A team from UM will attend the National Summer Institute on Learning Communities to increase the effectiveness of living, learning communities on campus. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Communications
The University of Mississippi is among fewer than 30 colleges and universities in the nation selected to attend the National Summer Institute on Learning Communities, a program designed to help institutions start or expand learning community programs by sharing best practices for learning communities.
The university’s goal is to increase the effectiveness of these communities, such as the Global Perspectives Living-Learning Community, said Michael Cherry, Ole Miss student housing area coordinator.
He hopes to bring back information from national leaders on creating activities and involvement opportunities for students in living-learning communities that will help them transition to university life while becoming engaged scholars and responsible citizens.
“We are very excited to attend this conference as an interdepartmental team to gather new ideas and learn from the experiences of other institutions,” Cherry said. “We look forward to implementing some new programs based on what we will learn and continuing to work to enrich the lives of our residential students.”
Accompanying Cherry to the program in July are Scott Oliver, assistant director of student housing for residential learning; Stephen Monroe, assistant dean of the College of Liberal Arts and FASTrack director; Toni Avant, director of the Career Center; and Chelsea Bennett, assistant dean of student services in the School of Pharmacy.