Bryan Furuness

Bryan Furuness serves as a Senior Lecturer in the English department at Butler University and holds a Faculty-In-Residence position, living full-time in one of the university's campus residence halls (Residential College, Irvington House, or Fairview House). He is deeply committed to extending educational engagement beyond the classroom by fostering student communities and supporting first-year transitions.

His academic focus centers on:

• English composition and literature pedagogy
• First-year student experience design
• Residential community building

Furuness actively organizes both structured and casual resident events, including professional storytelling sessions during Halloween, Super Bowl gatherings, and informal study breaks with snacks. He emphasizes that faculty-student interactions outside class significantly boost retention and graduation rates, while humanizing educators as caring mentors invested in students' holistic development.

He advises incoming students to initiate contact without hesitation—stressing that Faculty-In-Residence staff exist specifically to connect with residents—and positions the program as a vital thread in Butler's comprehensive "web of care" for student support.