Launched in fall 2017 on the Pleasantville campus, the Dyson Scholars in Residence (DSIR) program is a yearlong living-learning community experience. It’s the first program of its kind at Pace and reflects a national movement that reconsiders the traditional paradigm of education. DSIR participants room together in a dedicated block of suites, take two classes together, and collaborate on a community service project.
The goal is to promote student retention and foster a sense of community by developing students’ commitment to each other, their faculty mentors, and the larger community. For example, Associate Professor of English Jane Collins, the program’s creator and director, teaches in the student lounge rather than a four-walled classroom. In addition, through a collaboration with Westchester’s Successful Learning Center, participants mentored and connected with college-aged students with developmental disabilities during a weekly poetry workshop. It culminated in a community poetry reading and a published book of student poems.
This Living, Learning, and Serving article was originally posted as a featured story in Spring 2018. Visit the Dyson College website to view the complete article.
