Baylor University
Global Community Living-Learning Center
Address: One Bear Place # 97198
City: Waco
State: TX
Zip or Postal Code: 76798
Country: USA
Program Director (or best person to contact): Janet Norden
Email: Janet_Norden@baylor.edu
Phone: 254-710-4124
Fax: n/a
Web Address: http://www.baylor.edu/gcllc
Brief Program Summary
The Global Community-LLC encourages and promotes friendship, appreciation and deeper understanding among cultures and prepares students for worldwide leadership and service. We are accomplishing this through language immersion suites and a weekly course that explores cross-cultural issues. The students educational experience is further supplemented by weekly faculty-led “lingo” or conversation groups, weekly service projects, and regular social interaction with international students.
Sources of funding
Student Programming Fees
Program Reports To:
Dean for Student Learning and Engagement, Assistant Dean for Student Learning and Engagement, Coordinator for Living-Learning Programs
Are students charged an additional fee: Yes
The number of persons in each of the following categories are teaching academic credit bearing courses
Fulltime Tenured Faculty:
Fulltime Probationary Faculty:
Fulltime Instructors: 1
Fulltime Retired Faculty:
Fulltime Adjunct Faculty:
Fulltime Graduate Students:
Fulltime Residence Hall Staff:
Parttime Tenured Faculty: 4
Parttime Probationary Faculty: 3
Parttime Instructors: 10
Parttime Retired Faculty:
Parttime Adjunct Faculty:
Parttime Graduate Students: 1
Parttime Residence Hall Staff: 1
Academic staff involved in the program that weren't included as faculty above
(Academic staff are personnel who are involved in providing academic services to students such as advising.)
Fulltime Academic Staff:
Parttime Academic Staff:
Non-academic staff involved in the program
(Non-academic staff are personnel who are involved in providing services that do not directly involve academics such as residence hall staff or staff who organize social activities that are not tied to academics.)
Fulltime Non-Academic Staff: 7
Parttime Non-Academic Staff: 4
Number of faculty offices in the residence hall: 6
The approximate percentage of students in each grade level
First Year:
Second Year: 55
Third Year: 20
Fourth Year and above: 25
Graduate Students:
Total Number of Students:
Year the Program Began:2008
Academic Courses Offered In The Community
Exploring Global Society and Culture - 1 credit hour;
Becoming a World Citizen and Servant Leader - 1 credit hour
Other Academic Offerings
Lingo Groups – Conversation hours meeting on a weekly basis under the direction of a faculty member and dealing with topics from the course
Classrooms in hall
1
Summary of Facilities and Facilities Budget
Computer Resources in the Residence Hall
3 laptops available for check-out at the front desk
The Role of Community Partnerships
We are currently connecting with multiple zones of the community to offer service and support, including non-profit organizations, schools, hospitals, and clinics. Students are responsible to spend at least one hour a week in service, and while some of them have individual service areas, others are involved in a consistent group-initiated zone in the community.
The Role of Leadership Development
We have a mentoring program that goes on between the upper-division members of the LLC and other freshman involved in the Global Community Engaged Learning Group (ELG) on campus. We are promoting student participation in committees responsible for planning social events, service areas, spiritual life, and research initiatives.
The Role of Research
Students will be given the opportunity to become “Private Investigators” and conduct a survey within their various service zones and cultures of interest. These PI’s will organize a group of researchers from among their colleagues and the freshman whom they mentor in order to produce a study that will be presented publicly at the end of the year.
Summary of Assessment Activities
We engage in monthly self-assessment and are accountable to an Advisory Board for our activities and decisions.
Summary of Extracurricular Activities Formally Associated with the Program
We are planning an event for each semester that would involve the community, e.g. a Candlelight Procession and Global Fair. We also host monthly socials that are both recreational and educational.
The Role of Interdisciplinary Studies
The students themselves come from diverse disciplines, allowing us to frequently engage in class discussions of an interdisciplinary nature. The course is team-taught by instructors from various disciplinary backgrounds, and we intend to invite speakers from across campus to visit our course as guest lecturers which will also contribute to making it an interdisciplinary experience for students in the program.
How Diversity Issues are Addressed in the Program and in Courses
On a weekly basis, students are presented with ideas about diversity and culture in a variety of ways, including group exercises, educational games/activities, and visiting lecturers who bring a wealth of knowledge and experience with such topics. Also, students are given a journal prompt weekly that they respond to in essay form and submit for review. This has been one of the most effective ways to initiate discussion about diversity. The professor or graduate responds to the journals individually in order to promote continued conversation about the topics.
How Diversity Issues are Addressed Among Faculty and Students
We simply try to create an environment that welcomes people from all backgrounds and cultures. We believe that cultivating relationships is one of the best ways to increase learning on this topic.
Student Demographics
Ages: 19-21
Gender: 8 male, 19 female
Race/ethnicity: 4 Hispanic, 5 African American, 12 Caucasian American, 1 French, 1 Belgian, 1 Asian American, 1 Filipino, and 2 Korean students
General socio-economic level: middle- to upper-level
(figures are estimated from 2008-2009)
Faculty Rewards for Participation in the Program
Release Time:
Salary Supplement:
Travel Funds:
Other:
Description of Other Rewards
Disciplines Represented by the Faculty
Modern Foreign Languages (French, German, Japanese, Korean, Spanish), Journalism, Education, Business, Religion
Willing to Serve as a Consultant:
No
Greatest Challenges for this Learning Community:
Our greatest challenged is communicating to students that the challenges of engaging in such a program (language barriers, cultural differences, time commitments, etc.) are necessary and worthy steps on the journey toward cultivating a global perspective on our campus.
Suggested Bibliography
Hofstede, G. J., Pederson, P. B. & Hofstede G. (2003). Exploring Culture. Yarmouth, MN: Intercultural Press.