Coordinate System: Westhampton College and Richmond College

One of the distinctive features of the University of Richmond is its coordinate college system:  Richmond College for men and Westhampton College for women.  Grounded in the University’s history, the Colleges provide residential and gender-based learning communities for our undergraduate students.  While male and female students attend class together, eat meals in the dining hall together, belong to several student organizations together, and now live on both sides of campus together, they benefit from the Colleges’ particular focus on their individual growth and development as men and as women. 

In several ways, Richmond College and Westhampton College aim to enhance the out-of-the-classroom experience of students in order to strengthen their primary focus on academic study.  Indeed, the Colleges work to make intentional connections between students’ courses and their co-curricular experiences.  Through special programming , the Colleges are uniquely positioned to encourage students to think about gender as a construct.  They assist students in examining how gender has affected their lives thus far, how they may wish to challenge limitations posed by gender, and how gender interacts with other social categories, such as race, sexuality, and class, to shape our identities. 

The coordinate structure also provides parallel leadership opportunities for women and men.  Each College has its own governance system, which includes the Senate, the Honor Council, and the Judicial Council.  Richmond College and Westhampton College also have their own traditions, which educate students about the history and significance of their respective College.  Involvement in formal and informal leadership positions helps students better understand the totality of campus life and helps prepare them for leadership in their careers and personal lives after graduation. 

Each College administers its own residence life system.  Indeed, the coordinate structure encourages a comparative gendered analysis of academic and social issues encountered by traditional college students.  Most undergraduate students live on campus in single-sex residence halls, thus affording the Colleges opportunities to educate students about important issues through residence life programming.  In addition, Richmond College and Westhampton College staff are trained to respond to crises in students’ lives, which consume a great deal of staff time on this primarily live-on campus.  Examples of crises include a death in the family, suicide attempts, eating disorders, and alcohol poisonings.  Many of these crises are related to gender identity issues, or are experienced differently by young men and young women.  Through the lens of gender, the staffs of the Colleges closely examine how and why such crises occur and how best to respond to them. 

The Deans of the Colleges also function actively as part of the University’s academic program in their roles as Associate Deans of the School of Arts & Sciences.  This role includes the development and maintenance of student records for the Dean’s Offices and for academic advisors; readmission of former students; encouragement of students for academic achievement through recognition, probation and suspension of students for academic reasons; and approval of study abroad requests.  Service on the Arts & Sciences Academic Council is an example of duties related to Academic Affairs.  Additionally, the Deans advise the student-run Honor Councils, which work to promote campus-wide academic and personal integrity. 

Student learning does not begin and end at the classroom door.  In the University’s quest to attract and retain the nation’s premier students, the coordinate structure allows us to focus on the intellectual and personal development of students as men and as women and as individuals.  By making explicit connections between classroom and out-of-the-classroom experiences and by collaborating with faculty, staff, and alumni, Richmond College and Westhampton College strive to provide students with the best quality learning experience possible.