Ceremony to mark new ROTC Living Learning Community

October 17, 2012

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida Reserve Officer Training Corps Living Learning Community will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony and debut a maritime skills simulator at 1 p.m. Friday in the Tolbert Hall Courtyard.

The ROTC Living Learning Community at Tolbert Hall is a collaborative effort between the department of housing and residence education and the department of military science. It is designed for all students interested in the Army, Navy/Marine, or Air Force ROTC.

The community provides on-site academic advising, a meeting room in the residence hall, study groups, and tutoring/mentoring by upper class ROTC cadets/midshipmen. It’s open to all ROTC members, regardless of scholarship status. Support amenities also include the maritime skills simulator, which will be demonstrated at the event.

Scheduled to speak at the ribbon cutting are: Maj. Dennis Wait, United States Navy; Lt. Col. Tim Zacharias, United States Air Force; Capt. Carl Bush, United States Navy; and Norb Dunkel, associate vice president for student affairs. Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, staff will conduct tours, demonstrate the simulator and serve refreshments.

The goal of the Reserve Officer Training Corps is to commission world-class military officers educated at a premier research university.

The ROTC Living Learning Community provides cadets and midshipmen with the opportunity to learn more about each other and each service through routine social contact in a non-classroom atmosphere. Its goals are to provide a high quality residential program to enhance students’ academic success and retention at UF; to provide opportunities for informal out-of-class interactions among cadets/midshipmen, other students and staff; and to develop a joint mindset that values the unique cultures of each military service by providing more opportunities to dialogue, observe, and learn from each other.

It’s one of 11 living learning communities on the UF campus.