House model: an update

In Fall 2012 Duke will be debuting a new residential system, which we are calling the “Duke house” model. A committee of undergraduate students, administrators and faculty members has been working on this concept for close to two years. Though our work continues, we are now far enough along to begin to explain the principles and design of our new residential system.

First, the principles: When Duke students talk about their residential experience, most point to East Campus as a highlight. They extol the sense of community on East, the diversity and the friendly and open environment. Though students enjoy the convenience and independence of West and Central campuses, they often remain connected to their initial identity as residents of their East Campus houses. We want to extend that sense of community to the upperclass years. We‘ve also noted fundamental inequities in the residential experience between students affiliated with selective living groups (SLGs, including both fraternities and non-fraternal groups) as compared to the experience of independent students. The former enjoy predictability and stability; they can return to their SLG year after year with the same group of people. The latter—independent students—typically move from year to year, which disrupts community and does not foster a sense of belonging. The Duke house model will offer the same privileges and amenities to all students, whether or not they affiliate with an SLG.

After two years of hard work, we have developed the framework of a system that will promote equity and increase community. It starts with the Duke house: small communities (they average in the 40 to 60 resident range) on West and Central campuses. We scrutinized the blueprints to create individual houses: a vertical or horizontal collection of rooms, depending on the architecture, each with a dedicated common room. There will be 49 such houses on West, and up to 23 on Central (though we may decide not to use all of Central for the house model). After spending their first year on East Campus, sophomores will move to a house on West or Central, where they will be welcomed by the juniors and seniors already living there. Blocking will not disappear, but block size will diminish to four to six people in order to ensure diverse membership in the houses. Once residents of a house, students may stay there until graduation. If they choose to study abroad, we cannot guarantee their return to their own house, though we will try. Allowing for study abroad and seniors choosing to move off-campus, we expect about 50 percent of each house to be sophomores, and the rest juniors and seniors. Over time, houses will develop their own identities and personalities.

What of SLGs? They will become houses like any other. Students who affiliate with SLGs will live there; unaffiliated students will live in unaffiliated houses. Administratively run groups like Wellness and the Baldwin Scholars will also become houses. In the first year of implementation, SLGs will be placed on West and Central Campus in houses sized appropriately for their membership; we will not move them just to move them, but cannot guarantee current locations either. Our goal is a vibrant, stable residential environment where students feel a sense of belonging both to their smaller house and to the larger Duke community.

Want to hear more? We’ll be holding open forums where you can ask questions and contribute to the ongoing decision-making. Some questions are settled, but many are not; we welcome your input. We will hold the first forum Monday Feb. 28 at 9 p.m. in 139 Social Sciences. The second forum will be Monday March 28 at 9 p.m. on East Campus, location to be determined and announced. Hope to see you there!

Donna Lisker and Joe Gonzalez are co-chairs of the House Model Committee.