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BY KATHRYN JENSON WHITEPHOTOS BYROBERT TAYLOR

Facultyfamilies are movingtheirchildren, theirpets,theirprivate lives into OU's residence halls

with severalhundredfreshmen as theirclosest neighbors.

President DavidL . Borenhas noted on many occasionsthat Thomas Jefferson deemed the university an "academicvillage ." In the village ofOU, dwelling among the groups ofvillagers ranging in size from 50 to more than a thousand,live the OU village elders . Known formally as faculty-in-residence and informally as FIRS, these faculty members donot depart their classrooms forhomes in one of northwestNorman's many Brookhavensor east Norman's FacultyHeights ; instead, they head forthe dorms .

Conceived by Boren andimplemented in spring 1996,the FIR program moves selectfaculty members into spa-cious, lovely apartments in oneof the University's residenthousing facilities . There theyserve as professional role mod-els, academic advisers, per-sonal counselors, facultyfriends and, above all, friendlyneighbors .

The elder of elders, theFIRst FIR, as it were, was TomBoyd, now David Ross BoydProfessor Emeritus ofPhiloso-phy . In fall 1996, he movedinto Couch Center for a one-year tenure . The month afterhe and his wife, Barbara, ac-cepted the FIR role, she wasoffered the pastorship of St .Paul Presbyterian Church inAurora, Colorado . She ac-cepted, and Tom lived out theyear in Couch before retiringand joining her in Colorado,which since has been their home.

"I was so excited about the experiment," Boyd says ."The genius of David Boren is that he's willing to experi-ment and that he focuses his efforts toward what benefitsstudents and the student-faculty relationship . This pro-gram seems to be to be one ofthe premiere adventures intothe possibility of having more of a bridge between whatgoes on north of Lindsey and what goes on south ofLindsey .

"The program places a faculty representative in very

y fall 1998, Adams Centerhoused Eric Connell, visitingprofessor of architecture, his

wife, Hilda De Leon Connell, and their twodaughters, Lauren, 10, and Mia, 22 months ;Cate Center had Rosa Cintron and herhusband, Tom Owens, both assistantprofessors of education and their daughter,Sara, 5 ; Couch Center sheltered Doug Gaffin,assistant professor of zoology and his wife,Marielle Hoefnagels, lecturer in zoology andbotany/microbiology, and their cats, Twoand Scoops ; and Walker Center includedShad Satterthwaite, visiting professor ofpolitical science, his wife, Valerie, and theirchildren, Megan, 6, Tanner, 4, and Pace, 10months .

Waiting for homes to be finished in otherresidential centers are Ruth Gana Okediji,associate professor of law, and her husband,Olutade Okediji, assistant professor ofeconomics, and Allen W. Knehans, professorof nutritional sciences, and his wife, Jean .

close proximity to the ongoing lives of students . Theexperience makes you empathetic toward what young stu-dents just beginning their careers go through . I wasconstantly aware ofthe stresses and pressures ofliving, notjust studying, but of how to get on with one's days ."

Boyd, who now teaches in the University's distancelearning Advance Studies Pro-gram, sees the FIRs' role asincluding the liaison function,taking insights back to fellowfaculty as well as helping thestudents . He did the latter ina major way when Couch'seighth floor caught fire, caus-ing a middle-of-the-nightevacuation and displacingresidents .

Faculty members currentlyin the program speakglowinglyoftheir experience . All say theyare enriched by their immer-sion in student life andthat, forseveral reasons, they do notreally lookforward tothe end oftheir tenures, which the Uni-versity sets at one to threeyears .

First, their attractive apart-ments average 2,000 squarefeet, and the oldest is only twoyears old . Most FIRS becameinvolved in construction earlyenough to choose color schemesand furnishings . These homeshave as their grounds theUniversity's well-tended, gar-den-filled campus, its miles ofsmooth sidewalks for bicy-cling and walking and facili

ties ranging from a cafeteria, where they enjoy a familymeal plan, to a library to a cultural bonanza of music,theater and fine art .

Second, they truly like their neighbors . Living amongmostly freshmen, the FIRs have found respect and in-sight . Those with children have found hundreds of rolemodels for their own offspring as well as big brothers andsisters by the score .

