Doing it right
In less than a year and a half, the College will enter an
era that, I believe, can be one of the most
significant in its history-the era of the House System.
As construction proceeds, and as a committee of faculty, students, and staff works to solidify the many details of this important initiative, I want to describe why, in my opinion, the House System represents the most important academic initiative we have undertaken in decades.
It is true that what will be most readily apparent with the House System is a change in the residential and social nature of the College. In addition to residence halls, and theme houses, and fraternities and sororities, we will have a new residential component that will complement the existing facets of what Union offers.
While incoming students will still be assigned rooms in residence halls, they will also be made-randomly-members of one of the seven houses in the new House System. Each house will provide its members with an intimate social setting, and the physical space will offer opportunities for interaction with other students, faculty, and staff. By serving as everything from a focus for social activities to a vehicle for community service to the setting for a small concert, each house will give students a new outlet.
The houses will go beyond being merely
an outlet, however. Since all of our faculty members will have a house affiliation, and since faculty will work with house members to plan and organize educational and
cultural events, the houses will become a major academic force.
Study after study has shown, and your experiences I am sure confirm, that a student's contact with faculty outside the classroom is one of the most important aspects of a college education. The House System builds on those experiences.
By bringing faculty to student houses, the House System will enable students to have more and better contact with faculty. Through formal classes (seminar rooms are built into the houses) and informal conversations, the intellectual life of the campus will be enhanced.
As you think back to the teachers you had, you will acknowledge that they are among the most influential people in your college life-and, in many cases, in your entire life. Sure, a few may have irritated you; some may not have furthered your curiosity in a particular subject. However, I would bet that many of them were sources of stimulus and inspiration. I would guess that, for some of you, one teacher's friendly interest in you may well have changed your whole attitude toward college and learning.
Recently, the faculty-student-staff committee reviewed our plan with Bowdoin and Middlebury, which have undertaken similar efforts (in fact, we “stole” the idea from Bowdoin). What the committee found, though, was that several of their counterparts at Bowdoin and Middlebury said that we were “doing it right.”
By “doing it right,” they meant that, unlike Bowdoin and Middlebury, which eliminated fraternities and created a new system, we were adding to what we had. At Union, fraternities will continue to play a major role on the campus stage. But socially
-and academically-students will have
an added option. In the final analysis, Union will be a model for those who want to provide a range of residential and social options and enrich intellectual life outside the classroom.