Residential Colleges Crucial at University 9/27

MarKeicha Dickens

JOUR 271

September 27, 2012

LRC Story

498 Words

Residential Colleges Crucial at University

        UNIVERSITY, Miss.—The Luckyday community as well as the University community were rocked by the sudden death of Mr. Julius Minor, husband of Dr. Ethel Young-Minor. Young-Minor is an associate professor of English and African-American studies at the University of Mississippi. She also holds the title "Senior Fellow" at The Luckyday Residential College where her family is housed. Minor was very dedicated to and involved in the LRC community.
 

       Many university students were oblivious to the fact that Minor’s family actually lived on campus at the Luckyday Residential College. “I didn’t know that Dr. Minor and her family lived at the LRC. That’s very surprising to me,” sophomore International Studies major Bridgett Williams said. The point of residential colleges on campus isn’t clear to many university students..

            Dr. Donald Cole, Assistant Provost, Assistant to the Chancellor Concerning Minority Affairs, and Associate Professor of Mathematics, said the residential colleges were the brainchild of former Provost Dr. Carolyn Staton. Staton believed the residential colleges would be a wonderful way to increase retention rates by building a sense of community.

            Once the first residential college was built the university sought the help of Dan O’Sullivan to serve as the Senior Fellow. O’Sullivan along with other faculty fellows would visit The Residential College to discuss various ideas and activities amongst themselves as well as the students.

            When the second residential college was built through funding from the Luckyday Foundation the search for yet another Senior Fellow ensued. Many faculty members submitted applications in hopes of being chosen.  Becoming Senior Fellow, however, was no easy task. “It is a challenging assignment. As most faculty want to retreat from campus after a hard day’s work, Senior Fellows simply start the other part of their day working with students,” Cole said.  The application process was intense and competitive, but in the end Dr. Minor’s application proved she was the most qualified to serve as Senior Fellow to The Lucky day Residential College.

            The decision was family based as Dr. Minor, her husband Julius Minor, and her two young daughters, Jasmine, and Janelle, moved into the dorms in the fall of 2010. Minor and her family had to sacrifice a great deal of privacy to live amongst the students of the LRC. “Her dedication is clearly displayed by how willing she was to relocate to mentor students,” Williams said.

            The concept of living-learning communities at Ole Miss has been costly but worthwhile for the college. “It is an expensive proposition for the University but one worth bearing to retain our students. As we have added “The Ridge” to our list of residential colleges, it is obvious that the University has a long-term commitment to this concept,” Cole said.

 

Dr. Donald Cole, Assistant Provost, Assistant to the Chancellor Concerning Minority Affairs, and Associate Professor of Mathematics

Contact:

Lyceum 129

Phone (662) 915-1713

Fax (662) 915-5935

 dcole@olemiss.edu

 

Bridgett Williams

Student

(228) 671-1421