Brown students living on campus have all been invited to at least one party this semester - the Faculty Advising Fellows party, that is. The event marks a new year for the Faculty Advising Fellows program, which is larger this year than ever before, and has reconvened with renewed spirit and vigor.
Since last year, 10 new Faculty Advising Fellows have been chosen to assist the already existing Fellows in Residence, faculty members who are available as advisers for different sets of dormitories and hold Faculty Fellow events throughout the year.
The program, a collaboration between the Office of the Dean of the College and Residential Life, has had greater support from ResLife in conducting events this year.
Professor of Biology Peter Heywood, a fellow in residence at 60 Charlesfield St., part of Vartan Gregorian Quadrangle A, said that while ResLife is giving fellows more support in getting refreshments for their events.
The Fellows host students at their houses and offer a wide array of programming throughout the year.
The Faculty Fellows' events are aimed to appeal to a variety of tastes, with film screenings and discussions, talent shows, live music performances and poetry readings just a sampling of events scheduled for the next few months.
The new Faculty Fellows Web site, a part of ResLife's Web site, includes a calendar of programming by house, pictures and biographic information of the corresponding advisers and a map with directions to each house from different parts of campus.
A master calendar of all events is also on the Web site for students looking for alternatives to what is offered specifically for their dormitories.
Heywood and his wife, Associate Professor of History Nancy Jacobs, are both involved with the program, hosting events for residents of Vartan Gregorian Quadrangle and Graduate Centers A through C.
Heywood hosted three events in the last week, including a reception Sunday evening for first-generation college students at Brown.
"Faculty Fellows have always had that role," Heywood said. The new program, he added, is more "embedded within the advising network."
Students should utilize all available resources, including both their academic advisers and their Faculty Fellows, Heywood said.
He said though the roles of different advisers often overlap, it is important to talk with lots of people to get good information.
"Its important to build a lot of redundancy into the system," he said, "and I'm using that as a good word."
Gary Vargas '12 has yet to attend a Faculty Fellows event, but said he planned to go. When asked what would draw him to an event, he said he'd like to see programming that pushes the envelope.
"What can (the fellows) pull off?" he said. "I'd like to see, what are the limits?"
Vivian Ortiz '10 said she went to numerous Faculty Fellow events last year, and added that she was happy to hear that ResLife is re-energizing the program.
"I don't think it was very successful last year, but I think this year it could be a lot better with more faculty," she said.
She described the meetings last year as opportunities to grab food and go, but said that they did not serve as "a place to hang out."
