A community for “living and learning”
By Adrienne Frank
(From American Weekly, Oct. 2, 2006)

Professor John Richardson treats students to a home-cooked meal in his Anderson Hall apartment. Photo by Jeff Watts

During John Richardson’s first semester in Anderson Hall, the fire alarms were frequent, jolting him from his slumber numerous times. Over the past four years, though, he’s become a seasoned resident, laying his clothes on a chair near his bed so that, if the alarm sounds at 2 a.m., he’s prepared. The giant yellow bowl, brimming with miniature chocolate bars and peanut butter cups, and adorned with flashing red lights, is nearby, as well. That, Richardson says, is as essential as his shoes and shirt.

“It’s funny, we’ll all be standing there in our pajamas in the middle of the night, and you’ll just see these flashing lights. Then he’ll come around and offer you some candy,” laughs Shayna Hayes, a resident assistant (RA) in Centennial Hall. “That’s just John.”

Richardson, AU’s first faculty in residence, has called a cozy apartment on the first floor of Anderson home since January 2002. What began as a way to cut down on his weekday commute after he and his wife built their dream home in Hume, Va., has become “one of the most valuable and rewarding experiences” of his career.

“I get at least as much as I give and probably more because I’ve learned a great deal about students and their lives, dreams, hopes, and concerns,” says Richardson. “These are things that, in 28 years of being a university faculty member, I had never known before I moved in here.”

The big bowl of candy is just one way Richardson, a professor in the School of International Service (SIS) and director of the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE), tries “to make life more pleasant for students.” His fridge is stocked with Klondike ice cream bars, a student favorite, and his couch, a popular spot for conversations about everything from politics to literature, is inviting and well worn.

Five or six times each semester, Richardson, a culinary enthusiast, prepares an international feast for 12 to 14 students. “I’m going to go into the catering business when I’m done here,” he laughs. Juggling their plates and flutes of sparkling cider, the group gathers around the coffee table in Richardson’s living room to swap stories and share laughs. An ornate Sri Lankan oil lamp in the corner of the room is always safely lit (thanks to a string of Christmas lights)—a traditional gesture welcoming visitors.

Richardson, who chronicles his adventures on his blog, www.dormgrandpop.blogspot.com, says he’s acclimated to dorm life; even those pesky fire alarms have become routine, he says. Like any new resident, though, it took some time to develop a true sense of belonging.

“I was surprised at how difficult it was to get noticed, at first,” he recalls. “Moving on campus was a significant event for me, and I thought it would be a significant event for students, but it really wasn’t. It took some time, and it took me doing different kinds of things to be noticed; I really had to reach out, and not take for granted that they’d value me and come to accept my presence.

“That experience led me to realize and respect how much students are coping with,” says Richardson. “They’re uprooted from a structured environment, placed into a room with one or two other people, and expected to not only adjust, but thrive.”

Like Richardson, freshman Tessa Raden, an Anderson resident, has learned that keeping her door open is key to thriving in the residence halls. No longer strangers, neighbors become friends and a sense of community emerges. more>>

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