U. names faculty masters for high rise college houses

David Brownlee, John Richetti and Neil Shubin will live in the high rises. They've spent decades in academia presenting lectures, conducting experiments and authoring books, rising to the tops of their chosen fields. Now, though, they face perhaps the greatest challenges of their careers -- turning high rises known for their sterility and coldness into viable, academically-stimulating college houses. Art History Professor David Brownlee, Biology Professor Neil Shubin and English Professor John Richetti will serve as faculty masters of Harnwell, Hamilton and Harrison college houses, Interim Provost Michael Wachter announced yesterday. The position puts them in charge of working with the approximately 800 residents in each of the three high rises to create the vision for and character of each house. The college house plan, which was announced in October, will reorganize the University's dormitories into 12 individual, multi-year houses with added programming, staff and academic support. A faculty master search committee of 11 members -- which included undergraduate and graduate students, representatives from the Office of Academic Programs and Residence Life and several professors -- met over the course of the last month, poring over an unspecified number of applications submitted by faculty members. "We wanted people who were first and foremost interested in undergraduate student life and the new college house system and who demonstrated that they were enthusiastic about the idea of academic and social programs in the residences," said David Fox, associate director of the office. The faculty masters will occupy renovated apartments on the 23rd floor of each high rise during their three-year, renewable terms. The apartments will contain two or three bedrooms, depending on the professor's preference, as well as new kitchens and other amenities, according to Residence Life officials. The apartments will have about 1,000 square feet of space. Ware College House and Stouffer College House -- both of which are looking to replace outgoing faculty masters --Ewill be the next facilities to search for faculty members. These searches should be completed by mid-April, officials said. The faculty masters will then work with Residence Life to select faculty fellows -- additional in-house faculty members to help plan activities -- to live in their houses. Brownlee: Sunrise, sunset Brownlee, 46, a historian of modern architecture who's done most of his work overseas, will leave his two-story row house on the 4300 block of Osage Avenue to live in Harnwell, or High Rise East. He said he can't wait to see the view out of his apartment on the 23rd floor, the building's second-highest residential floor. "I love sunrises and sunsets from high up and watching the weather come in across the countryside," Brownlee said, admitting that this is just the "narrow, selfish part" of why he's excited to move. "Harnwell, with its collection of existing residential programs, fits very well with my wife's interests and mine," Brownlee said. Brownlee, who conceived much of the college house plan, describes himself as an avid concert- and theater-goer. His profile aligns him with Harnwell's international, cultural and arts-based programming. Brownlee's wife, Ann Blair Brownlee, is an adjunct professor in the Art History Department. She specializes in Greek art and is a senior research scientist at the University Museum. In addition, she plans to take a special interest in Harnwell's new Ancient Studies/University Museum residential program, which will make its debut on the building's 14th floor this fall. Aside from the view outside his window, how does the art historian plan to decorate the interior of his new apartment? "Very carefully," Brownlee said, adding that he plans to bring "a few well-chosen things to put on the walls" and some "handsome old furniture" from his house. Shubin: Nowhere to put the gear Shubin, a paleobiologist who will move into the 23rd floor of Hamilton, or High Rise North, does not yet have decorating plans that are as specific as Brownlee's. "I have no idea," the 37-year-old Shubin said. "I'm taking a leap into the void." Shubin said the main concern he and his wife, Michele Seidl, are facing at the moment is where in their high rise apartment they will store Shubin's field gear when they move out of their house in the city's Chestnut Hill section. Shubin spends his summers doing international paleontology field work -- collecting fossils -- and living in sleeping bags and tents. He will spend this summer in Greenland. The faculty master, according to Shubin, should act as an "ambassador" to the house, trying to engage the rest of the University in the activities of the house and inviting faculty to the house for discussion forums and seminars which "will extend from formal classes and discussion groups to dinners and cocktail parties." Seidl, who has held jobs as an investment banker and a geologist, now works with the Pew Charitable Trusts' Higher Education Program, distributing the giant charity's money to researchers. Shubin said Seidl wants to create a "women in science" forum, drawing from her own experiences, for the house. The couple will bring along their cat Pandora, whom Shubin describes as "a goof." "She'll be our mascot," he said. And, he assured, "she loves people." Richetti: Visions of dinner parties Richetti, "a vigorous 59," said he plans to use his living room to host buffet suppers so residents can sample the cooking talents of Richetti's wife, Temple University English Professor Deirdre David, whom he describes as a "cordon bleu-quality cook." He said his objective for next year is to create a sense of community in Harrison, or High Rise South. "The emphasis has to be on the search for ways to turn these apartment buildings into meaningful collegiate units," he said. "It won't happen overnight, and it's important to be enthusiastic, as I am." The professor of 18th-century English literature -- who has won numerous awards including a Guggenheim fellowship and a Lindback Award for teaching -- said he plays squash "like a demon," with "limited skill and great energy." He added that he often plays squash with English Professor Al Filreis, the faculty master of Van Pelt College House, where Richetti has served as faculty fellow for the last two years.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.