Academic Village Celebrates 20 Years

The Academic Village held a celebration on Friday, Oct. 4 in recognition of the Village’s 20-year anniversary.

Two decades was an important milestone to many students and faculty.

“We’ve never really celebrated the anniversary of the Academic Village,” said Dr. Sheila Confer, Director of the Academic Village. “We felt that the 20th Anniversary was a big one.”

To celebrate the 20th Anniversary, the Academic Villages held an event to remember the history of the buildings. Some alumni returned to celebrate the long-standing tradition of the Academic Village.

“We had boards with old photographs and binders with old fliers, and we had Dr. John Paul Woods help us to film and put together a nice video that we showed to everybody,” Dr. Confer said. “I gave a PowerPoint presentation about the Village, everybody who showed up got a raffle ticket, and we raffled off a bunch of stuff, including those trendy Academic Village sweatshirts.”

Of the six houses in the Village, Apollo and Selene were opened first, back in August of 1998. The other houses—Athena, Marshall, Franklin, and Mead—became homes to resident students starting in the fall semester of 2001.

Over the years, the Academic Village has seen different periods of leadership. In the past, faculty members would come in and lead the houses based on their discipline, as the houses were separated by major. Dr. Sheila Elaine Confer became the coordinator of the Academic Villages in 2007 before rising to her current position.