Officials will debut two new living-learning communities on the Mount Vernon Campus this fall.
Betsy Shimberg, the assistant dean of the Vern, said the Sustainability and Harvest House LLCs will launch this upcoming academic year to bring together students with shared interests in sustainability or food for a year-long residential experience. She said the Sustainability LLC, jointly led by GW’s Alliance for a Sustainable Future and the Office of Sustainability, will connect students who have interest in the planet and its inhabitants, while the Harvest House LLC, an initiative of GW’s Global Food Institute, will use food as a “lens” for living and learning.
“GW is a community of scholars, and Living-Learning Communities (LLCs) take critical thinking and reflection beyond the classroom and into the residential experience,” Shimberg said in an email.
LLC members live together for a year in a specific residence hall where students take required classes together that align with the LLC’s theme or academic program, according to the program’s website. The two new LLCs will join the Civic House, Women’s Leadership Program, Politics and Values community and University Honors Program LLCs on the Vern.
Shimberg said students participating in the Sustainability LLC will take a University writing course in the fall focused on sustainability, and Introduction to Sustainability in the spring semester. She said the students will live in Merriweather Hall on the Vern.
Officials launched the Alliance for a Sustainable Future in 2023 with the goal of “uniting” University sustainability initiatives from across schools and disciplines and combating climate change using GW and D.C. resources.
For students in the Harvest House LLC, Shimberg said they will take a food-related University writing course or first-year research seminar during the fall semester and Introduction to Food Studies during the spring semester. She said students will live in Somers Hall on the Vern and the curriculum of the LLC will be “tied closely” to the food leadership minor, but enrollment in the minor is not required to be a part of the LLC.
The Global Food Institute launched the food leadership minor last fall after student demand for food system-related courses and expanded it in the spring to include 27 courses. José Andrés, a celebrity chef, restaurateur and humanitarian, founded the institute at GW in May 2023 with the goals of researching and improving global food security, sustainability and distribution.
The Sustainability and Harvest House LLCs are opt-in opportunities, where interested first-year students can request placement into them through the housing application process. There is no formal application process, unlike the other LLCs on the Vern, according to the LLC website.
Shimberg said the new LLCs have seen “strong interest” from incoming first-year students, and officials are “excited” to welcome the students who have opted for the LLCs through their housing application. She said officials are “looking forward” to the communities the new LLCs will bring to the Vern.
“Research shows that students who participate in LLCs have a smoother transition to college both academically and socially, higher engagement with their campus community, and higher levels of academic self-confidence and persistence,” Shimberg said in an email.
