More than Houses: Inside the faculty homes and their families

Faculty Homes, Garret House, Jennifer Holmes, Joseph Marlitt, Professor, Features - By Joseph Marlitt on Thursday, September 29, 2011 - 02:56

Theatre Department Chair and Associate Professor of Theatre & Communication Arts Jennifer Holmes has been pleasantly surprised during her tenure. Holmes had her doubts about moving onto campus when she was offered to live in the Garrett House four years ago. She had already been working at Whittier prior to moving into the house, but she was worried about the noise from students at night and more importantly what kind of privacy she would enjoy with the first-year dorms only a few feet from the house.

“I was surprised at how well behaved our students are, or if they aren’t, they keep it well contained,” Holmes said. “I felt like I would be living in a fishbowl, that people would always be there, but students and faculty alike are really respectful of the space.”

Ironically, the one thing that she really dislikes about the house does not have anything to do with the students, but rather those who keep us safe around campus.

“I remember one night after the The Crucible and we were having a party and it was a Friday night,” Holmes said. “We were playing music and dancing in our backyard and Campus Safety came by saying they had received a noise complaint. I was thinking , wow the students just shut us down.”

The experience has also had an effect on Holmes’ son, Max. Living on a college campus is a situation unique when compared to most other teenagers’. But the effects have been noticeable, and not in a negative way. Max is no slouch himself, standing in at well over six feet tall and playing for two baseball teams, the San Gabriel Valley Arsenal and his high school team. Both teams are in the top ten in the country.

“I guess I have been exposed to a lot of things that most kids my age may not have been exposed to,” Max said. “Everyone here has been through what I am going through, so I feel like I have learned how to handle myself better than some of the other guys my age.”

Under President Sharon Herzberger, Whittier College professors have the opportunity to live on campus for three years at a time, with the choice to reapply for renewal after their serving term is up. It is not always an opportunity that people are hopping at though. It is a process of moving and of leaving your old home and starting completely new. It involves moving your family and knowing in three years, you are going to be moving again.

The Garrett House project was a product of former President James L. Ash, Jr. and was modeled after the faculty master homes run at Oxford and Cambridge. At such schools the faculty live on campus with the students, so that students do not feel like professors just disappear at the end of the day. The house is located just to the south of Stauffer and to the east of Platner Hall overlooking the Upper-Quad.

The house was designated in 1990 as a Faculty Master House, and notable faculty such as Genevieve Shaul Connick Professor of Religious Studies Joe Price and Albert Upton Professor of English Language and Literature Tony Barnstone along with others have called it home since then. Holmes is in her fourth year of residence.

“It helps create the sense that the campus is not just students but teachers, faculty and families as well and it felt a little bit more holistic,” Holmes said. “Some people really like to go home at the end of the day, but I have really enjoyed it.”