Officials have confirmed the locations of five new faculty apartments that will be in place by Fall 2007 as part of the West Campus expansion of the faculty-in-residence program.
The faculty apartments in Craven, Crowell, Keohane and Kilgo quadrangles and the relocation of the apartment in Few Quadrangle will allow every quad on West to house a faculty in residence, said Eddie Hull, dean of residence life and executive director of housing services.
He added that Crowell and Wannamaker are seen administratively as one quad.
"This is all really exciting," he said.
A total net loss of approximately 30 to 36 student bed spaces will result from the change, Hull said.
Officials said no selective living groups will be relocated.
Hull said Residence Life and Housing Services had considered a possible relocation of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity section in Craven Quad in the early planning stages.
"We looked... at it again and it didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense," Hull explained.
ATO president Rob Dehaas, a junior, said that although the fraternity members did not view the potential move as having any negative consequences, the members are happy to be staying put.
"We've lived in that section for five, six years-I know the underclassmen are really excited to stay," he said, adding that as a senior next year he will be living off campus and it will be nice to come back to a familiar place.
The faculty apartments-all of which will be located on the ground floor except in Keohane and Kilgo quads-will range from 1,800 to 2,400 sq. ft.
Hull said as an added feature to the program, the apartments will be larger than those on East Campus.
"There was no real space for [the faculty members] to comfortably host students on East Campus," Hull said. "We're doing something different this time around."
He explained that in addition to a living room, faculty members will have an area in their apartments designated to accommodate up to 20 students at a time.
Carol Apollonio Flath, associate professor of the practice of Slavic and Eurasian Studies and Wilson Dormitory faculty in residence, hosts "cookie nights" in her apartment every Monday night.
"The most important thing is to have a large area to invite people to come in-everything else falls into place after that," Flath said.
There are currently two faculty in residence on West in Few and Edens quadrangles.
Joseph Nadeau, assistant professor of the practice of civil engineering and Few Quad faculty in residence, praised the program, of which he has been a part for five years.
"This experience has been wonderful for me and my dog, Zada," Nadeau wrote in an e-mail. "To live in the dorms with such energetic and involved students is invigorating and refreshing."
Nadeau, however, expressed concerns about the program's extension.
"Expanding the program to other quads on West is a great idea, but I think there will be challenges, particularly if only four new positions are being created," he said, noting that the size of the quads makes it impossible to "even try to get to know everyone."
Joe Gonzalez, associate dean for residential life, said because of the sizes of the quads, the program's success should not be measured by how many students with whom the faculty members can interact.
"Success of the program will not be in knowing the residents, but bringing in academic stuff," Gonzalez said.
Hull said the sizes and architectural layouts of the quads are two significant challenges to the expansion of the program.
"Creative approaches will be needed to tackle these problems," he added.
A task force-consisting of 10 faculty members, current program participants, RLHS and student representatives-has been formed to define the role of the faculty in residence, among other things.
Faculty recruitment for the four new positions will begin next semester, Hull said.
Current faculty in residence said further interaction with students is one the program's biggest merits.
"There aren't always the opportunities for [students] to know faculty outside of the classroom, and I think that's a really crucial part of a college education," said Stephen Chapman, assistant professor in the Divinity School and Brown Dormitory faculty in residence.
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