Talking Stick - September/October 2014 - 40

professionals can use this information to
underscore the positive effects of residence
halls and residential academic initiatives on
student success. Housing professionals can
advocate for these initiatives by demonstrating
how they have a positive impact on student
engagement and persistence and can broadly
advertise the information via interpersonal
communication, campus print and
electronic venues, and social media. Making
administrators aware of these benefits will
make it easier to engage and incentivize faculty
participation in partnerships. As Michael
Landman, associate professor of drama and
former faculty-in-residence at the University
of Arkansas in Fayetteville, notes, "There is
not an awareness among many academic
administrators that the power of interaction
between faculty and students in residence
halls has serious merit for both students and
faculty."

Anticipate Faculty Workload
Because of the tenure and promotion process,
faculty and their chairs will be protective of
faculty time, especially for junior professors.
As a result of budget cuts over the past few
years, academic departments may now be short
staffed, which means that faculty are teaching
more courses, with more students per course
and thus more grading and more advising
responsibilities. Some faculty are reluctant to
take on even more work, especially at a time
in their careers when they are struggling to

achieve promotion and tenure. Student affairs
practitioners need to be very clear about
what the workload for faculty will be. In a
study of faculty motivations for interacting
with students outside the classroom, Kirsten
Kennedy found that faculty are most frustrated
by not having clearly defined roles when
engaged in living-learning programs. In
addition to understanding the purpose of their
involvement and their role in the partnership,
faculty need to know what their time
commitment will be, and housing staff must
honor this commitment.

Create Relationships
Given the potential for competitiveness
within academic departments, some faculty
may find themselves in less than collegial
environments, and strong professional and
personal relationships with housing staff
may be what they look for to feel a sense of
community on campus. As Landman notes,
"Because the value [in academic departments]
of this type of residential engagement is not a
given, the interpersonal value and cultivation
of the [interpersonal] relationship is absolutely
essential for faculty."
Finding faculty who want to engage in
residential academic initiatives can begin with
contacts in the offices of the provost, deans,
cOntInueS

60

Good Reads for Better Partnerships
Tom Ellett and Anna Schmidt, "Faculty Perspectives on Creating
Community in Residence Halls," The Journal of College and
University Student Housing (2011).
Jody Jessup-Anger, Matthew Wawrzynski, and Christina Yao,
"Enhancing Undergraduate Education: Examining Faculty
Experiences During Their First Year in a Residential College and
Exploring the Implications for Student Affairs Professionals," The
Journal of College and University Student Housing (2011).
Kirsten Kennedy, "Understanding Faculty's Motivation to Interact
40

talking Stick

with Students Outside of Class," The Journal of College and
University Student Housing (2011).
Peter Magolda, "Proceed with Caution: Uncommon Wisdom
About Academic and Student Affairs Partnerships," About
Campus (January/February 2005).
Jörg Vianden and Kerri Smith, "Unfamiliar Territory: Faculty
Discomfort with Interactions with Students Outside of
Class During Out-of-Class Academic Initiatives," CSPA-NYS Journal
of Student Affairs (2011).
Talking Stick - September/October 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - September/October 2014
