Forum Talents Area-based Courses First-year Experience Dickinson Leadership Certificate Learning Communities
Dear Students (both newcomers and returners),
In the Dickinson Community, the “original community”, we understand that learning does not stop when you go out of the classroom door. In fact, many of your most formative experiences will take place right here in the residential community. As Faculty Master, it is my role to coordinate the Living-Learning aspects of Dickinson Community. We have a variety of opportunities for you to make this a true “living and learning community”.
About once a month we invite a speaker from the faculty or the community to give a presentation followed by a question and answer session. These are held in the Fireplace Lounge, so provide an informal setting to talk about current issues and areas of research that would probably not be covered in class. Recent topics have included the ethics of human embryonic stem cell research, the energy crisis, the Arab Spring, and the social behavior of crows.
Some of the speakers at the Forum are Dickinson Fellows. These are members of the University faculty and staff who have demonstrated an interest in interacting with Dickinson students. They act as judges for some of our competitive events, are resources for RA programs, and join us for lunch in the dining hall about once a month.
In 2011-12 we started monthly Open Mic Nights in which Dickinson students shared their talents in singing, songwriting, dancing, playing musical instruments, comedy, etc. These are held in the Fireplace Lounge in the Chenango-Champlain Collegiate Center (C4) and have been tremendously popular and fun. In Spring 2012 we held a juried art show with a variety of entries from Dickinson students and staff including drawings, paintings, photography, sculpture and computer art. We expect to continue these wonderful opportunities and add student poetry and prose readings.
For Fall 2012 we will offer sections of two courses open only to students living in Dickinson Community. The students in these courses all live nearby, eat in the same dining hall, participate in the same community events, etc. This makes it easy to form study groups among Dickinson friends in the same course section. Each of these courses satisfies General Education requirements (* see below). The Fall 2012 Dickinson Learning Community courses are:
ASTR 115 – Observational Astronomy Lab, lab A61 (22756) R 10:05-11:05 am. The lecture part of this course (ASTR 114) is a pre- or co-requisite for the lab. Satisfies the GenEd “L” requirement. This section meets in a computer lab, but all students in this section live in Dickinson and may make use of Dickinson's own telescope.
If you are interested in any of these courses, simply select the appropriate section when registering.
One section of HDEV 105 will be open
only to new Dickinson students. The section will meet in Digman hall lounge (which feels
like your own living room) and will be taught by Jessica Moore, a recent Resident
Director in Dickinson.
This is a special program only for Dickinson students, facilitated by Assistant Director Jeff Horowitz. Participants complete of a series of workshops and maintain a journal of their activities. The Dickinson Leadership Certificate would make an outstanding entry in your co-curricular transcript. For details, click here.
Dickinson is home to two Learning Communities, halls in which students of like interests or who are enrolled in a special program live together and take some courses together. CoRE (Computers, Robotics and Engineering) has a long history in Dickinson. These students share a floor in Whitney Hall and have an office (the "CoRETex") in the C4 building. See core.binghamton.edu for more information.
Starting in Fall 2012 Dickinson will also host a Learning Community of students in the Student Support Services (SSS) program within Champlain Hall. These students will be enrolled in their own section of HDEV 105. See the SSS program for details.
If you have any questions about Dickinson’s “living and learning community” please feel free to contact me by email or by phone through the community office, or drop by my office (in the Chenango-Champlain Collegiate Center, just off the Fireplace Lounge).
Your Faculty Master,
Jeff Barker
(607) 777-2826
* General Education requirements include one course each in Composition (C) and Oral Communication (O), which can be satisfied with a single Joint (J) course, one course each in Humanities (H), Global Interdependencies (G), Laboratory Science (L), Math and Reasoning (M), Pluralism (P), Social Science (N) and Aesthetics (A). In addition there are Foreign Language and Health/Wellness requirements.
Students who have a good idea of their intended major are well advised to take one or two courses toward that major while beginning to satisfy General Education requirements. This not only keeps you on schedule toward graduation, but also helps you maintain your own interest and motivation in your courses.