Third, they enjoy the knowledge that they help manystudents make the difficult transition from dependent high

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school student to independent college student more eas-ily .,,

To become a faculty-in-residence, one must be willingto truly commit to the well being of someone else," saysDave Schrage, director of University housing and foodservices, whose department administers the programfrom apartment construction to provision of supplies theFIRS need for a plethora ofin-house programs . "Our FIRsdo that superbly . They might on a given instant stopcooking dinner and address the death ofa parent or someother traumatic situation . Students 17-19 are going tohave traumas . Two-thirds of our students in residencehalls are freshmen, and many ofthem are first-generationcollege students .

"How a FIR operates depends on his orher style . Someare more geared toward academic enlightenment andpresenting academic challenges, but they all serve asfriends and mentors as well . With each family, it'sunique, but in general the academic factor is clearly acritical one."

To that end, each FIR schedules two formal, in-home"lecturettes" each semester as well as many informalstudent events . Add to that the daily contacts that comefrom eating in the cafeteria, walking the children aroundcampus and picking up the paper from the residence halllobby .

Rosa Cintron, her husband, Tom Owens, and their daughter, Sara, of Cate Center,are the senior faculty-in-residence family, now in their fourth semester .

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A sampling from fall 1998's lecturette series shows theSatterthwaites hosting Larry Michaelsen, David RossBoyd Professor of Management, as he speaks on "GroupDecision Making" ; the Cintron-Owens providing studentsaccess to Architecture Dean Robert Fillpot and Fine ArtsDean Marvin Lams discussing "Beyond Technical Excel-lence : Searching for the Artistic" ; the Gaffin-Hoefnagelsoffering Lynda Lee Kaid, George Lynn Cross ResearchProfessor of Communication, talking about "Video Poli-tics" ; and the Connells presenting anthropology professorRobert Fields delivering information on "Use ofCradleboards and/or Tipi Construction ."

The FIRS ofCate:

Rosa Cintron and Tom Owens

"I agree with President Boren that this is a community,but it's a university so we should emphasize a community ofscholars," Cintron says . "For me, it has been important tobring the passion andenthusiasms ofthe classroom into theresidence hall . The lecturette series isn't just social . Thepresentations are intellectual conversations about a topic ofcurrent or historical interest .

"It's been great for us, too, because you can becomepretty parochial within yourown department . When I pickup the phone as a FIR, I talkto people all over the campus .Tom and I have always beeninterested in the universitylife and the world of ideas . Itseems this is more than a pro-fession ; for us, it's a vocation .I told Tom as soon as I heardof the FIR program, `This isthe life for us .' "

CintronandOwenswerethesecond FIRs, moving into theirapartment in spring 1997 .Cintron had been a staff-in-residence at the State Uni-versity of New York Collegeat Old Westbury for threeyears in the early 1980s, buther role there was a bit differ-ent .

"There, I had disciplinar-ian responsibility," she says ."On the weekends, I was on arotation schedule . I had to dorounds . I had to make surethat students were comply-ing with all the rules and regu-lations ."

Schragepoints outthat OU'sprogram does not ask facultyto serve in loco parentis . Thesevillage elders do not mete out

punishment for transgressions against the village ."We have specifically designed the program so that they

don't have responsibility for any ofthe negative things thatmight occur," he says . "Live-in residence hall staff mem-bers-resident advisers and center coordinators-are re-sponsible for what you might call the good, the bad and theugly . FIRS deal with students in only a positive fashion ."

Because of the staff hierarchy and well-defined proce-dures for emergencies, Cintron and Owens report only a fewlate-night problems . Their positive encounters, however,are too numerous to mention .

"We respond more as a neighbor," Owens says . "Just asI'd help the guy next door ifhe needed me, I do so here . OnceI stopped to talk to a woman between the age of my motherand grandmother . She was with her daughter and grand-daughter, who was going to live in Cate . When the studentand her mother went upstairs, the grandmother pointed atme and said, `Young man, you take good care of my grand-daughter, you hear?' I said, `Ma'am, I will takejust as goodcare ofher as she will let me.' We have a lot ofparents whobreathe an audible sigh of relief to think there's an adultaround, in spite of our assurances that wejust don't inter-vene in student life, that we have no disciplinary responsi-bility ."

