Changemaker RLC

The Changemaker Residential Learning Community inspires students to use methods and mindsets of human-centered design for social impact. Residents of the Changemaker RLC learn how to apply creative, imaginative, iterative design approaches to generate fresh and relevant solutions to real problems on campus and in their own communities. 

Changemaker residents learn from solutions-oriented faculty spanning the natural sciences, humanities, engineering, and social sciences and meet with community leaders addressing social issues in New Orleans and around the world. Residents can work to create change on campus, volunteer in the community, and take leadership roles that allow them to create change from within. Residents will learn from and collaborate with Taylor Center staff and faculty—as well as other campus and community partners—to determine the type of experience they want to create together.

COLLABORATION

The Changemaker RLC is a collaboration between Housing and Residence Life and the Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design.

AFFILIATED TIDES

All first-year students at Tulane Universities are required to take a TIDES course. Members of Residential Learning Communities have the opportunity to enroll in a TIDES course that explores the concepts and values of their community in depth. For 2018-2019, the affiliated TIDES courses are:

• TIDE 1010: Leadership, Politics, Power, and Change - Are leaders born or bred? How do leaders and their leadership styles impact change? How does one develop the courage and wisdom to lead and promote change effectively? This TIDES class provides an opportunity to examine the nature of leadership, its impact on the change process, and the underlying dynamics of power, politics, and conflict. Over the course of the academic year, this course focuses on developing an interdisciplinary understanding of the theories and practices of organizational and community leadership. As a TIDES member, you will actively study the theories that emerge from a variety of fields and reflect on their practical, political, and ethical assumptions as well as on their implications in a variety of settings. Through readings, classroom discussions, interviews with local leaders, and a group initiative, you will gain a greater appreciation for the issues that affect leaders and the components of successful leadership.
• TIDE 1015: Cultivate Your Inner Changemaker - Cultivate your Inner Changemaker is devoted to exploring the skills, strategies, and ideas of effective social change advocates in the 21st century. Students will be learning about some of the essential skills of effective changemakers, including leadership, optimism, resilience, risk-taking, luck, relationship building, conflict resolution, creativity, and innovation. Throughout the course, students will practice these skills, both in class and through assignments.
• TIDE 1021: Design Thinking: Empathy and Action - This fun and active TIDES class gives students the opportunity to engage in hands-on learning in Design Thinking and to see examples of architecture and design that create space to encourage positive public impact.Taught by a Design Thinking instructor from the Taylor Center for Social Innovation & DesignThinking, the class will take students on site visits and encourage practical application in the field of design thinking and prototyping. People in many fields such as business, international development and education are learning how design can be used to bring about positive change.

LIVING OPTIONS

The Changemaker Community is in Paterson Hall.

HOW TO APPLY

You may apply for the Changemaker RLC through the student housing application process. Your answers to some supplemental, RLC-specific questions will be evaluated by a committee. If you are accepted, you will be notified and be sent more information on the room selection and roommate process.

If you have questions about the programming and initiatives that take place in this RLC, please contact Samantha Fleurinor at sfleurin@tulane.edu. If you have questions about RLC housing logistics, please contact Housing and Residence Life at learningcommunities@tulane.edu.