A new semester has brought new beginnings in both the Hinman College and College-in-the-Woods residential communities with the introduction of new collegiate professors for both communities.

Jay Newberry, co-undergraduate director and associate professor of geography, has taken on the role of Hinman College’s collegiate professor, a position that was previously vacant for nearly two years following the retirement of Al Vos, former collegiate professor and associate professor emeritus of English, in 2020. Prior to his appointment, Newberry had served as a faculty member in residence at Hinman College.

In taking on the role of collegiate professor, Newberry stressed the importance of understanding the separation between school life and residential life for the students, and how approaches must shift with that change.

“It’s just the realization that here and there are … two different places,” Newberry said. “And sometimes you’ve got to switch modes when you go over there, because that’s where they spend most of their time because that is their home now that they are here. Just knowing that basic fact, that changes your outlook and how you approach things from the collegiate professor position.”

One of Newberry’s primary goals as the Hinman College collegiate professor is the preservation and expansion of Hinman College’s Public Service Learning Community, a portion of Hinman College dedicated to providing civil service opportunities and related courses for interested students.

“It is a cornerstone,” Newberry said. “So something like that has to stay because it fits in with the themes that we are going with and one of the things that we are thinking about here is social justice. So it’d be nice when you are talking about public service learning and stuff like that, that kind of fits into the social justice mantra or theme almost perfectly.”

Over in College-in-the-Woods, D. Andrew Merriwether, professor of anthropology, has been named collegiate professor, taking over the position from Stephen Ortiz, newly promoted assistant vice provost for academic enrichment and executive director and associate professor of history.

As the collegiate professor of College-in-the-Woods, Merriwether said he intended be involved within the community by both partaking in existing events and using his previous experiences as an alpaca farmer to create new animal-based social events.

“As they say in sports, the best ability is availability,” Merriwether wrote in an email. “Animals are a great way to bring people together and get them out of their dorm rooms. I plan to bring alpacas to campus for brief visits. I am working on other animals as well. Having done this at [Mountainview College] and at the [University] Downtown Center, they always generate a large crowd.”

Merriwether also described his goal of expanding College-in-the-Woods’ learning communities into more science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)-based concentrations, and cited the importance of his STEM background in filling this need.

“I do believe there is a need on campus for health-science-themed STEM, as that is the most common incoming goal of students (pre-health),” Merriwether wrote. “I have a [Bachelor of Arts] in medical anthropology, a [Bachelor of Science] in biology and a [Master of Arts] in genetics (all from Penn State [University]), and a Ph.D. in human genetics (from the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh). I have broad training across the sciences that will help me advise students to formulate their career goals and set them on the right path to try and achieve them.”

Dennis Ahmetaj, social vice president of College-in-the-Woods and a sophomore majoring in biology, said learning communities and the events in them are a concern of his.

“What I would like to see Merriwether do [is what Ortiz] lacked in doing, [which] was give more fun events to the learning communities,” Ahmetaj wrote in an email. “Last semester, there were a total of two events for these communities and after that absolutely nothing. There has to be consistency for these learning communities.”

Gabriela Canaveral, a junior majoring in integrative neuroscience and a resident assistant (RA) in Cayuga Hall, said Merriwether fits into the community.

“College-in-the-Woods is known to host the most diverse residents on campus, which I think Merriwether would have a lot to offer to,” Canaveral wrote in an email. “He fits the community’s ‘vibe’ really well due to the fact that he’s a ‘chill’ guy (for lack of better words), but also intelligent on various subjects that are offered on campus mostly to freshmen/sophomores. I’m eager to see where the semester takes us with [Merriwether] on our side.”

With regard to Newberry, Alex Corsello, president of Hughes Hall and a junior double-majoring in biology and geology, said his appointment may help rejuvenate the community.

“I hope that the addition of Newberry will help to strengthen our community,” Corsello wrote in an email. “Having a new collegiate professor represents a great opportunity to remake Hinman [College] after the pandemic so that it can continue to feel like home.”

All plans aside, Merriwether said he was open and available to those within his community and on campus.

“Drop by and say hello,” Merriwether wrote. “Say hello if you see me around the community or around campus. I am here to help.”