Cintron and Owens take their good neighbor policy seri-ously . Infall 1998 a father, who was anative ofIndiaworkingin the United Arabic Emirates, brought his son to schoolthinking he could stay in the son's dorm room . The son'sroommate arrived early, however, and there were no roomsin the inns . The father spent several nights with the FIRs-and cooked two complicated traditional Indian dinners,which about 20 students had the privilege of sharing .

The FIRs ofCouch:

Doug Win andMarielle Hoefnagels

Gaffin and Hoefnagels moved into Tom Boyd's formerapartmentin fall 1997 whenhe moved to Colorado, but theyalready knew their predecessor in a different capacity . Anordained minister, Boyd had married the couple in a Janu-ary 1997 ceremony in Jacobson Hall . Doug had been teach-ing at OU since August 1996, and Marielle had joined himthat December . They moved into the residence hall in June1997, newlyweds as well as newlyFIRs .

Schrage refers to Gaffin and Hoefnagels laughingly asthe "scorpion and dirt folks" because of Doug's scholarlyfocus on the venomous stinging arachnids and Marielle'sstudy ofbacteria and fungi that live in the earth . Doug hastaken groups of his students and a group of residentadvisers on scorpion safaris, but he has not yet opened theexperience to dorm residents, given the risky business ofwrangling the stinging critters . However, he and Marielletwice have wrangled more than 250 students for midnightbreakfasts .

"We were lamenting that we offer these academic expe-

Newlyweds Marielle Hoefnagels and Doug Gaffin, withtheir cats, Two, above, and Scoops, inherited the CouchCenter apartment of OU's first faculty-in-residence,emeritus professor Tom Boyd .

riences-I sometimes call them our pointy-head programs-that appeal to a certain type of student but not all,"Hoefnagels says . "We were notreaching the many studentsjust sitting around the lounge who didn't even know ourapartment was here .

"The first time, we actually all didthe cooking: pancakesand eggs and sausage andbacon from 11 p .m . to 1 a.m . It wasquite a scene in the kitchen, let me tell you . It's good-sized,but whenyou have 10 RAs, it gets wild . This time, we gotthefood already prepared from the cafeteria . It was a lot lesscrazy."

The Gaffin-Hoefnagels say they average about five orga-nized events with students each month, ranging from resi-dent adviser meetings to speakers . They eat in the cafeteriaand release some of the tensions of academic life playingtable tennis and volleyball with students . They ordered twoextra season tickets to the University theater, taking twodifferent students along for each show . They recently had 15pre-veterinarian students over for dinner to visit with anadmissions officer from Oklahoma State's College ofVeteri-nary Medicine .

"We didn't really know what the FIR program would be

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like, but most ofour fears were alleviated by talkingto Rosaand Tom and Tom Boyd," Gaffin says . "You envision livingin a small dorm room and sharing a bathroom with a bunchof undergraduates as you flash back to your own dormexperience."

Marielle adds, "We were also concerned about privacy .Doug teaches this humongous class, and we feared that onthe night before exams, we might have 100 students drop-ping in asking for help, but that hasn't happened."

Doug says that transition back to non-campus residen-tial life will be a challenge . He says that their experienceswith their 800 neighbors have not been at all difficult .

"We actually have a policy now that if the doorbell ringsonce after midnight, we don't answer because we do getoccasional drive-by doorbell ringings," he says . "If it ringstwice, it's probably something important . We got a doubledoorbell ring just last week . It was a resident havingdifficulty with her roommate. They just weren't gettingalong . We talked to her and got her to her resident adviser .They took it from there . We talked to her parents, too, thatsame night . They were worried sick after she called them,so they called us."

The FIRS ofAdams:

Eric and Hilda ConnellThe Connellsjoined the FIR force at the same time as the

Gaffin-Hoefnagels, bringing Lauren, 10, and Mia, 22 months,to join Sara Owens, 5, in the ranks of FIRkids .

"It's like living in a mini city," Hilda says . "In anycommunity, you have good people and bad people and me-dium people . It's like that here . We have those withproblems and those without . We live with 800 students whocome from small towns and big cities . Some have traveledthe world ; some have never left home before .

"We try to get to know all our neighbors . This year, Erictook a group picture ofeveryRA with hisorherresidents . Wewant to get to know as many as possible by name . It soundsoverwhelming, but you do come to learn them."

