residence halls – Houghton STAR

This fall, Houghton College welcomed two new Residence Directors (RDs). A.C. Taylor joined Shenawana Hall and Beth Phifer became a part of Lambein Hall. As RDs, Taylor and Phifer will oversee their respective residence halls and are each responsible for the maintenance and residents of that building. They will report to Marc Smithers, the Assistant Dean of Students for Residence Life and Programs. With their past experiences in Residence Life and shared enthusiasm for the job, both Phifer and Taylor are well prepared for their new positions.

Phifer has known of Houghton College for many years, with one of her favorite college professors having graduated from Houghton. Her undergraduate work focused on counseling, but Phifer said that she felt led by God to do work in Residence Life. That work is not unfamiliar to Phifer as she was a Resident Assistant during her undergraduate studies at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, and most recently she acted as an RD at Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia. Last year, she applied to Christian campuses with openings for an RD closer to her hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She wanted to work at a Christian establishment because she also received her education at a Christian liberal arts institution.

“In a Christian setting there is more freedom to help shape and develop students as followers in Christ,” Phifer said. She added that she is excited to talk about Jesus with her residents. Phifer plans to continue the work started by Krista Maroni, the previous RD of Lambein, in establishing a stronger sense of identity within the women’s dorm.

“There are three core values that Lambein embodies,” Phifer explained. “Those are compassion, courage, and wisdom.” She hopes to emphasize these three qualities throughout the year.

Taylor, who graduated from Houghton in 2014, is also thrilled to be an RD at Houghton. Like Phifer, Taylor worked in Residence Life as an RA when he was in college. His wife was looking to work in the admissions office at Houghton, so when a job opportunity as the RD of Shenawana Hall came up, Taylor applied.

“It is so great to be able to come back to Houghton and the amazing community that is,” he said. “As much of a buzzword as [community] is, it really is valid and unique. The kind of relationships among people that occur here really don’t happen everywhere.”

While a student and RA, Taylor lived in Rothenbuhler Hall. Even so, he is excited to work in Shenawana and experience the rich tradition of the building. He respects the culture and the identity that is Shenawana, and this year hopes to better understand the history and traditions that the dorm has to offer those who live there.

Both RDs expressed a desire to get to know their residents on a personal level.

“I am really excited to get to know each of my residents, although it is challenging to get to know every person,” said Phifer. “If my apartment is open please stop by, I really mean that. I want to highlight and bold that statement. I love opportunities to get to know people. I want to be there for them and be a person that they feel they can go to for support.”

The Residence Life staff is anticipating a smooth transition as Resident Directors Steve Mattiace, of Shenawana Hall, and Marc Smithers, of Rothenbuhler Hall, plan to leave their positions at the close of this spring semester.

Houghton already posted advertisements designed to find replacements for the two RDs. Jacobsen hopes for applicants who will potentially encourage variation among the Resident Life staff. He said, concerning any Resident Life applicants, “We like to get a little bit of variety in terms of experience and perspective.”

But such variety will not necessarily change the traditions and dynamics of Shenawana and Rothenbuhler Halls. While new staff may bring new ideas and skill sets, through deliberate transitional processes, former policies tend to remain in place.

In order to encourage a smooth transition between Resident Directors, Jacobsen said, “Typically we have the current RDs write something like an information packet for any replacement that comes in.”

Marc Smithers, current Resident Director of Rothenbuhler Hall, explains one detail of the transitional practice of passing on knowledge and experience to his future replacement. He said, “The outgoing RD [writes] a letter to the incoming RD informing them of hall culture/traditions and explaining the vision that we have had for the hall and what we hope it to be in the future.”
The future RD uses this information in adjusting to the new role.

In addition, incoming Resident Assistants for the 2013 fall semester receive hiring and training from the current Resident Directors, so that they might aid in making the transition from one RD to another a smooth one. Thus, being familiar with current tradition and policies, the RAs possess the abilities to help the prospective RD adjust to managing the dorm.

In addition, Jacobsen said, “We do try to get students on the RA staff in on the actual hiring process.” The RA’s play an important role in the transition between Resident Directors, not only by helping the replacement Resident Directors, but also by actually helping to choose who among the applicants might best suit their dorm.

Concerning the fluidity of the replacement process, Smithers said, “The RD position is one that typically has a fair amount of turnover.” As Resident Directors often come and go, the hiring process for the position is a familiar and relatively frequent occurrence, and Houghton seems to maintain a good system of transition. Jacobsen voiced his confidence in the system as well, and said, “Typically I feel positive about our hiring process here.”

According to Smithers, Rothenbuhler Hall in particular will hopefully function the same as always, even as he will be absent next semester.
Smithers said, “I think an RD does his or her job best when the success or failure of a hall does not depend solely on his or her talents. I firmly believe in empowering my staff to cultivate and carry on the culture and vision that we have collectively forged together in Roth, so that when I’m gone, there isn’t a big hole in the life of the hall but that somebody new can come in and add to what we’ve created.”