Abstract. BACKGROUND: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. OBJECTIVE: 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. METHODS: Qualitative methods were used for this study; namely, the authors employed both historical research methods and a literature review. RESULTS: 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. CONCLUSIONS: 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.

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Despite the evidence in support of the substantial benefits that come from FIR work, there still are real barriers to promoting such programs at colleges and universities. This Sounding Board reflects on the future of FIR work given those barriers. The author encourages senior administrators to reward FIR work in their faculty review processes and to encourage collaboration between faculty and student affairs professionals. Moreover, the author recommends additional, more rigorous studies of FIR work across a range of institution-types in higher education.

Student-faculty interactions outside the classroom have long been touted as beneficial to students' success at an institution of higher education. However, obstacles to realizing these interactions have also been well-documented. This case study profiles how student affairs administrators and faculty-in-residence overcame these obstacles to develop, implement, and assess an award-winning program for facilitating student-faculty interactions outside the classroom. Named after the Boston University (BU) mascot (Rhett the Boston terrier) and inspired by the popular online lecture series (TED Talks), Rhett Talks has met BU's unique campus needs, facilitated potent student-faculty interactions, and demonstrated effective partnering between student affairs and academic affairs.