A-State announced a new living-learning community for business students opening for the 2022-2023 year. Registration opened Feb. 7, with freshmen and sophomores to occupy the space.

The residence hall, called the Griffin House, will feature a common area, study rooms and a full kitchen. The dorm rooms will be suite-style. The residents will have access to the first year experience coordinator Kerry Tew, who will hold some office hours. In addition, the Interim Dean of the Neil Griffin College of Business, Dr. Jim Washam, will also hold office hours there. The idea was to make advisors accessible to students. 

“I’m personally looking forward to getting to know the first years a little bit better,” Washam said.

Each year A-State Housing works with current living-learning communities to evaluate occupancy numbers, funding and to gauge faculty leadership interests and goals. The College of Business reached out to Housing to get a residence hall plan moving. 

Juniors and seniors won’t be able to apply to live in the Griffin House. The College of Business specifically chose freshmen and sophomores to live there to create an environment for bonding and mentorship.

“They plan to use (the Griffin House) as a mentorship opportunity and engagement outside of the classroom,” said Natalie Eskew, Director of Housing.

The Griffin House will be located with other living-learning communities, such as the Honors College. It will take over what is currently STEM Den, which is being combined with the ROTC living-learning community. ROTC will occupy the third floor and half of the second, while STEM students will be on the other half of the second floor and the first floor. 

A-State has the largest chapter of Phi Beta Lambda, a national business organization. They were interested in creating a space for business majors and plan to host events in this new residence hall. These events are meant to help freshmen bond, but will be open to all upperclassmen as well. 

To gauge students’ wants and preferences for a new living-learning community, the College of Business had A-State Housing speak with freshmen classes. Afterwards, Washam, Dr. Philip Tew, associate professor of finance and Melanie Ricker, a financial wellness intern, toured the current living-learning communities to get an idea of the building’s layout. 

With a combination of first-year-experience classes, similar coursework, student organization programming and financial wellness courses, the College of Business wants this new living-learning community to be a place where freshmen can network and build relationships. 

“I think it’s going to help the students, especially the first years, because they come in and they know people already in there,” Washam said. “I think it’s going to help connect them to the university a lot and make them more comfortable going forward.”

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