Professor to Live in Residence Hall

George Chang is like any freshman at UC Berkeley: He is moving into Unit 2, eats dinner at Crossroads Dining Hall and worries that UC Berkeley is too impersonal.

The only difference is that Chang is a professor of nutritional science who lives with his wife. That and his spacious three-bedroom apartment in Unit 2's Towle Hall is free and equipped with a full kitchen.

When Chang finishes moving into his apartment in August he will become the lone professor in a pilot faculty-in-residence program designed by UC Berkeley's Housing and Dining Services to house professors with students.

The idea is to give students academic and social support while creating more student-faculty interactions, says Troy Gilbert, associate director of Academic Services, who runs the program.

Chang, who has taught at UC Berkeley since 1970, was selected by Vice Chancellor Genaro Padilla as the first participant of the program.

"Mr. Chang and his wife will live in the residence halls, and after a year we are going to redraft the program based upon their experience," Gilbert said.

Chang put it more bluntly.

"I'm working to see that students are not so frightened of the faculty," he said while sitting on the couch in his new apartment. "Berkeley is crying for better interaction between students and faculty."

For the most part, students seemed unconvinced.

"I would hate to walk into the bathroom and see my professor in a towel stepping out of the shower," said sophomore Ally Amerson, who lives in Unit 2's Cunningham Hall.

Chang does get his own bathroom. But Amerson said that in a broader sense, allowing professors in the dorms could negatively impact the whole environment.

"I don't believe the dorm experience would be the same if the idea of solely independent student living-where experimental and often illegal activities are part of the experience-were sacrificed to increase the interaction between students and their professors," she said.

Student Mike Tran agreed that he didn't like the possible blurring of students' academic and social lives.

"At the end of the day, you want to go somewhere where you will be amongst your peers," he said. "The same goes for the professor who will need to get away from work."

But Sean Kennedy, a fourth-year student, said the disconnect between faculty and students could be mended through the program "because Berkeley is such an impersonal place."

Kennedy also said the chosen professors should match the academic interests of the students from a particular dorm.

Faculty-in-residence programs are nothing new. They have been implemented nationwide at institutions like Cornell University, Duke University and UC Santa Barbara.

"I find that students enjoy the activities as long as one is mindful to avoid having the activities feel like attending yet another class," said Arlie Petters, a math and physics professor and participant of the program at Duke.

UC Santa Barbara faculty-in-residence Apostolos Athanassakis said he has been getting "a warm response" from the students who participated in the 2-year-old program.

Chang said he has heard student concerns, but added that he has been living with students for years.

"I have been doing it for 35 years basically in secret, " Chang said, pointing to his experience of living among students in an apartment building in Berkeley.

As a faculty-in-residence, Chang is expected to "advise on any topic, including social life issues," Gilbert said. Chang will also be working with residential assistants to come up with additional services for students.

Chang is planning to offer this year is tai chi for stress reduction. His wife, a UC Berkeley alumna, proposed informal "survival cooking" classes for students intimidated by the idea of making a meal.

Although a professor of nutritional science, Chang said he is not concerned about having to eat in the dining halls, whose offerings have often been criticized for lack of nutritional content.

"I think that the residential food at Berkeley is phenomenal in terms of variety, cleanliness, and nutritional value," Chang said.

The faculty-in-residence pilot program will run through the next academic year, depending on Chang's experience.

"Being around students keeps part of you young," he said. "Teaching is the closest thing anybody has to a fountain of youth."

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