{"id":1872,"date":"2021-04-19T13:30:04","date_gmt":"2021-04-19T17:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/?p=1872"},"modified":"2021-04-29T14:49:38","modified_gmt":"2021-04-29T18:49:38","slug":"here-for-the-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/here-for-the-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Here for the Students"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Teaching goes well beyond the classroom for Professor Ahad Nasab, a member of faculty-in-residence living on-site in a campus residence hall. <\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Ahad Nasab in his UC Foundation Apartments home.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

by Gina Stafford<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SStudents have always been more than names on a class roster to Ahad Nasab. When offered the chance at a novel approach to get to know students on a personal level, Nasab saw it as a \u201cgame changer\u201d and didn\u2019t hesitate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opportunity came courtesy of Housing and Residence Life at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where Nasab\u2014head of the Department of Engineering Management and Technology\u2014is going into his third year in fall 2021 as a member of \u201cFaculty-in-Residence,\u201d living on-site in a UTC residence hall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I became the chair of the department, I was moved out of the classroom and that interaction with students went away. I saw students only if they were complaining about faculty,\u201d Nasab says. \u201cSo I thought, \u2018Well, this is really the only way I can get back to seeing students and interacting with students,\u2019 so I decided to do it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the same time, there were some specific needs. For example, they have a residential college for the College of Engineering in the same building where I live for engineering, so that’s why they located me there. They were also thinking of making a so-called innovation space, which is more like a maker space for inventing, creating, innovating, in the same building and they said, \u2018You will be a good lead for that, too,\u2019 and that’s actually a current project we are moving forward.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When offered the chance at a novel approach to get to know students on a personal level, Nasab saw it as a \u201cgame changer\u201d and didn\u2019t hesitate. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Nasab is currently one of three members of faculty-in-residence with Campus Housing, along with Jennifer Ellis, director of the STEM Education program, and Shewanee Howard-Baptiste, associate professor of exercise science in the Department of Health and Human Performance.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"

Shewanee Howard-Baptiste, Ahad Nasab and Jennifer Ellis outside Crossroads, where the three often meet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From a teaching standpoint, Nasab says the informal interaction that comes with the setting can reveal potential obstacles or challenges to absorbing material. Such as outside-class habits that may hinder student learning or reluctance to speak up in class based on an assumption that other students are catching on easily. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\t\n\t\twhatever it takes\u00a0<\/span>\n\t<\/span>\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor example, a student may say, \u2018I really don’t get things in the classroom because the class goes by too quickly,\u2019 to which I would say, \u2018That’s easy. I will record the whole class so you can watch it 10 times if you want to,\u2019 and that solves the problem,\u201d Nasab says, \u201cand if they say, \u2018It would help if I could study with others,” I say, \u2018OK, we\u2019ll have discussion forums on-site, and you’re more than free to talk to others about the homework and all of that.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to a private apartment in a residence hall, the assignment came with expectations for scheduled \u201coffice hours\u201d to be available to student residents and a modest budget for an on-site social gathering or two such as providing a meal for residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the beginning, they kind of told us, \u2018You’re going to have these office hours, and we will give you a room where you can sit there and wait for students from 6 to 7, two days a week,\u2019 or something like that, but I feel like that doesn’t do the job because that makes it official and cold,\u201d Nasab says. \u201cI think students should be able to contact you like they contact a friend when they need help, not because it\u2019s an official thing. They have that already with faculty.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for hosting a meal, Nasab has very definite ideas, and they don\u2019t involve pizza delivery. After some careful thought, he decided catered food of any kind would provide only something to eat, not an opportunity for connection. The route he took has become the stuff of almost-legend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\t\n\t\tfamous lasagna \u00a0<\/span>\n\t<\/span>\n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I order pizza and ice cream and it\u2019s brought in and students show up to get some and I\u2019m trying to tell them where it came from, I’m just an old man in a crowd of very young people trying to tell them who I am and why there are all these boxes of pizza,\u201d he says. \u201cInstead, what I did was I said, \u2018OK, I am going to make you the food,\u2019 and then it\u2019s a very different dynamic. There is a natural reason for conversation, and they said to me, \u2018Oh, you made this for us, wow. Why would you do that?\u2019\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nasab put out word about homemade lasagna night. Making sure there was something for everyone, he prepared five different types: meat, meat and vegetables, vegetables only and cheese only. He borrowed the ovens of a couple students\u2014further making them a part of the gathering\u2014so all five batches could cook simultaneously. Other students helped set up makeshift table-and-chairs arrangements so diners could be seated together in larger groups.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen I was there personally serving them because that was another chance for conversation,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was nothing like students stacking pizza slices on paper plates and disappearing to their rooms, and the fact that we did it the way we did\u2014more than a year and a half ago\u2014has made this lasagna dinner famous all over campus.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s also involved students in repairing some furniture and game tables in a rec room, using a 3D printer to make some replacement parts and bringing tools to repair others.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t just put a check mark on a schedule, like be there from 6 to 7 in the evening,\u201d Nasab says. \u201cThese are just things you’ve got to do if you look at this whole place as your family. And I do.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because his own children are now grown, Nasab says, and his wife is on the faculty of Belmont University in Nashville, the Monday through Friday (and sometimes beyond) commitment of serving as a faculty-in-residence also is a good fit for this stage in his life. He and his wife see each other on weekends during the academic year, and \u201cwe are both so busy during the weekdays that even when we are in the same place, we are both working away on the computer all the time.