The man charged with developing the College's new House System brings a strong sense of community to his role.
Tom McEvoy grew up in the small villege of Hoosick, N.Y., located between the Capital District and Vermont, and he still lives there.
“It's one of those towns where everybody sort of knows everybody,” says McEvoy, whose own sense of community has led him to serve as head of the board of trustees of the local library, a board member and coach in youth soccer, and a member of the strategic planning cabinet of the local school system.
Encouraging that same kind of sense of community will be a major goal in his
new role as dean of social and residential life.
“Students, like the rest of us, can often think about themselves more than they think about the community,” he says. “So, in my years in this line of work, I've tried to do a lot of community development. Students need to think in the broad terms of the campus community.
“Part of being at college is sharing a particular time and place with people who may not be like you,” he continues. “I think we would be letting our students down if we didn't try to encourage an openmindedness about the different styles of life we have in society. Frankly, if we don't do this as a college, we're not preparing them for the world they're going to live in.”
McEvoy arrived at Union in early February after serving as the director of housing at Williams College for thirteen years. Before that, he was associate director of housing and residential life at Rensselaer.
His career choice, he says, is a serendipitous one.
A graduate of the State University of New York College at Geneseo, he was a social worker in Troy when he entered Rensselaer to work on an M.B.A. Figuring that it would cost less to get his degree if he got a job at the institute, he joined the housing office-and stayed nine years. It was, he says, a matter of finding the field of residence life “more interesting.”
“Obviously, a lot of education in college takes part outside the classroom, in particular, where students live,” he says. “It didn't take me long to realize that, as a student, I hadn't plugged myself into college as well as I should have, and the whole issue of how students spend time outside the classroom intrigued me.”
He believes firmly that colleges have a strong responsibility to student life-“Our job is not to admit them and get out of the way, but to make sure they are developing into the full persons they can be.”
Accomplishing that means a free exchange of ideas.
“The old stereotype of the dean as authority figure is changed,” he says. “Not that
I don't worry about a student having a candle in his room-I do-but we need more. We need to be concerned about whether students are living as good members of the Union community. That's one reason I'm very happy that Union looks at residential life and student activities as interrelated. Real synergies can develop from that connection.”
The exchange of ideas
also will involve students and faculty, which, in turn, means recognizing changes that
have occurred.
“Students are coming to college with a different set of problems and issues from twenty years ago,” he says. “Then, for example, you couldn't go to college if you were suffering from depression. Now, with medicine, you can, but you may need a support system on campus, including students who are trained by the College and who live in the residence areas and serve as student mentors.
“Students today have high expectations for quick service, and we as administrators have to get out there and earn their trust,” he continues. “Another huge issue we're up against is technology. It's very easy, with cable television and VCRs and the like, for students to bunker up with their friends. It's hard to develop a community when they're doing that, and it means that we're going to have to be extremely creative about the events we have in the houses.”
Faculty life also has changed, from the increasing attention given to scholarship and research these days to the fact that more faculty spouses work outside the home, creating more pressure on faculty members to pitch in at home rather than on campus. But without strong faculty involvement, McEvoy says, the House System will not be as successful as he thinks it can be (all faculty members will have a house affiliation under the plan).
McEvoy understands that some students may be skeptical, but notes that his hiring is one strong signal that the College is serious about improving residential life and the social scene. More evidence will come when renovation work begins soon on South College (the renovated residence hall is scheduled to reopen in the fall of 2003). The role of resident advisor is being looked at, with an eye on finding students who can build communities, and McEvoy is working with the Alumni Office to set up visits to alumni clubs around the country.
Perhaps the strongest evidence, though, is the fact that McEvoy plans to leave his lifelong community in Hoosick and move into a College-owned house on Douglas Road. His family will join him next June, after his oldest son graduates from high school, and, he says, he looks forward to getting together with students on his front porch.
“You need to share a little bit of your personal life with students,” he says.
He would like to hear from you
Tom McEvoy, the College's new dean of residential and campus life, has spent his first weeks at Union meeting with on-campus groups, and he is eager to hear from alumni and parents. His e-mail address is
mcevoyt@union.edu.
A House System update
The College's new House System is designed to give every student access to a social group and to good social and residential space. All students will be assigned randomly to membership in a house, and all houses are expected to contribute intellectual, cultural, and social events to the campus.
The early planning stage for the new House System has focused on the first floor common space, which will include a living room large enough for parties, lectures, receptions, meetings, and “hanging out;” a kitchen; a seminar/workroom where a class or study group can meet; and an office where students can pick up or send e-mail, send a fax, or have a private meeting with an adviser or house member.
Planning for the residential section of the houses will focus on a mix of singles and doubles, and will look for logical ways to accommodate groups of friends.
Part of a $250,000 grant recently received from the Mellon Foundation will be used to support the transition to the House System. Next year, a committee of students, faculty, and administrators will examine House System governance, the role of faculty in houses, the assignment of faculty and students to houses, the integration of Freshman Preceptorials and advising into the houses, and the establishment of an intramural program.