Elon plays prominent role in new organization for residential colleges

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As Elon continues to transform living and learning at the university through the Residential Campus Initiative as part of the goals of the Elon Commitment strategic plan, the institution is also demonstrating a leading role in the Residential College Society, a new national organization being formed by universities with a similar commitment to residential colleges. 

​The third annual Residential College Symposium held Oct. 27-29 at Vanderbilt University marked the official launch of the new organization. After previous symposia held at Virginia Tech University in 2014 and Southern Methodist University in 2015, individuals from eight different institutions convened at Elon this past May to explore the formation of a new organization to provide additional structure to the annual gatherings of faculty and staff. 

Shannon Lundeen, director of academic initiatives for the residential campus and associate professor of philosophy at Elon, has been selected as the first chair of the society, and in addition to Elon, the executive leadership team includes representatives from Baylor University, Purdue University, Radford University, Southern Methodist University, University of Oklahoma, University of South Carolina, Vanderbilt University, and Washington University in St. Louis.

During the October symposium, which will become an annual event of the Residential College Society, Lundeen gave a keynote address with Jaimie Penven of Radford University to describe the rationale for the formation of the new organization and to solicit input from the 37 institutions in attendance about its future. Lundeen will serve a three-year term as chair and will guide the Society through its formation.  Upcoming symposia are already being planned for Washington University in St. Louis in 2017 and University of Oklahoma in 2018. 

In addition to Lundeen’s plenary session, other program sessions at the 2016 Symposium featuring Elon staff and faculty included:

• Transforming the Student Leadership Experience: Intentional Relationships Through a Residential Lens by Cait Williams, graduate assistant for the Danieley Center Neighborhood, and Cristina Vega, community director for the Colonnades Neighborhood
• Residential Colleges as Agents of Culture Change: When Academic and Student Affairs Unite to Advance Diversity and Inclusion Priorities, by Cristina Vega, community director for the Colonnades Neighborhood; Terry Tomasek, associate professor of education, director of the Elon Academy, and faculty director for the Colonnades Neighborhood; and Brooke Barnett, associate provost for inclusive community and professor of communications

Elon has been consistently recognized by U.S. News and World Report for its excellence with residential learning communities, was ranked #13 by Princeton Review in 2016 for its residential facilities, and is in the midst of a multi-year strategic initiative designed to transform the Elon experience and create one of the nation’s most vibrant residential campuses, fully integrating the academic, residential, and social experience of students.