EDWARDSVILLE - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville freshmen living in first-year residence halls and transfer students in Cougar Village had special visitors Tuesday night. More than 65 volunteer faculty, staff and administrators, including Chancellor Stephen Hansen and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Jeffrey Waple, knocked on doors and welcomed the new students during University Housing’s annual House Calls event.
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“This was our 11th year of conducting House Calls,” explained Vicky Dean, assistant director of University Housing for Residential Education and event coordinator. “Our volunteers handed out candy, asked students about their first week of classes and answered their questions. It’s a wonderful way to personally welcome our new students and help them feel at home.”
A special effort was made to assign faculty and staff volunteers to specific communities within the residence halls. For instance, Dean says, engineering faculty may have had the opportunity to begin forming relationships with students who are in the engineering focused interest community (FIC) and who they may work with throughout the year.
“In addition to welcoming students, volunteers also urged students to ask questions in class, get involved and study,” added Dean. “One goal of House Calls is to encourage the success of our first-year students and empower them to solve problems. It’s also an opportunity to identify any potential problems early in the semester and direct students to help if needed or follow-up with the residence life staff.”
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