Editors’ note: In August 2014 SMU will debut the Residential Commons on-campus living model. Eleven Faculty-in-Residence were selected to live among students. This is part seven of 11 FiR profiles.
Beginning in the fall of 2014, SMU first-year students will pioneer the newest residential life program developing on campus: an integrated community with 11 Faculty-in-Residence who will live alongside students for their first two years of college.
Robert Krout, director of the Music Therapy Program at SMU, was one of the first announced faculty members of the new initiative.
“I was excited when…[SMU was] first talking about [the faculty-in-residence]…because I’ve always felt the SMU campus offers so many wonderful opportunities that students and faculty didn’t take advantage of,” Krout said.
A significant proponent of the program, Krout explained that one of his hopes is to “interact with students to help them take advantage” of the events, lectures, exhibits and social programs offered both on campus and around Dallas. By offering a variety of activities and resources for students, Krout aims to “involve students with different goals [and] desires” studying at SMU.
“My main goal in our residential community [is that it] has multiple opportunities to engage with the SMU campus…on a number of different levels so there’s no one who feels…like they’re not included,” Krout said. “If it looks like there are students who are not being engaged, I can make sure there is something that interests them.”
Krout is already planning “a number of programs both formal and informal” that will acquaint students with the University and the city of Dallas, as well as the faculty themselves as resources for students to take full advantage of.
“There are just so many things going on and it’s an amazing experience,” Krout said. “We will be building community on a floor-by-floor and student-by-student basis within the residence hall community.”
Creating the engaged community Krout said will allow the university to “involve students in the SMU experience on a much deeper and meaningful level.”
Having live-in faculty from a range of academic departments and specializations will foster the all-around growth of the student on a personal and academic level.
“The main opportunity is being a hands-on integral part of the Residential Commons and the lives of the students on a daily basis,” Krout said.
As one of the selected faculty members, Krout said the work already has been “wonderfully rewarding.”
“I feel really fortunate to be a part of it,” Krout said. “I don’t regret how busy I am. I am loving every minute of it.”
