New Clemson program allows students and faculty to live and learn together

Published: August 10, 2011

By Taylor Reeves

CLEMSON — Clemson University housing has appointed three professors to participate in its new Faculty in Residence program in which faculty members will live in residence halls on campus.

Christopher Grau, associate professor of philosophy; Tamara Mitchell, Spanish lecturer in the department of modern languages; and Vernon Burton, director of the Clemson University Cyberinstitute and professor of history and computer science, each will participate in the program for two years.

Suzanne Price, associate director of residential life, believes the program will work to increase faculty involvement with students and will provide intellectual stimulation and mentorship for students outside the classroom.

“University housing wants to promote and expand student engagement,” she said. “We see the Faculty in Residence program as a natural and dynamic way to engage students in learning outside the classroom.”

Faculty in residence programs were common in early universities, but declined with an increased focus on student autonomy. However, they have recently re-emerged as successful means to engaging students in university life, said Price.

“Recent years have allowed a blending of roles and spaces with faculty members having connected private residential space, used to facilitate conversation and student learning and can also be a personal refuge in a residence hall,” said Price.

Grau came to Clemson in 2007 and has taught courses on philosophical problems, philosophy of art and philosophy of film. He and his wife, Susan, will live in Holmes Hall to take part in the Calhoun Honors College living-learning community.

Mitchell came to Clemson in 2010 and teaches Spanish. She previously spent a year teaching English at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Mitchell will live in the Stadium Suites residence hall, which is occupied primarily by sophomore students. 

Burton joined Clemson’s faculty in 2010. His research interests include the American South, the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement and the intersection of the humanities and social sciences. He and his wife, Georganne, will live in an apartment in Norris Hall, where they will engage with fraternity and sorority residents in the Quad residence halls.

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