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BY DEBORAH RIDER ALLEN
Special Correspondent

Published: October 14, 2007

At college, you can learn about global affairs, community service and reducing energy usage, as well as how to study, work as a group and get along with others but all that learning may not take place in the classroom. Many of today’s college students are learning these concepts by living in specialized and themed housing on campuses across the nation.

Most schools still have traditional “dorms” with resident assistants. But in recent years, these same schools are creating new living arrangements. The main concern of most college officials seems to be to place and keep students in some type of common-interest group where they will immediately form bonds and friendships to enrich the college experience.

The contrast between new and old can be interesting. At Virginia’s newest school Founders College in South Boston each student has a luxurious suite at historic Berry Hill Estate. At the much older University of Virginia, the most sought-after housing is actually the oldest the lawn rooms designed by Thomas Jefferson.

Lynchburg College has 15 special-interest houses that range from academic to athletic to Greek. “Students get a lot of educational growth and development from their residential environment, so it makes sense to do these planned living and learning communities,” said Greg Nayor, director of residence life. Naylor notes that in a typical week, a student spends about 15 hours in class and more than 100 hours elsewhere usually in a residential environment.

Eco House is part of the college’s yearlong environmental focus on “A Greener Tomorrow Today.” The six student residents practice ways of reducing their energy use and waste as well as educating their fellow students.

Eco Housemate Natalie Painter, a music education major from Waynesboro, says she chose Eco House because she wants to know how to manage a house in an ecologically friendly way. Kristin Puckett of Craigsville, an environmental science major who lives in the house, hopes to improve her own awareness of ecology and share what she’s learned with others.

Last fall, Emory & Henry College completed two new resident houses for students. Each house has 13 bedrooms four single-occupancy and the rest double occupancy set up in a suite configuration that allows two rooms to share a bathroom. Each house also has a kitchen, living room and study area. Five more houses are planned.

“We call it ‘The Village,’ ” said Pam Gourley, dean of students. She said the student houses are designed to blend with houses already in the area. “These days students tend to come from homes where they have not shared a room and prefer that home-style living. With the new houses we have built, we are finding students appreciate that sense of community and the feeling of home they get in this living environment.”

Longwood University helps upper-level students prepare for life after college in three university-managed apartments: Longwood Village, Lancer Park and Longwood Landings at Mid-Town Square. About 1,000 students (sophomores, juniors, and seniors) live in the apartment communities, which offer a variety of amenities such as private bedrooms, washer/dryer units, fitness rooms, swimming pools and game rooms.

Some apartments are completely furnished. At the four-story Longwood Landings, the top three floors are dedicated to student housing while the ground floor is occupied by retailers such as Barnes & Noble.

“We are giving them the opportunity to adjust to the realities of cooking, cleaning, confronting neighbors and balancing a budget in a community with trained professional and student staff to help them along the way,” said N. Laurence Robertson, executive director for residential and commuter life.

“In my opinion, this is an effective way to creatively provide our students with a more fashionable and exciting living experience without losing a respect to our history and the essence of our university and departmental missions,” Robertson said.

Freshman dorms at Hampden-Sydney College used to be located on either side of campus. Today they are all in one area, and the houses are connected by colonnades with a volleyball court in the middle.

“All the freshmen living in one area helps build relationships,” said Matthew R. Moore, a senior from Midlothian who is a resident adviser at the Whitehouse Complex. For the past two years, Moore has also been involved in the school’s Living and Learning Community program.

“It is two freshman communities in the residence hall where the whole hall takes a class together,” Moore said. “The students go to class twice a week, and taking the same class it is easier to study for tests and it really helps them build cohesiveness.” He said it is also a great way to get to know the professors since these classes have only about 16 students.

Select freshmen at American University can live in themed residence hall “neighborhoods” with upper-class mentors. The neighborhoods are grouped by “seminars,” which are smaller, more interactive versions of the university’s general education classes that are taught in residence halls by some of the university’s top faculty members.

“When students live together on a residence hall floor with the other participants in their seminar, it allows a much more robust set of interactions both inside and outside of the classroom,” said Patrick Jackson, director of the general education program and university college program. “It’s a real learning community: a group of students wrestling with intellectual material collectively, leaning on one another for support and encouragement as they make their way through the course together.”

This fall, 276 freshmen enrolled in seminars on subjects ranging from visual literacy to the philosophy of freedom. Since its inception in 2005, the program offerings have more than doubled.

Old Dominion University aims its housing at the different development stages of students, according to Geneva Walker-Johnson, executive director of student affairs and dean of students.

“The double loaded corridors that are common housing styles for first-year students are so that they can come in to contact with as many people as possible to see and be seen,” she said. “By the time they get to be juniors they move to the next stage where they now have an established network of close friends and want to stay in that intimate group. This group wants suites, enclosed communities and apartments.”

ODU’s new Quad Residences are the first residential buildings in the middle of campus. Two of the six total buildings are open. Ireland House houses 204 upperclassmen in suite-style accommodations. Virginia House is for first-year students and contains a predominance of single rooms.

Specific floors of the buildings are also designated for specialty students groups. The Honors Hall in Virginia House is open only to students in the university’s Honors College. The quiet fifth floor of Whitehurst Hall is called SOFA (Students Organized and Focused on Academics). And Rogers Hall offers incoming freshmen the First Year Experience program with special workshops and services, increased staff involvement and a supportive living-learning environment.

Eastern Mennonite University has two “intentional communities” where students live in on-houses owned by the university. Martin House is an option for up to 12 men and women who must qualify to live there by demonstrating maturity and the ability to live in a group situation. Redmond House houses seven students who are a mix of undergraduates and Eastern Mennonite Seminary graduate students.

