Professor Lives Beside Students in Unit 1

It's not every day that students run into their professors on their way home or when they sit down to dinner at the dining commons.

But, as the second year of the Residential Faculty program kicks off, residents living in Unit 1-Slottman Hall may encounter East Asian languages and cultures professor Duncan Ryuken Williams on their way out the door.

Williams was selected to live in a Slottman Hall apartment for the next year due to his experience with similar programs at other universities.

"I had a little background in similar programs and enjoyed being with undergraduate students and I thought it would be a great way to know the school in an intimate setting," Williams said.

The professor, who specializes in Japanese Buddhism, lived among students for two years while he taught at Trinity College in Connecticut. He was also a tutor in the Harvard University house system.

Williams is the second faculty member to be involved in the year-old program, which is run jointly through the Office of Student Development and the Office of the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs.

The program was created as a way to provide a more casual setting for students to communicate with faculty members, said program coordinator Monica Cortes Viharo.

"In some ways this person is sort of a liaison between the academic part of the university and the residential part we are involved in," Viharo said.

In the spirit of the program, Williams said he hopes to use himself and other faculty members as role models for students learning how to balance many aspects of their life.

"I can introduce students to learn about themselves and the Berkeley campus and encourage them to join student groups and explore Berkeley," he said.

After moving in last week, Williams is already starting to interact with students by inviting fellow residents to play tennis as a form of office hours.

"The main thing is to have informal, out-of-the-classroom contexts where we can interact as faculty and students," he said. "I already have a bunch of students at different levels who I play tennis with."

In an effort to meet more students, Williams is also planning to eat at Crossroads, despite his skepticism about the quality of dining commons food.

Living among students in general could prove to be a challenge, he said, pointing to a potential lack of privacy for him and his fiancee Sun Young Lee, who is living with him in the residence hall.

"This is her first experience with something like this and I think she was a little apprehensive," Williams said. "It's a bit odd for us because we also want to have some kind of privacy-an area separate from student life."

But Williams and his fiancee are not alone in their experience living with students.

George Chang, a professor emeritus in the nutritional sciences and toxicology department who currently lives in Unit 2, has offered to advise the couple on any concerns they might have.

After spending a year in the residence halls, Chang had a lot to share about the rhythm of student life in the residence halls, Williams said.

"He knows something about how things work here and what has changed over time," Williams said. "As a pair, we both complement each other through our experiences."

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