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Mar. 2, 2007

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Exemplary faculty routinely provide invaluable resource

Though I would prefer students report that their favorite thing about Trinity is the learning that takes place outside of the classroom, or the CosmoGIRL! -lauded residence halls or the easy-to-follow excessive noise policy, I most often hear one constant: Our students love the Trinity faculty.

Students value the expertise of their instructors. They like to be challenged and don't even mind being scared or intimidated by certain professors. They appreciate the access to their teachers that friends don't find at other schools.

In interviews with Residential Life student RA and RM candidates, I ask them to name favorite professors. This year I actually tracked the responses more formally. Several candidates insisted on listing two favorite professors. (They were told there was only one seat in the life raft so they had to choose JUST one.) Of the 66 candidates queried, they named 53 different professors.

That is stunning. The names, departments and qualities of these professors are as varied as the course offerings on campus. All of the candidates, certainly all students, have truly been turned-on to their course material by the Trinity faculty.

At a recent Board of Visitors meeting, faculty members spon-soring initiatives related to Trinity's Capital Campaign made presentations about their pro-grams.

As with the recent Quality Enhancement Plan proposals, these ventures are dynamic, creative and most importantly add texture and variety to student learning opportunities.

Among proposals are exp-ansion of programs related to Mexico and Spain, the Far East, Urban Studies and more.

Though bridging the upper campus/lower campus divide is difficult, faculty members are also changing the face of the residence halls.

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