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Teaching goes well beyond the classroom for Professor Ahad Nasab, a member of faculty-in-residence living on-site in a campus…\n","protected":false},"author":1300,"featured_media":1876,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[115750],"tags":[101022],"coauthors":[100993],"class_list":{"0":"post-1872","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-spring-2021-edition","8":"tag-left-column","9":"cs-entry","10":"cs-video-wrap"},"yoast_head":"\nHere for the Students - UTC Magazine Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/here-for-the-students\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Here for the Students - UTC Magazine Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Teaching goes well beyond the classroom for Professor Ahad Nasab, a member of faculty-in-residence living on-site in a campus…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/here-for-the-students\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UTC Magazine Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-19T17:30:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-04-29T18:49:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/files\/2021\/04\/Ahad-Nasab-19-9353-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1136\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"797\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gina Stafford\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gina Stafford\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/here-for-the-students\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/here-for-the-students\/\",\"name\":\"Here for the Students - UTC Magazine Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/here-for-the-students\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/here-for-the-students\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/files\/2021\/04\/Ahad-Nasab-19-9353-2.jpg?fit=1136%2C797&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-19T17:30:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-04-29T18:49:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/2fc284569df117e557f2a3a952514f76\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/here-for-the-students\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/here-for-the-students\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/here-for-the-students\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/files\/2021\/04\/Ahad-Nasab-19-9353-2.jpg?fit=1136%2C797&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/files\/2021\/04\/Ahad-Nasab-19-9353-2.jpg?fit=1136%2C797&ssl=1\",\"width\":1136,\"height\":797,\"caption\":\"Ahad Nasab, Monday, Aug. 26, 2019 in the UC Foundation Apartments.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/here-for-the-students\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Here for the Students\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/\",\"name\":\"UTC Magazine Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\",\"description\":\"University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Magazine. Highlighting the outstanding accomplishments\u2014both on campus and in the community\u2014of UTC alumni, students, faculty and staff.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/2fc284569df117e557f2a3a952514f76\",\"name\":\"Gina Stafford\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/3e759a5cbf2fa115060b43f85ae86d40\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/571408fae0216f2e914b7abc60d595e8b6f7281a9afa2d16811e0ba1c177ad37?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/571408fae0216f2e914b7abc60d595e8b6f7281a9afa2d16811e0ba1c177ad37?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gina Stafford\"},\"description\":\"Associate Vice Chancellor for Communications and Marketing at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/author\/ndl417\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Here for the Students - UTC Magazine Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/here-for-the-students\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Here for the Students - UTC Magazine Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","og_description":"Teaching goes well beyond the classroom for Professor Ahad Nasab, a member of faculty-in-residence living on-site in a campus…","og_url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/here-for-the-students\/","og_site_name":"UTC Magazine Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","article_published_time":"2021-04-19T17:30:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-04-29T18:49:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1136,"height":797,"url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/files\/2021\/04\/Ahad-Nasab-19-9353-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Gina Stafford","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gina Stafford","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/here-for-the-students\/","url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/here-for-the-students\/","name":"Here for the Students - UTC Magazine Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/here-for-the-students\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/here-for-the-students\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/files\/2021\/04\/Ahad-Nasab-19-9353-2.jpg?fit=1136%2C797&ssl=1","datePublished":"2021-04-19T17:30:04+00:00","dateModified":"2021-04-29T18:49:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/2fc284569df117e557f2a3a952514f76"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/here-for-the-students\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/here-for-the-students\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/here-for-the-students\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/files\/2021\/04\/Ahad-Nasab-19-9353-2.jpg?fit=1136%2C797&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/files\/2021\/04\/Ahad-Nasab-19-9353-2.jpg?fit=1136%2C797&ssl=1","width":1136,"height":797,"caption":"Ahad Nasab, Monday, Aug. 26, 2019 in the UC Foundation Apartments."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/here-for-the-students\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Here for the Students"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/","name":"UTC Magazine Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","description":"University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Magazine. Highlighting the outstanding accomplishments\u2014both on campus and in the community\u2014of UTC alumni, students, faculty and staff.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/2fc284569df117e557f2a3a952514f76","name":"Gina Stafford","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/3e759a5cbf2fa115060b43f85ae86d40","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/571408fae0216f2e914b7abc60d595e8b6f7281a9afa2d16811e0ba1c177ad37?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/571408fae0216f2e914b7abc60d595e8b6f7281a9afa2d16811e0ba1c177ad37?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Gina Stafford"},"description":"Associate Vice Chancellor for Communications and Marketing at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/author\/ndl417\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/files\/2021\/04\/Ahad-Nasab-19-9353-2.jpg?fit=1136%2C797&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1300"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1872"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1872\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2328,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1872\/revisions\/2328"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1872"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}