The work of faculty-in-residence: An introduction and literature review

The unique work of faculty-in-residence (FIRs) is premised on a substantial amount of research, which demonstrates that faculty-student engagement benefits students positively. Still, there is a dearth of literature that focuses on FIR work. In particular, there is no published research on the historical context for FIRs and no published research that provides an overarching analysis of literature germane to FIR work.

The objective of this article is to fill these gaps in the research literature by producing a historical study of FIR work and a review of research about FIR work.

Qualitative methods were used for this study; namely, the authors employed both historical research methods and a literature review.

This study is the first of its kind to trace the history of FIR work and to provide an overarching analysis of the limited literature on this topic.

By filling in the gaps in the research literature and describing the current state of FIR work, this study contributes to a research base for future, iterative studies of FIR work. This study also offers a discussion of future directions for both the research and practice of FIR work on college campuses.