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Residential Life staff celebrates new home

Centralized office to promote collaboration between offices
W59 is home to the Department of Residential Life’s newly renovated office.
Caption:
W59 is home to the Department of Residential Life’s newly renovated office.
Credits:
Photo: Tom Gearty
Dean for Student Life Chris Colombo and Marlena Martinez Love, assistant dean and director for Fraternities, Sororities and Independent Living Groups (FSILGs), attended the Residential Life Open House on Nov. 18.
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Dean for Student Life Chris Colombo and Marlena Martinez Love, assistant dean and director for Fraternities, Sororities and Independent Living Groups (FSILGs), attended the Residential Life Open House on Nov. 18.
Credits:
Photo: Stephanie Keeler
Tim the Beaver celebrated Residential Life’s move to its new space with Department Head Henry Humphreys, senior associate dean for student life.
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Tim the Beaver celebrated Residential Life’s move to its new space with Department Head Henry Humphreys, senior associate dean for student life.
Credits:
Photo: Stephanie Keeler
Alana Hamlett, assistant director of the Student Activities Office; Tim the Beaver; Alicia Erwin, assistant director of the Student Activities Office; and Leah Flynn, assistant dean and director for Student Leadership and Engagement Programs; all support the important resources that Residential Life provides.
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Alana Hamlett, assistant director of the Student Activities Office; Tim the Beaver; Alicia Erwin, assistant director of the Student Activities Office; and Leah Flynn, assistant dean and director for Student Leadership and Engagement Programs; all support the important resources that Residential Life provides.
Credits:
Photo: Stephanie Keeler
Graduate student Ian Matts, a member of Kappa Sigma, chats with Love about the FSILGs Office move from W20.
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Graduate student Ian Matts, a member of Kappa Sigma, chats with Love about the FSILGs Office move from W20.
Credits:
Photo: Stephanie Keeler
Phillip Walsh, director of Campus Activities Complex; Colombo; Tim the Beaver; Dennis Collins, director of Housing; and Humphreys all gave the thumbs up to the new space, which brought all four programs of Residential Life under one roof.
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Phillip Walsh, director of Campus Activities Complex; Colombo; Tim the Beaver; Dennis Collins, director of Housing; and Humphreys all gave the thumbs up to the new space, which brought all four programs of Residential Life under one roof.
Credits:
Photo: Stephanie Keeler
Seniors Albert Kao and Nischay Kumar; Tim the Beaver; Catherine Sohor, assistant director of FSILGs; and Interfraternity Council President and Junior Tommy Anderson discussed Greek life at MIT.
Caption:
Seniors Albert Kao and Nischay Kumar; Tim the Beaver; Catherine Sohor, assistant director of FSILGs; and Interfraternity Council President and Junior Tommy Anderson discussed Greek life at MIT.
Credits:
Photo: Stephanie Keeler
Many Residential Life staff members posed for a photo in their new office.
Caption:
Many Residential Life staff members posed for a photo in their new office.
Credits:
Photo: Stephanie Keeler

For some of their most important needs — including good meals, quiet places to study and sleep, and opportunities to create thriving communities — thousands of students rely on the resources provided every day by the dynamic staff of MIT’s Department of Residential Life.

Yet while these staff members regularly work together to support healthy and successful student lifestyles, their offices were physically spread across campus until this semester. Now, a newly consolidated Residential Life office space serves as a headquarters for collaboration and makes the department’s resources more accessible than ever before.

“As a critical part of the Division of Student Life, Residential Life provides a broad range of services to the MIT community,” says Dean for Student Life Chris Colombo. “I am happy to see the offices together in one space to encourage their tradition of collaboration.”

An open house on Nov. 18 celebrated the physical unification of the four offices of the Department of Residential Life — Housing, Campus Dining, Residential Life Programs, and Fraternities, Sororities, and Independent Living Groups (FSILGs). The recent addition of FSILGs Office to W59 — a move from their previous Student Center (W20) location — and the completion of office renovations marked the final elements of the consolidation. Staff, faculty and students from across campus stopped by the event to see the updated space, enjoy afternoon treats and take photos with surprise guest Tim the Beaver.

"Having all four offices underneath one roof in W59 has strengthened the cohesiveness of the department,” says Senior Associate Dean for Student Life Henry Humphreys, who serves as the department head for Residential Life. “The open house was a perfect opportunity for us to show off our new office space to students and colleagues.”

October renovations provided the Residential Life suite with more space and a fresh look. New walls and floors in the front entrance and an open reception area now make a more welcoming space for students and guests. Part of a neighboring suite was repurposed as a second conference room for students and staff. Reassembling two large offices yielded four individual offices for the FSILGs staff.

“The FSILG Office really enjoyed the chance to come together with the rest of our Residential Life family here in W59,” says Jennifer Meredith, program assistant for FSILGs. “We also felt very honored that so many colleagues stopped by the open house."

Residential Life's four offices, taken together, foster supportive living and learning environments to advance the academic success, individual well-being, and community life for MIT students.

Campus Dining oversees the House Dining meal plans, the 26 retail dining options on campus and the internal catering options for the MIT community. The Housing Office maintains safe, comfortable on-campus residences for thousands of students — including nearly three-quarters of undergraduates and more than one-third of graduate students — and provides resources to help members of the MIT community find places to live off campus. The FSILG Office supports MIT’s 27 fraternities, six sororities and five independent living groups. Residential Life Programs provides services, activities and live-in staff in the dormitories for learning and student development.

Junior Michael Plasmeier, student vice president of facilities and services at Baker House and a member of the MIT Undergraduate Association’s Committee on Student Life, interacts with all four of Residential Life’s offices and praised the new space at the open house.

“I work closely with the staff in Residential Life,” Plasmeier says. “The new space allows me to speak with the people I need to, all in one place, at one time.”

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