By Piper Rutherford | Staff Writer

While leaving home for college can be daunting, the freshman class is in good hands thanks to the faculty-in-residence program, whose mission it is to make Baylor feel like a second home.

Faculty-in-residence is a position held by Baylor professors who live alongside students in residence halls. Since 2004, 40 different professors have served as a faculty-in-residence, according to the Baylor Proud website.

Dr. Lesley McAllister, faculty-in-residence for Collins Hall, said they are simply mentors who are available and eager to help their residents.

“We are humans too, which can sometimes get lost in the mind of a new student who sees a professor walking down the dorm’s hallway and thinks that they are intimidating — when, in reality, it is just another adult who is living their own real life, with their own family, taking their kids to school and walking their dogs,” McAllister said.

The first step to developing this relationship of familiarity is for residents to attend events and social sessions offered by their faculty-in-residence.

McAllister said at Collins alone, there are 450 residents to get to know and love on a deeper level. Since COVID-19 heightened general levels of anxiety, she is offering a “Wellness Wednesday” this semester. McAllister said her interests are student wellness and finding time for self-care.

“Every Wednesday afternoon, I will be in the lobby handing out healthy snacks, coffee and tea, while offering students the chance to look at an infographic about topics like handling stress,” McAllister said. “I also teach yoga, so I am planning on having Saturday morning yoga classes. I have an upcoming vision board party scheduled, which I think is especially appropriate for freshmen entering college.”

These built-in chances to find community can help students who might be missing the comfort of home cope with the transition to college, whether that was moving to another state, another country or just a few miles down the road.

“We actually have a lot of students from California, Colorado and England,” McAllister said. “What I can offer is the chance to be around a family for those who are missing home. We have two little boys in our household, as well as our dog, Coco, who people love to come hug and pet when they are missing their own family pet. For those who are feeling homesick, I think it is important to let them know that it doesn’t last forever by encouraging them to get involved and build a social network of like-minded people here on campus in an effort to counteract this feeling of sadness.”

Dr. Lee Grumbles, faculty-in-residence for Brooks Flats, said teaching entrepreneurship at Paul L. Foster School of Business, as well as his 17-year career in finance, has given him the tools to teach young professionals in his own residence hall about business-related topics.

Every Tuesday night, Grumbles opens the classroom at Brooks Flats for students interested in the ideation process or talking through any potential ideas.

“We had our first session last night, and it was a great way for first-year students to get a taste of innovation and business, which can be applied to all areas of study before diving solely into their declared major,” Grumbles said. “I also plan on inviting business professionals to speak to our residents about their own company or how they chose their career pathway to show them that all people have their own professional journey and that there is no right path.”

Similarly, Grumbles said he wants first-year students to know that a major part of being successful in the classroom is not being discouraged by constructive criticism from a professor.

“I am a big advocate of learning by doing,” Grumbles said. “Know that you will get better. Don’t try to be perfect. Be OK with learning from your mistakes.”

However, if freshmen find themselves slipping up in a course, McAllister said she encourages them to not be afraid to ask their faculty-in-residence for help or advice.

“The faculty-in-residence is there,” McAllister said. “Sometimes students miss the emails or don’t go to the programs, but my job is to let them know that we care about the impact we can make on our residents. We want a relationship with them. So I encourage all students living in residence halls to take advantage of their faculty-in-residence.”