staff training, development, and recruitment. The assistant
directors will also support room lottery, the orientation program,
and other departmental initiatives. Waldron, as associate director,
will oversee four or five residence halls and will supervise and
evaluate the student staff who work in her halls. In addition, she
will act as the housing coordinator, overseeing room assignments, the
lottery, and room changes.
"I feel strongly that this
reorganization will revitalize the residential life program," says
Hockmuth. "The addition of full-time professional staff with student
affairs backgrounds will give us the opportunity to promote some
exciting initiatives within the residence halls. These staff members
will be placing all of their professional focus on MHC, which will
result in improved support for students and departmental
initiatives." Greater faculty involvement and artist-in-residence
programs are two areas that the office of residential life hopes to
focus on initially.
In addition to the benefits expected
from the addition of full-time staff members, the new structure will
broaden the responsibilities of hall presidents. "Hall presidents
will take on true individual responsibility for the operation and
supervision of their halls and student advisers with the support of a
full-time professional staff member," Hockmuth says. "The combination
of autonomy in the position and consistent support will provide an
invaluable leadership opportunity for these students."
The hall president will become the
chief administrator for her residence hall. She will supervise
student advisers, coordinate weekly staff meetings, assist with the
implementation of programming efforts, respond to student concerns,
and serve as an administrative liaison to the residential life office
and other College offices. The hall president will attend weekly
staff meetings with the associate/assistant director for her area. To
reflect the broader responsibilities of this position, the stipend
will increase from $1,200 to $1,650. An increase for student advisers
is also under consideration.
Calhoun and Hockmuth are planning
focus groups in February for MHC community members. These sessions
will provide an opportunity for questions and input regarding the
reorganization. An implementation team involving students will be
established at the beginning of second semester.
Students who are interested in being
part of the implementation team should send a brief letter of
interest by the beginning of the spring semester to Calhoun and
Hockmuth or can email them atrcalhoun@mtholyoke.edu and lhockmut@mtholyoke.edu respectively.
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