Student-Faculty Dinners

As a dove-tail to Eamon’s post last week, I’m working on setting up a pilot program for next semester for student-professor dinners. Dinners would be student-initiated, and would help build personal relationships with professors. Although faculty can currently receive reimbursement for meals with students, field-trips, and meetings over coffee, there is no institutionalized program so that a small group of students themselves can organize a dinner with a professor. My plan would build such a program.

As I’ve written it thus far, the program would be a simple system of reimbursement at any restaurant up to $15 per student; any fraud would be accounted for by trust in the form of signatures and acknowledgment from professors that each dinner did take place. The as-yet-unnamed program would be integrated with the Dean of Students Office’s system of faculty reimbursement mentioned above.

I am looking for student input as to how such a program would best serve you. What should it be called? How would it best be advertised? Is the system of reimbursement as outlined fair? What, if any, set limit should be imposed on the number of students participating in any particular dinner? What are your thoughts? Thanks for your input!

~ Will Yale

Class ’12 Senator

Academic Affairs Committee

7 Comments

• 
  Andrea Wise November 8, 2008 at 2:00 pm

  This is a great idea, but I’m curious what you have in mind that would separate this from the current reimbursement program?
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  William Yale November 8, 2008 at 2:16 pm

  With the current program, only professors can organize any outside-class gatherings, and many never do. This program would empower students to independently come up with a plan to have dinner with their professor, in addition to the old program. It would also be far more advertised than it is now.
• 
  Krystal Ramirez November 8, 2008 at 4:54 pm

  Emphasize trips to local restaurants to support Hartford’s economy (versus ordering from Pizza Hut, for instance)

  Also publicize restaurants that currently give Trinity students discounts
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  Bryce Blum November 9, 2008 at 4:18 pm

  I think this is great. I would say no more than 5 students at a dinner so that they all get something out of it. Also, id increase the maximum amount to $20. And I agree with Krystal about supporting local businesses.
• 
  Andrea Wise November 10, 2008 at 10:17 am

  I can’t wait to take advantage of this! You might try talking to the owner of the Trinity Restaurant about offering some sort of a discount for this program. The woman is super nice and has offered me discounts for other school-related things in the past so she might be up for something if it would be likely to increase her customer base.
• 
  Adam Katcher November 11, 2008 at 11:34 am

  Will-for us freshman and upperclassmen without cars, perhaps including cab fare in the deal would do some good. Hartford buses might not do so well, and asking a prof to do the driving seems counter to the “it’s on us” philosophy of the program. This would be awesome, keep it up.
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