Elon demonstrates leading role at annual meeting of the Residential College Symposium

Elon University continues to demonstrate a leading role at the Residential College Symposium, the annual meeting of the Residential College Society whose mission is to “transform higher education by providing a learning network for faculty and student affairs educators to share knowledge, build community, and advance scholarship about the residential college experience.”

The fourth annual Residential College Symposium was held Nov. 2-4 at Washington University in St. Louis. In recent years, Elon has emerged as a leader among institutions with residential colleges and campuses and this was clearly demonstrated at the Symposium by the number and variety of program sessions featuring Elon faculty and staff.

Shannon Lundeen, director of academic initiatives for the residential campus and associate professor of philosophy, provided opening remarks, welcoming participants to the Symposium’s Pre-Institute in her capacity as co-chair of the Residential College Society. Soon after her opening remarks, Lundeen joined her colleagues on the Residential College Society Executive Team for a plenary session on residential colleges.

In addition to Lundeen’s plenary panel, program sessions featuring Elon faculty and staff included:

Developing and Sustaining Effective Partnerships for Academic-Residential Integration
Eleanor Finger, Assistant Vice President for Student Life/Dean of Campus Life and Assistant Professor
Brooke Barnett, Associate Provost for Inclusive and Academic Excellence and Professor of Communications
Shannon Lundeen, Director of Academic Initiatives for the Residential Campus and Associate Professor of Philosophy

Innovating Assessment: Using Design Thinking to Evaluate and build Academic Initiatives in a Residential Community
Terry Tomasek, Faculty Director for the Colonnades Neighborhood, Associate Professor of Education, and Director of Elon Academy
Cristina Vega, Community Director for the Colonnades Neighborhood

Dine with Me: The Story of Successful Partnerships between Dining Services, Student Life and Academic Affairs
TJ Bowie, Assistant Director of Auxilliary Services

On Prepositions: Building and Managing Partnerships between Faculty and Student Affairs
Shannon Lundeen, Director of Academic Initiatives for the Residential Campus and Associate Professor of Philosophy
Darleny Cepin, Princeton University
Tim DeBold, Northwestern University
Ethan Stephenson, Cornell University
Ethan Youngerman, New York University
Brad Zakarin, Northwestern University

Developing First Year Student Leaders within a Residential Campus
Kaila Price, Community Director of Global Neighborhood
Sam Beckas, Graduate Assistant of Global Neighborhood
Jennifer Zinchuk, Faculty Director of Global Neighborhood and Assistant Professor of English

Engaging Live Out Faculty Members
Shannon Lundeen, Director of Academic Initiatives for the Residential Campus and Associate Professor of Philosophy
Mark Morvant, University of Oklahoma
Jonathan Manz, Purdue University
James Penven, Radford University

Elon’s residential neighborhoods are modeled on a residential college design and, as such, most neighborhoods feature hallmarks of a residential college (e.g., faculty living in residence, academic support services integrated into the residential setting, classes taught in the residence halls, etc.).

Elon’s leadership among institutions with residential colleges is no surprise. With the university’s commitment to engaged and experiential learning, Elon has enjoyed a long history of extending teaching and learning beyond the four walls of the traditional classroom.

Elon has been consistently recognized by U.S. News and World Report for its excellence with residential learning communities, was ranked #11 by Princeton Review in 2017 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.

To learn more about Living and Learning at Elon and the faculty and staff who are making Elon a leader among its peers, please visit the new Living and Learning at Elon website.