Building Community at Renfrow Hall

On September 28, 2024, hundreds of Grinnellians gathered in downtown Grinnell for the joyful dedication of Renfrow Hall, set at the crossroads of campus and town. Grinnell College named its newest residence hall to honor Edith Renfrow Smith ’37, the College’s first Black alumna. 

For more than a year, about 100 Grinnell students have been experiencing apartment-style living at Renfrow Hall. This “hybrid” living space offers almost-off-campus living, but with the support and services of a typical Grinnell residence hall. 

So, with a year of experience behind us, how is it going?

The Student Perspective

Students say living in Renfrow Hall has many pluses and just a few minuses. 

“I really like apartment-style living,” says Renfrow resident Ani Ford ’27. She shares an apartment with three friends: Millie Leonard ’27, Megan Hefel ’27, and Kylie-Ann Smith ’27. “That’s what drew me in the most, and being able to live in close quarters with my friends.” 

Leonard agrees and adds, “This is a very nice space, which is a big perk as well.”

Megan Hefel ’27 loves having her own kitchen. “I really like to cook and bake, and so that was definitely an added bonus,” she says. 

If you’re going to cook, you need groceries. “Being super close to McNally’s Foods is really great,” says Kylie-Ann Smith ’27. “And I go to Saints Rest Coffee House often. … It feels like I’m out of the Grinnell bubble a little bit.”

Ford adds, “It’s really nice being able to live a little bit more independently, and it feels more like real life.”

They were disappointed when the building wasn’t ready for occupancy at the beginning of the fall 2024 semester. And they wish all students could enter the building with their P-cards, just as they do at other residence halls on campus, so friends could visit more easily. But overall, students seem happy in Renfrow. 

What about community? It’s been slow to coalesce, the students admit, but they’re happy with their close-knit community of four. 

Building Community

As Assistant Dean of Residence Life and Student Conduct, Dennis Perkins and his residence life coordinators (RLCs) encourage students to get to know each other, attend programs, and socialize. 

But at Renfrow, residents already have everything they need in their apartments, including their best friends. It can be difficult for the RLCs and student community advisers (CAs) to draw students out.

“You can’t think of it as a traditional residence hall,” Perkins says. 

Perkins says he’s been pleased with the efforts, energy, and positive outlook demonstrated by Renfrow Hall RLC Izzy Wilusz and her efforts to build community at Renfrow.

A Personal Approach

Wilusz is building connections among residents using an intentional, personalized approach to address the distinctive challenges at Renfrow Hall, such as relatively few common areas. Rather than relying on large events in communal spaces, she’s focusing on individual connections, like talking with residents about their lives and reaching out by email to learn more about their needs and interests. 

“We’re also creating smaller, targeted programs designed to gradually engage students who may not naturally seek out events,” Wilusz explains.

She hopes to develop more personalized, floor-specific communities, while also fostering civic engagement between Renfrow Hall residents, the broader campus, and the Grinnell community. 

It’s a layered, intentional strategy that she hopes will help bridge the physical distance and build a cohesive, supportive residential environment.

A Little Sunshine Can Make Your Day

Wilusz also has a secret weapon for building community at Renfrow Hall: her dog, Sunshine, a friendly Pomeranian-husky mix. One of Wilusz’s favorite strategies for connecting with students is taking Sunshine for a walk around Renfrow or around campus. 

“Students love her,” Wilusz says. They often stop to pet her and scratch her ears, much to Sunshine’s delight. Sometimes students even drop by Wilusz’s office just to say hi to Sunshine. 

Supporting the Community

Renfrow was conceived with a civic engagement theme, Perkins says. Students are asked if they are civic minded when they apply to live there. They’re also encouraged to share what they’ve done to support others in their community. What kind of ideas would they bring? Are they interested in working with a social innovator in the building? 

The civic engagement theme also plays out at the Katherine Howell Weingart ’61 Civic Innovation Pavilion, which supports partnerships and problem-solving by providing a meeting space dedicated to campus and community connection, collaboration, and exchange. For example, “Coffee with the College,” is a weekly series of events held at the Weingart Pavilion that foster informal, engaging conversations between the College and the broader Grinnell community.

“The pavilion is wonderful. We didn’t imagine the uptick of folks wanting to tour it and use it,” Perkins says. Wilusz and her student staff conduct tours and also work at events. “I get notifications almost every day about new reservations being made for the pavilion, which is really awesome and exciting to see,” Wilusz says.

It’s also a good sign that Renfrow Hall and the Weingart Pavilion are living up to expectations and fostering stronger ties between the College and the town of Grinnell.

Ford adds, “[As a resident of Renfrow Hall], I feel like I’m both involved in the College life and the community life. I feel like I have that balance because I can choose to be a part of the College community, but then I feel like I’m actively being involved in the town community, which feels really nice.”