“We are excited that we can offer this type of experience for some of our students,” said Janine R. Kauffman, director of housing and residence life. “It is a good step towards living on their own, yet encouraging them to discover more about themselves as they interact and live with others. It is an important learning experience as they discover what it means to be a community.”

In January 2008, the opening of the Lakeview Dormitory at the University of Richmond will provide a tangible home for the university’s “Connections in Living and Learning” program. The program’s purpose is to enhance relationships between faculty and students and to connect the in-classroom and out-of-classroom experiences by having students live together based on courses they take.

Proposed themes include political science, civic engagement, foreign language and the outdoors. “One of the benefits of the program is that students find identification and positive peer groups. It is an important part of their campus life to be connected to this activity,” said Steve Bisese, vice president of student development.

Virginia Commonwealth University has created Residential Villages (RVs) in two freshman dorms, offering students the opportunity to live with peers who share academic or personal interests. Dr. Reuban Rodriguez, associate vice provost and dean of student affairs, said the school’s specialized housing, “allows us to further engage residential students within the academic mission of the university. Students can process and integrate ideas in a living-learning environment.”

VCU has set up about a dozen RVs. They include The Artist’s Colony for students interested in studio or performing arts; Biosphere for students interested in biology or forensic science; Boardroom for students interested in becoming business leaders; Doctor’s Lounge for students interested in pre-health-sciences; and Rams’ Club for students interested in health, sports, fitness and wellness, and WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) for women interested in engineering and science.

Kayla Diggs, a sophomore biology major from Suffolk who lived in Biosphere last year, said her RV experience helped her achieve academic success during her freshman year. “I lived with other ladies studying the same courses and we were able to create our own study groups, which were easily accessible because we simply had to walk down the hall,” said Diggs, a resident adviser in the Doctor’s Lounge this year. “Not only did I learn about biology, I learned how to cohabitate with people from all walks of life.”

One of Randolph-Macon College’s special housing options is the Brothers For Change (B4C) House. The goal of this all-male group founded in 2005 by R-MC graduates Leonard Abbott and JoJo McDuffie is to unite the men of Randolph-Macon regardless of ethnicity and socioeconomic background, and to promote leadership, diversity and responsibility on campus and in the surrounding community.

Aside from learning to live together as a house community, the group does a variety of service projects, including winterizing Ashland houses, collecting Angel Tree donations, participating in Macon-a-Difference Day and hosting an annual Community Day for underprivileged local children.

They have also formed a weekly partnership with the Dooley Center for Alternative Education at St. Joseph’s Villa where B4C members mentor children, help with homework and provide strong male role models. “Brothers for Change’s impact has been tremendous,” said Francis Kenyear, head of the Dooley Center at St. Joseph’s Villa. “They relate so well to our students and give them something to aspire to. They really are godsends.”

More examples of specialized and themed housing at Virginia colleges and universities include Christopher Newport University’s James River dorm, which has “suites” of rooms. Some house six same-sex students with a den and full kitchen. Larger suites have 12-15 students, male and female, with separate baths, a commons area and full kitchen. The suite students choose a theme and sponsor community service events around those topics for other students. Themes include food intolerance, campus ministries and the president’s leadership program.

Juniors at Virginia Union University can apply to live in The Leadership House located on the edge of campus. To be considered, a student must be a junior with a 3.0 or greater GPA. In order for the seven students two males and five females to live in the house they must complete a major project on a global issue such as homelessness, obesity or literacy; educate campus about that issue; and do community service work dealing with that issue. New this year is the Male Honors House with five male seniors.

James Madison University has several learning communities for incoming freshmen that are tied to majors or curricular interests. The university also has a hall that blends U.S. and international students. Plus, JMU has a Sophomore Year Experience hall that focuses on the special needs of sophomore students.

Ferrum College just completed the second of two apartment-style residence halls to provide an alternative living space for students. The halls house 12 fully furnished apartments with four bedrooms, two baths, a common area and kitchenette.

Hampton University has two honors residence halls for freshmen Kennedy Hall and Pierce Hall. The honors dorms have large rooms that come with a university-issued desktop computer. Dorms are available on a first-come, first-served basis to students awarded a Merit scholarship, Hampton Scholars award, Presidential scholarship or Trustee scholarship.

University of Mary Washington offers apartments for upperclassmen, a “First Year Experience” hall for freshmen who have been identified as emerging leaders and several foreign language communities.

New at Randolph College this year, the Peace and Diplomacy Floor Living-Learning Community is run and directed by a student as part of her Davenport Leadership program project. Students on the floor agreed to take at least one of the listed courses (American Cultural Patterns, World Politics or Peace and Conflict Resolution), meet bimonthly for one discussion and one campus event, write weekly blog entries and develop a community project.

Hollins University’s Carvin House is known on campus as the Global Village. About 22 international and American students live and learn together at the house. Students at French House learn to master the French language and learn about French culture. And upper-class students can live in Sandusky House, which fosters service-learning opportunities and community-service projects.

At Founders College, which opened its doors this September in South Boston, students live in fully furnished private suites with baths. Students sleep in four poster or canopy beds, read in wingback chairs and relax in rockers on patios or balconies at The Berry Hill Estate, a resort and conference center.

Averett University’s residence halls offer traditional living, suites and university apartments, which are popular with students.

Living on The Lawn at the University of Virginia is considered a “privilege” for select fourth-year students. The 54 student rooms that open on to a lawn area are assigned through a peer-selection process based on academic performance and involvement in activities.

Other housing options for UVa students include the International House for U.S. and international students and five language houses that provide total language immersion in Arabic, Chinese, Hindi-Urdu, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Persian, French, German and Russian for students after their first year.

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