Van Pelt College House to undergo a virtual revolution

Virtually everyone in Van Pelt College House will notice the new environment when they return this fall. English Department Undergraduate Chair Al Filreis has been appointed Faculty Master of the dormitory by Provost Stanley Chodorow. He will hold the position for a three-year term, after which it can be renewed upon review. Filreis is replacing Marco Frascari, who will be the new Architecture Department Chair. Academic Programs in Residence Director Chris Dennis said that as Faculty Master, Filreis is a member of the Residential Faculty Council, which meets at least monthly to "carry out its mission of developing the educational and academic potential of Penn's residential system." Filreis said he has big plans for the future of Van Pelt College House. Along with newly appointed Van Pelt Faculty Fellow James O'Donnell, a Classical Studies professor, Filreis intends to use technology to enhance the quality of life for the residents. This goal comes as no surprise to students and faculty who know the two professors. And it is one of the main reasons wy they were selected for the initiative by the provost. "When announcing to me by e-mail my appointment to the position of faculty master, and noting that Jim O'Donnell would also be moving into the house, the provost jokingly reminded me to be sure to foster 'an actual community as well as a virtual one,'" Filreis said. He said he hopes the need for such a virtual community in a College House, "where lively live discourse is the thing," is recognized. "I hope Van Pelt will soon be a place where that lively discourse will be livelier as the result of new media used to intensify social-intellectual life still further -- a discourse that never sleeps," he said. One of Filreis's and O'Donnell's projects is to have put all of the residents on a special Van Pelt listserv, which is already up and running. O'Donnell said he sees his move to Van Pelt College House as an "opportunity to make things happen at the intersection of the academic community of the campus and the world beyond that we can now reach through the electronic networks. "The chance to put myself through a reeducation course in student life and ideas -- necessary, now that I am no longer as young as I used to be -- is a bonus of great value," he added. "It will be an exciting place, that I guarantee." Filreis said that as a prominent faculty figure in the dorm, he intends to be a be a part of students' lives and conversations. He said he and O'Donnell plan on continuing the "e-geek/computing group," as well as the Van Pelt House Council -- a student committee which organizes programs and allocates funds for house activities. This is an important time for the College House system, "since the new-look undergraduate education to come will have close connections to academic programs in residence," Filreis said. "We hope to manage the sort of acute integration of academic and residential that planners for '21st Century' undergraduate education have been dreaming of," he added. Many students who will be living in Van Pelt next year are looking forward to working closely with Filreis and O'Donnell. "I am really excited about having Al and Jim in the Van Pelt community," Van Pelt College House Computer Manager Marsha Chan Wai Hong said. "I believe that they will spur networking awareness throughout the dormitory," the Engineering senior added. Even residents who are not active participants in the networking community are anticipating a positive experience. "I'm not much into e-mail in general, but this sounds like a step in the right direction towards improving communication around the house and may very well lead to a strengthened sense of community," Wharton senior Adam Blitz said. There are 25 faculty members in the University's College House system. Dennis said faculty involvement in the University's House system can be traced back to the early seventies. "Since that time, about 180 faculty members have lived in residence, making Penn's program of faculty involvement one of the most intensive the the country," he said. Summer Pennsylvanian staff writer Salman Sajid contributed to this article.