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From Oct. 18 through Oct. 20 a contingent of faculty and staff leaders within the “Living and Learning at ���ϲ�����” initiative attended the Residential College Symposium at Virginia Tech. From the Residential College Society, “The goal of the Symposium is to provide an opportunity for faculty and student affairs educators to expand their learning network, share knowledge, and build community, as well as disseminate scholarship about the residential college experience.”

���ϲ����� is one of the founding members of the society and Jennifer Stephens currently serves on the executive leadership team for the society. Attendees included:

• Eleanor Finger, Assistant Vice President for Student Life / Dean of Campus Life / Assistant Professor
• Jennifer Stephens, Director of Academic-Residential Partnerships and Assistant Professor of Education
• Kirsten Carrier, Assistant Dean of Campus Life/Director of Residence Life
• Sarah Ann Chapman, Associate Director of Residence Life for Residential Education and Community Development
• Nina Namaste, Faculty Director for Colonnades Neighborhood, Professor of Spanish in the Department of World Languages and Cultures
• Sandy Marshall, Faculty Director for Global Neighborhood, Associate Professor of Geography
• Jessica Gisclair, Faculty In Residence for Global Neighborhood, Associate Professor of Strategic Communications
• Mariann King, Community Director for Global Neighborhood
• Jasmine Hill Evans, Community Director for East Neighborhood

Additionally, Jessica Gisclair, Mariann King, Sandy Marshall, and Jennifer Stephens presented their work at the conference in a session titled “Promoting Belonging and Community by Integrating Engaged Learning, Social Connectedness, and Diverse Citizenship.” This presentation discussed building traditions, fostering a sense of residential identity, creating informal spaces of interaction and mentoring, and bridging campus/community connections in residential spaces. Attendees gained practical strategies to incentivize student engagement; strengthen connections between and among students, faculty, and staff; integrate living and learning; and foster a sense of community within and beyond the residential neighborhood.

The group who attended the conference will be sharing their takeaways with the Living and Learning Community of Practice during an upcoming “Lunch and Learn.” The community of practice includes partners in Living and Learning such as Linked Course Faculty, LLC Advisors, Live-In Faculty and Staff, Residential Campus Leadership Team members, Residential Campus Advisory Committee (RCAC) members, and other champions of the residential experience.