With just over a week left to the semester, professors and students alike should reward each other for their hard work and take this time to gather valuable feedback from each other. Through the Office of the Provost, professors are allowed to take up to seven of their students at a time to lunch in the Sage Faculty Dining Hall as part of the “Take Your Students to Lunch” program. