Student-faculty relations outside of he classroom are very important

At any Saturday home game at Hampden-Sydney the professors who watch the game from the Wilson Center are a welcome and familiar sight, and it is usually the same professors who attend each game. This group of professors has become a fixture at the College. Students, who appreciate additional out-of-classroom time to interact with their professors, also respect them.

Decades ago the on-campus and out-of-classroom contact was even more pronounced, but with different generations come different priorities. This is not to say that newer professors do not value the students, but with many of them living in Richmond or Charlottesville there are just not as many opportunities for the same kind of mentor-mentee relationships. Prof. Frusetta summed it up when he said, “Graduate school trains scholars, but it doesn’t train professors very well.” This is not a slight against any professor, but rather a reminder that we should do more to capitalize on the unique opportunity we have at Hampden-Sydney. At many large state schools there exists a canyon between students and professors making student-professor connections nearly impossible. Hampden-Sydney’s small class sizes make these opportunities a possibility, however.

This semester, for example, the Union-Philanthropic Literary Society has developed a program to help foster student-professor relationships. UPLS frequently invites an alumnus of the Society back on a Friday and then takes him to dinner with his favorite professor. This provides an opportunity for students to get to know their professors and for alumni to catch up with them. Other clubs and on-campus organizations provide similar opportunities. CSPE, for example, hosts three reading groups where students can debate and discuss ideas with professors. 

Many professors are still very active in campus life. The Macon Week activities held at the Tiger Inn saw a good number of attendances from professors. These type of events help promote the interests of everyone and reduce the notion that, except for office hours, you might not see a professor out of the classroom. Seeing professors outside the classroom will encourage them to look forward to an opportunity to casually approach a professor for extra guidance. For professors, this personal interaction is beneficial as well because it allows them to identify students who are interested in their field or are struggling with class material. In this way it becomes a tool for community strengthening and building those professor-student bonds that attracted many students to a school like Hampden-Sydney.

Dr. Frusetta also points out, “Professors are like icebergs; you see them in class, but this is really only about a fifth of how they spend their time at work.” And he is absolutely correct. Students should be made aware of professors other time commitments.

H-SC is still light years ahead of many other schools when considering the sense of community that exists. And if both professors and students get involved to form better connections, both sides will benefit. In the long run, that will only strengthen our College. However, we should not take the culture we have for granted. We need to be constantly seeking out new avenues to engage students and professors beyond classes. While the younger generation of professors should seek more opportunities for involvement, student clubs should also look towards finding ways to involve professors in their activities.

Related posts:

1. It Time to Fix Our Classrooms
2. Bookstore Poses Challenge to Campus Users
3. First Week impressions
4. Freshman Learning From Last Semester
5. Dead Weekends: Alcohol, CAC, and Your Money!