Welcome to the First Year Student Opportunity Program (FYSOP) Living Learning Community (LLC)! This LLC offers first year students a great opportunity to be involved in a unique living learning environment with specialized guidance from faculty, staff and student mentors as students explore and affirm their academic careers. FYSOP is located in Stonewall Terrace which opened in fall of 2001 and offers suite-style living. Stonewall Terrace is also home to the Honors Program and the Building and Design living learning communities.
The goals for the First Year Student Opportunity Program Living Learning Community are:
- To create a living environment that enhances the academic experience and supports the residents’ exploration of their academic interests
- To support purposeful interactions with faculty inside and outside of the classroom
- To encourage residents to value and support a diverse campus community and a global perspective
- To provide opportunities for students to participate in community service with local, national, and global impacts
As a member of FYSOP, you will have the chance to build strong relationships with faculty and develop strong friendships with other first year students. Students will have access to various special resources, programs, and activities, including meeting with faculty in their residence hall offices.
Students in FYSOP will live together in Stonewall Terrace and will also attend classes together. This living arrangement enhances the opportunity for students to connect their classroom experiences with the programs that are offered in the residence hall by their Resident Assistant (RA) and Student Advocates (SA).
Students will participate in the First Year Seminar program and will take two Core courses together each semester that are taught by faculty and staff who are specially selected for the LLC. Students will participate in programs that provide the opportunity to interact and develop bonds with faculty outside of the classroom. Other programs will encourage students to develop self-awareness and respect for others who have diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and values. As a group, students in FYSOP will participate in community service projects that help meet the needs of the Bristol, RI community.
Student Advocates are upperclass students who work to support the success of incoming students. With support from professional staff, SAs pass on their knowledge and skills to first year students while empowering students to achieve their full potential and encouraging them to become active participants and leaders in the campus community. All incoming students have an SA who serves as their peer mentor throughout their first year at RWU. The SAs who mentor the members of the First Year Experience also live in Stonewall Terrace.
The Resident Assistant (R.A.) of the First Year Experience is responsible for the programs and behavior of the residents on the floor. The goal of the R.A. is to foster a positive community by creating a open and welcoming environment. The R.A. works with the Student Advocates on the floor to facilitate educational programs and activities that engage students in learning about one another and the campus resources available to them to support their success. Furthermore, the R.A. ensures that students understand the importance of holding themselves accountable for their actions and that of the overall community. The R.A. also acts as a liaison between the students and the Department of Residence Life Housing, making sure that students are aware of University polices and necessary housing deadlines.
The Coordinator of Residence Education (C.O.R.E.) oversees the Resident Assistant as well as the students in the FYSOP. The C.O.R.E. meets with students for a variety of personal and academic concerns that they may have and acts as an adjudicator for conduct issues that may arise on the floor. The C.O.R.E office is located in the same building as FYSOP. The responsibility of the C.O.R.E. is to be the professional staff member whose main concern is the overall welfare of the students of Stonewall Terrace.
The faculty members participating in FYSOP are:
Dr. Glenna Andrade
Associate Professor
(401) 254-3839
gandrade@rwu.edu
Glenna M. Andrade is an Associate Professor in the Writing Studies, Rhetoric, and Composition Department at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island where she teaches writing courses and Core 104: Literature and Philosophy. Her scholarly interests are in rhetorical theory, program assessment, and in cultural studies, most recently focusing on critiques of the Harry Potter Series and of Post-Apocalypse fiction. She earned her Ph.D in English from the University of Rhode Island.
Karen Bilotti
Assistant Director Tutorial Support Services
(401) 254-3630
kbilotti@rwu.edu
Karen Bilotti started teaching in the Writing Studies, Rhetoric, and Composition Department here at RWU in the fall of 1988. After a few years, in addition to classroom teaching, she began working with students as a faculty tutor. Her experience with tutoring led to her role as the Coordinator of Writing Support Services and, eventually, to her present position as Assistant Director for Tutorial Support Services in the Center for Academic Development. A significant part of both of those positions involves directing the efforts of the Writing Center—a vital, intellectually stimulating, exciting component of so many students’ academic experience. She continues to teach in the Writing Studies program and occasionally also teaches an English course. In her spare time, she is an avid movie-goer and values listening to and reading about diverse points of view. Karen earned her B.A. in English from the University of Rhode Island and her M.A. in English from the University of Connecticut.
Professor Robert Blackburn
Professor
(401) 254-3022
rblackburn@rwu.edu
Professor Robert Blackburn earned both his AB and AM degrees from Brown with additional years of grad work there as well. He was hired to teach philosophy at Roger Williams College starting in the fall of 1968....41 years later, still here....most senior faculty member at the University. He co-authored the first ever Roger Williams Faculty Constitution in the spring of 1969. Professor Blackburn taught many different courses over these years in philosophy (mostly), writing studies, and speech.He also teaches Core 104: Literature/Philosophy as part of the FYSOP Living Learning Community. Professor Blackburn also served as Humanities Division Coordinator in the late 1970's and 1980's. Later, he was appointed Dean of the School of Humanities from when it was first established in 1990 till it was subsumed into the College of Arts and Sciences in 1996.
He is proud to be an original founder/participant in the Freshman Seminar program some years ago and now participate in its reemergence as First Year Seminar as part of the First Year Experience program. Professor Blackburn also enjoys coordinating the ongoing Socrates Cafe program with Professor Michael Wright. He is serving as the first ever faculty liaison to the Board of Trustees on the Board's Academic Affairs and Student Affairs Committee and is also a member of the American Philosophical Association and the Rhode Island Philosophical Society.
Dr. Michael Swanson
Professor
(401) 254-3230
mswanson@rwu.edu
Dr. Mike Swanson was born in Minneapolis in 1941. En route to Roger Williams University, he picked up a B. A. in Music and Human Relations, and a M. A. and Ph. D. in American Studies from Case-Western Reserve University in Cleveland Ohio. He joined the faculty of Roger Williams College in 1972, and has been on the faculty ever since. For the first twenty-five years of his tenure he was the tallest member of the faculty. Now he’s third tallest, but not because he’s started to shrink.
He became interested in Academic Living/Learning communities about five years ago when he attended his first conference of the American Association of Colleges and Universities. He thought it would be a great idea to have some at Roger Williams, and he began planning for them in 2005. He was delighted when the first FYSOP program began in the fall of 2008. He teaches Core 102 in the Core 102/Core 104 Living/Learning Community now, and intends to continue to do so in next year’s program.
He also teaches courses on Urban America, Social Class, New England, and The 1890s. In his spare time he sings in a very good choir, reads a lot of blogs, and tells corny jokes.