John Gardner Blogs About Residential Life

I'm a regular reader of John Gardner's blog. He often writes very intriguing things that make me think about my work in very different ways. Mr. Gardner is known most for his research and work with first-year students.

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John Gardner

Recently, Mr. Gardner asked his readers if there were any topics they would like him to share his thought about. I asked Mr. Gardner if he would share his thoughts on the role of the "dorm" on today's college campuses.


I was ecstatic earlier tonight when I discovered that Mr. Gardner responded to my request not once, but twice. In his first post, he discusses why the terms "dorm" and "housing" are no longer appropriate for today's residence halls.


Mr. Gardner states in his blog post: "My most basic perspective on the importance of the collegiate residence hall is that they are places where the most important influencing on college students takes place: the influence of other students. Hands down the greatest influence on students during the college years is the influence of other students. Many residential students spend more time in residence halls, literally, than in any other context of the college experience. This is an argument then for colleges and universities to pay more attention to the importance of “the halls” than many do.


In his second response to my request, Mr. Gardner shares his "dream sheet" for on-campus residential living. He offers quite a few interesting thoughts. If you work in residence life, I implore you to go read Mr. Gardner's recent blog posts and share your thoughts.