As a political science professor living in International House, Steven Kelts said he sometimes gets funny looks when he walks into his building at 11 p.m. on a weekend.
“A group of girls was standing in the lobby and admitting students into the building for a party, which they probably weren’t supposed to be doing,” he said about one weekend last semester. “They let me in and all watched me very suspiciously. Finally one of them asked, ‘are you like . a dad’? I’m not certain that I look that old, but I know I don’t look like a student.”
GW Housing Programs currently employs three faculty in residence, including Kelts, women’s studies professor Todd Ramlow – who lives in 2208 F Street – and fine arts professor Aviva Pollack – who lives in Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis Hall.
While some party-goers are weary of his presence in their residence hall, Kelts said he has also heard some outbursts that are not like anything he would hear in his classroom.
“Part of the mission of this program is to encourage students to figure out ways to interact casually with faculty. One night at 2 a.m. a student was shouting ‘I love America. America is such a great place.’ It’s interesting to see what students say with less inhibitions,” he said
And living in a residence hall can make it harder for him to spend time with people his own age. “I like being around 20 year olds, but the only downside is it would be nice to be around 35 year olds more often,” he said.
The faculty in residence program is meant to provide opportunities for sophomores to experience intellectual opportunities outside of the classroom. Kelts and Ramlow recently took a group of students to the National Museum of Women in the Arts. They have also gone to the Kennedy Center to see a Japanese culture presentation of Anime films. Between five and 30 students show up for every event, though a core group of students usually make up about 20 percent of the attendees.
Though the faculty residents collaborate on larger events, they hold their own office, dorm and common area hours. The faculty help students with letters of recommendation and host informal political debates.
“I have learned a lot from this program. To faculty, I would say your students are more intellectually engaged than you think. To, students, stop worrying about your grade in class and saying the right thing. In a dorm setting, students are more willing to say all kinds of stuff,” Kelts said.
Ramlow lived in Crawford Hall last year and is now part of a Living and Learning Community in a Scholar’s Village townhouse at 2208 F Street.
“F Street is actually louder than living in Crawford Hall, which I imagine is because of the independent nature of the LLC and fraternity next door. However, it’s not any more noisy than when I used to live in Dupont Circle,” he said.
The professors said students only occasionally knock on their doors in the early hours of the morning and the students are generally very respectful.
“The first hurdle is when students are asking: who is that guy living down at the end of the hall who’s obviously an adult? The first process is to demystify why we are there,” Ramlow said.
The faculty residents work closely with house scholars to plan programming and they said they would like to see GW Housing expand the program.
Ramlow said, “It’s rewarding to interact with students on a different level than in the classroom. I would recommend this to others, but it definitely takes a certain type of faculty member.”
