223 CHAPTER 15 ADVOCATING EQUITY AND COMMUNITY THROUGH RESIDENTIAL LEARNING PROGRAMS Shelley Price-Williams, Pietro Sasso and Roger “Mitch” Nasser Jr. ABSTRACT The origin of the learning community, in higher education in the US, began over a century ago. In contemporary higher education, living-learning com- munities (LLCs) have become a strategic way to foster student development, engagement, and success as well to advance key tenets of diversity and inclu- sion. Within this work, a historical narrative of the learning community is provided, in addition to a discussion of relative student development theory. Finally, this chapter positions diversity and inclusion as central to this edu- cational intervention and frames the utility of this student engagement model within the Dynamic Student Development Metatheodel, a modern theory of student success and development. Keywords: Residential learning program; learning community; living- learning community; federated learning community; dynamic student development metatheodel; student engagement Strategies for Facilitating Inclusive Campuses in Higher Education: International Perspectives on Equity and Inclusion Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Volume 17, 223–235 Copyright © 2019 by Emerald Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 2055-3641/doi:10.1108/S2055-364120190000017016