Students lounge in the College of Community Studies, one of Northwestern’s oldest residential colleges. Photograph by Herb Comess.
Residential Colleges
Northwestern's 11 residential colleges, which house from 37 to nearly 300 students each, are more more than just a home away from home.
Not only do they provide shelter for 1,270 students, most are structured around a theme that provides a focus for academic and social programming. Each residential college has its own faculty "master" from that field who serves as an adviser to the student officers and helps with academically focused programming.
Residential college students are expected to promote the academic and social activities of their college, participate in philanthropic activities, and enjoy informal contact with the faculty, staff and visiting scholars who volunteer to serve as fellows. They also are involved both in the life of their specific college and the larger University.
A Community of Scholars
A plan for the residential college system at Northwestern was developed in the early 1970's, in response to a 1969 report by a faculty committee that urged the formation of smaller intellectual communities within the University. The 1969 report, entitled "A Community of Scholars," was a largely philosophical tract that recommended numerous changes in the educational environment. However, it spurred the creation of a committee to study residential colleges across the nation and to make recommendations on the development of such a system at Northwestern.
In January 1972, the committee recommended establishing residential colleges at Northwestern that were designed to "help connect curricular with extra-curricular experiences by extending the intellectual atmosphere to residences."
Thematic Living Quarters
The first of five residential colleges opened in the fall of 1972, including two thematic colleges: Urban Studies, later renamed the College of Community Studies, and Philosophy and Religion, which was closed in 1978 and resurrected as Humanities Residential College in 1980.
Another of the original five, Lindgren, which did not originally have a theme, developed a science and engineering focus. That college now resides in the Benjamin W. Slivka Hall.
Six additional thematic colleges have been developed: Women's Residential College (1976), Communications Residential College (1981), International Studies Residential College (1981), Jones Fine and Performing Arts Residential College (1982), Ayers Residential College of Commerce and Industry (1984), and Public Affairs Residential College (1992).
Two of the original five residential colleges - Shepard and Willard - remain "multithematic."
Residential Colleges Today
Northwestern's 11 residential colleges offer programming that involves more than one-third of the University's on-campus undergraduate population and nearly 200 affiliated faculty, staff members and visiting scholars.
The oldest residential college building on campus, the Humanities Residential College, also known as Chapin, welcomes students from all schools within the University and from diverse cultural backgrounds.
The Thomas G. Ayers Residential College of Commerce and Industry, which seeks to promote a broad understanding of business in the United States and the world, celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2009.
Willard, the largest and one of the oldest residential colleges at Northwestern, continues to attract diverse students interested in a wide range of academic interests.
The Communications Residential College (CRC) encourages its residents to explore the mass media of broadcasting, print journalism, and film. The Residential College of Cultural and Community Studies (CCS) students are interested in the interaction of diverse cultures and urban communities in the United States and abroad, as well as philanthropy.
The International Studies Residential College (ISRC) welcomes American and international students who share an interest in languages, cultures, politics, and people from around the world.The Wayne V. and Elizabeth R. Jones Fine and Performing Arts Residential College residents are interested in the creative arts: writing, poetry, music, theatre, dance, and art. Lindgren encourages a humanistic view of science and engineering.
The Public Affairs Residential College (PARC) examines political, economic, and social questions. Shepard attracts residents from around the world. Women's Residential College (WRC) attracts diverse students from all six undergraduate schools.
Completed in fall 2002, the $10 million Slivka Residential Hall became the new home of the Residential College of Science and Engineering. The 120-bed residence hall with apartment-style suites was funded in part by a $4 million gift from the Wissner-Slivka Foundation, which is based in the Seattle area.