The Connells say their lives proceed much as they didwhen they lived off campus . They visit friends, have over-nightguests andtake familyvacations while resident advis-ers apartment-sit . Before becomingFIRS, they walked andbiked to campus to walk and bike on it . Now, they cut outStep (or Pedal) One .

In addition to their formal lecturettes, Hilda opens theirhome to social activities with a message as well . She plansa discussion of date rape and one on healthy eating . Sherecently helped with a dinner ofSpanish and Mexican foodthat featured the Hispanic StudentAssociation's vice presi-dent playing guitar and singing . She read folktales fromdifferent Spanish-speaking countries .

"We're not here to watch overthe students or to take careof them or even to ensure they make the right decisions,"Hilda says . "We are role models . But it does make parentsfeel comfortable to know that there's a family within reach .I was outside with Mia when a mother helping her daughtermove a new fridge into her room saw me and said, `You livehere? You have children here?' Then she turned to her

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Eric and Hilda Connell, with their daughters, Lauren andMia, have found their 800 student neighbors in AdamsCenter to be very respectful of their privacy .

daughter and said, `Visit her . You should go and visit her.'"Eric recalls soothing the fears of another parent during

a phone call from Dallas . "This father was concerned abouthis child being a bit lonely and out oftouch . He said, `Look,I wonder ifthere's any way you could find out for me ifhe'sOK? His roommate lives in Norman and goes home all thetime .' I went to the student's RA and asked him to get thestudent involved if possible .

That's one case in which Ithink we made a difference . I don't think the parent wouldhave called an RA as readily as he called us."

Eric says in their second year they have become morejudicious in time management . Hilda adds that studentsare consistently respectful ofthe family's privacy.

"Last year, we said if the light in the lobby is on, come onby," she says . "This yearwe haven't evenbothered with that .No one this semester has rung the bell after 10 p.m . We'veheard ofotherprograms in which students come at all hourssaying, `Help, I've lost my key.' Here, the stafftakes care ofthose problems ."

The FIRS ofWalker :

Shad and Valerie SatterthwaiteThe Satterthwaites moved their family into Walker in

August 1998, doubling the FIRkid population . As thenewest FIRS, they have not had much time to assess theprogram . They heard of it when Tom Boyd spoke at a 1995holiday tree lighting in David Burr Park, just east of thedormitories .

"We brought the kids to that and stood listening to Tomtalk about Christmas traditions and integrating them intoresidence life," Shad remembers . "He spoke of the campusas his and the students' front yard . We thought that was agreat thing."

Valerie says she was unsure what their lives wouldbecome orhow the change inlifestyle would affect their threechildren .

"I assumed there might be more downsides because aswe told our friends what we were going to do, they wouldsay, `You're doing what?'" she says . "They thought wewere absolutely crazy to move into a dorm with 1,300undergraduates, but it's really been fun, and the kids haveloved it ."

Shad says, "It does take some getting used to, though .There are a lot ofwindows in this apartment, and you haveto think aboutwhat you're doing . You can'tjust come out inyour bathrobe with the lights on and parade around ."

The Satterthwaites say that when their doorbell rings,they open the doors to find students who have come by tochat, play with the children or plan center activities . Oneelementary education major has enlisted 4-year-old Tanneras part of a field experiment in math, bringing Life Saversfor him to count and categorize by color . This FIR family'sstudent interactions have been fine, they say ."We had one homesick girl who came in to chat,"Val says .

"We invited her to dinner . That's not really a problem ; it'sjust part of life here . One student said, `I watch yourdaughter eatbreakfast every dayas Igo to my 7:30 class, andit's so nice to know that there's life still going on in a normalfashion ."'

The faculty-in-residence program gives proofto the ideathat it takes a village to raise a student . As village elders,the FIRs eat, work and play as contributors to that worthygoal for several thousand engaged in the learning process .Creating a bridge betweenfaculty and students, theycreateliving/learning environments that nourish both the spiritand the mind .

The Satterthwaite family-Shad, Valerie, Pace, Megan and Tanner-who doubled the FIR kid population when theymoved into Walker Center, were intrigued by Tom Boyd's description of the campus as the "students' front yard ."

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