As a university, RPI is the host of many public lectures. Many of the topics of these presentations are geared towards the students and faculty at a technological institution such as RPI.
Unfortunately, students and faculty with heavy course loads or teaching schedules are often in class while these events are being held. With this in mind, the Institute has a block of time—4 to 6 pm on Tuesdays—when classes are traditionally not scheduled. Of course, due to the limited nature of some facilities, especially laboratories, some classes still need to be held during this period, but there are still far fewer students and professors in classes during this time slot than most others.
However, despite this availability, the administration has been scheduling events in other time slots. Recently, President Jackson scheduled her fall town meeting from 3 to 5 pm on a Thursday. The limited attendance at this event might be explained by many students and professors being in class during this time; anyone who attended would have seen that the audience disproportionately consisted of RPI staff. Additionally, this Thursday, the Entrepreneur of the Year Frederick Smith, CEO of the FedEx Corporation, is scheduled at 3:30 pm during another overlapping time slot. While one can not be certain, it would not be surprising if there was a similarly poor attendance.
It’s very true that the people who speak at these lectures are very busy, so clearly the Tuesday 4 to 6 pm time slot cannot always be accommodated. However, more work should be put into ensuring that these events held are at a variety of times, to allow different groups of people to attend. If events are always held during the same two hour time slot, the same people are going to be excluded every time, and some of these may be interested in the events.
At the same time, however, it should be important that events are scheduled in accordance with the rest of the RPI schedule. Most classes and other activities are held in two-hour time blocks throughout the day, and holding events at times that are not commensurate with such times ensures that more people are blocked from attending than otherwise would be. If a lecture if scheduled to begin at 3:30 pm, as Smith’s is on Thursday, then the people who have class from 2 to 4 pm and from 4 to 6 pm are going to be excluded, instead of just one or the other.
The administration is always looking for input on how to make their events more attractive so that more members of the RPI community attend them. While some may be kept away by the topic, some are definitely kept away by the timing of the events. More work should be put into assuring that the timing of the events is most convenient for all involved, from the speaker to the audience.
