Every year, eight residents serve as mentors and sources of inspiration for countless students. 

2023 Ousley Scholar Ashlyn Sparrow discussed the sociopolitical impacts of game design during class visits and her keynote address. Sparrow introduced Tracked, a new online game that members of campus then played for the next 24 hours. Residents come from fields ranging from human rights and social justice to international political economy to philosophy. Their ranks include Nobel Prize winners, Poet Laureates, innovative artists, community leaders, and world-renowned thinkers and doers.

But Beloit’s Residencies aren’t just about a single keynote speech or a final reading.

They offer students the unique opportunity to connect on a personal level, creating relationships that can lead to internships and project collaborations — and, not uncommonly, friendship.

“Students [initially] think the residents are titans — that they are different from us,” says Professor of Economics Diep Phan. “But now they’re in the same room with you, sitting across the table.”

The Residents

The Residencies

• Crom Visiting Philosopher: Influential philosophers who visit campus for two days of talks, classroom visits, and lectures. 
• Ferrall Artists-in-Residence: Distinguished visual or performing artists who teach, direct workshops, and perform or exhibit their works.
• Ginsberg Artist-in-Residence: Distinguished visual artists who teach, conduct workshops, and perform or exhibit works. 
• Mackey Chair: Authors of distinction who teach an advanced course in creative writing and give public readings of their work. 
• Ousley Scholar-in-Residence: Junior scholars, activists, organizers, and intellectuals who, as “academic hustlers,” fight for social justice.
• Upton Scholar: Influential economists and thinkers who examine the wealth and well-being of nations as part of the Upton Forum.
• Weissberg Chair: Distinguished individuals who have made important contributions to understanding and defending human rights and social justice.

 Breaking Bread

Jalen Ponder '25 asking a question to Oakleigh Ryan at the 2024 Upton Forum lunch exploring the ideas of Upton Scholar David Audretsch

Students and residents connect over big projects and ideas, like in Professor Phan’s economics senior capstone, as well as over personal topics like family background and favorite authors. They often happen in unlikely places: in line to get coffee, one-on-one during office hours, or even over dinner.

“I think there’s something really important about sitting down and breaking bread — being able to talk informally,” says Josh Moore, who co-directs the Weissberg Program in Human Rights and Social Justice. “The biggest impacts for students have been around meals, where the resident picks up on something very personal that the student is working through. Students are absolutely transformed.”

One such student was Deepakshi Bhardwaj’22, a business economics and international relations double major who was deeply involved with both the Weissberg Program and the Upton Forum.

The Ivan Stone Lecture — one of many components of the Weissberg Program centered around an annual theme — was given during her senior year by the co-director of the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, Amal de Chickera. She and classmate Saumyaa Gupta’24 were completing a special project about statelessness in the United Kingdom when Manger Professor of International Relations Beth Dougherty invited them to meet with Chickera.

“We were all about numbers — that could be my econ background, where we want to see data. Our talk with Amal turned into an emotional conversation because he was sharing his story of being an immigrant in the UK and what motivated him to do what he was doing. For me, it was a research project. For Amal, it was his life. I feel like those are repeated stories you hear from students,” says Bhardwaj.

Experiencing the Beloit Residencies is known across campus to be a deeply humbling experience for both students and residents. Phan and Moore, among other faculty and staff, see the direct impact it has on Beloiters every year.

“This is a learning environment, but the Residencies show that learning can be personal, intimate, and human,” says Phan.