Of the 4,000 University of Louisville students living in campus housing this year, 20% reside in one of the 26 small communities that bring together students who have the same majors or similar life interests.
Called Living-Learning Communities (LLCs) and Themed Communities (TCs), these groups are varied and sometimes offer lower and upper divisions. Among the 2022-2023 communities are those for majors such as engineering, education and health sciences and those that focus on interests such as sustainability, social justice, Black culture or the LGBTQ+ community. There is even one dedicated solely to transfer students.
“The idea of the LLCs is to make living on campus something that’s desirable and to give it a little bit more meaning,” said Eva Little, LLC program coordinator, in a recent Student Affairs podcast.
This fall, one of the two new residence halls dedicated on Belknap Campus — Denny Crum Hall — boasted a new Sport Professional LLC.
“This LLC provides students a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the sport industry,” said Thomas Hardy, executive director of University Housing and the Resident Experience (UHRE). “Among other things, members have an ‘inside’ look into the UofL Athletics Department and opportunities to network with other sport organizations in Louisville as well as UofL’s extensive alumni network of sport professionals.”
These types of communities are common across higher education institutions because they directly contribute to student success, said Tina Belcher, director of resident experience.
“The LLC offers many opportunities for different majors,” said Emma Hurley, a first-year student from Sidney, Ohio, living in the Education and Health & Sports Sciences LLC in Belknap Village North. A major in middle and secondary education in the College of Education and Human Development, she praised the instant support an LLC offers. “Whenever one of us needs help on something, we are close by. I recommend living in an LLC to other students because if you think you might struggle with your major or a class, there is always someone there to help you with it.”
Classrooms built into some of the newer residence halls (Belknap Village North and South) allow LLC/TC residents to have a class right in their building.
“Most really enjoy their time in their LLC/TC and really love the community they are in, coming back specifically for the upper division LLC if offered,” Belcher said. She added the communities are always being reevaluated to keep up with student interests and needs. To that end, an ESports LLC is expected to be offered next fall.
The LLCs and TCs operating during the 2022-2023 academic year are:
- Denny Crum Hall: Sport Professional
- Belknap Village North: Education & Health and Sport Sciences; Feminist Social Justice Leadership; First-Generation Cardinal; Parish; Social Work
- Belknap Village South: Men of PEACC; Metropolitan College; Psychology; School of Music
- Bettie Johnson: Engineering; Entrepreneurship; Global Village; Public Health; School of Music
- Billy Minardi: Metropolitan College
- University Pointe: Air Force ROTC
- Community Park: Engineering; Health Sciences
- Cardinal Towne: Bayard Rustin LGBTQ+ & Social Justice; Transfer Student
- Kurz: Honors
- Louisville Hall: College of Business TILE; Ethics; Sustainability
- University Pointe: Army ROTC
- University Tower Apartments: Air Force and Army ROTC; Bayard Rustin LGBTQ+ & Social Justice.
For more information on LLCs, visit the website here.
