New Student Village at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

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Visitors flying into Daytona Beach International Airport can't be blamed for concluding that the five earth-toned, post-modern buildings they see just before landing are part of a new tourist resort.

They're half right.This "resort," however, is an exclusive one, dedicated to students of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. It's called the Student Village.

"They're practical, durable buildings that can withstand the rigors of college students," says Sonja Taylor, director of housing. "But they're also pleasing to the eye."

The new housing will fulfill a long-sought desire of University administrators to give students a stronger attachment to the Embry-Riddle "family" by having more students live on campus, instead of in apartments scattered all over town.

Besides having a warm bed and a roof over their heads, students who live on campus are now part of a lively "neighborhood" with other students and faculty.

"Learning occurs any time of the day, no matter where a student is," says Jeffrey Ledewitz, vice president for student life at the University, who put his belief in holistic education to work in developing the Student Village. "The whole idea was: let's take the learning to where the students live."

"We took a survey and asked students what they wanted," says Dita Peatross, director of facilities planning for Embry-Riddle. "They were interested in Internet access, cable TV, casual dining areas, a game room, exercise room, laundry facilities, bicycle storage." The new Village gives them just about everything they asked for.

There's a convenience store, a food court with indoor and outdoor seating, an exercise room with weight-training machines and aerobic exercisers, a spacious laundry room, and an adjacent game room where students can shoot pool and play air hockey while their clothes are in the spin cycle.

The new facility has areas for just relaxing and making conversation. "We wanted informal places that would promote interaction among students and between students and faculty," Ledewitz says.

Jeanne Brouillette, an aeronautical science senior from Minnesota who lived on campus during her four years at Embry-Riddle, is excited about living in the Student Village during her final semester. She was on the committee of faculty, staff, and two students that contributed ideas for the new complex.

The cost is about $1,350 a semester to live on campus, compared to $1,000 a semester last year. As part of the Student Village project, all other student residences on campus were upgraded to the tune of $7 million and given Internet and cable TV access.

Freshmen are housed in two-bedroom suites, four to a suite. Upper class and graduate students, married and single, have a choice of eight-person suites or one- or two-person efficiency apartments. Two apartments are available for visiting or exchange faculty and special guests of the University. They were included in an effort to involve students with visiting faculty or VIPs from industry, according to Ledewitz.

The $28 million complex houses 1,000 students, bringing the total living on campus to 40 percent.

Peatross says studies show that more students succeed and stay in school when they live on campus. "They're more tied to the campus socially. There's also a higher rate of future attachment to the campus," she says, as students graduate and later contribute to the University to help other students.

The new five-story residences - Adams Hall, O'Connor Hall, Stimpson Hall, Wood Hall, and Tallman Commons - occupy the north edge of the Daytona Beach campus. An overhead walkway stretches across Richard Petty Boulevard and links the main campus with the new complex.

"We placed students together on the basis of interests, demographics, and age," Peatross says. "The goal is to get students living together who have a lot in common."

The Student Village complex has a natural landscape that incorporates most of the tall trees that were already on the 22-acre site. "We made a valiant effort to save every single one that we could possibly save," Peatross says. "We've created a beautiful landscape."

By Laurence Bennett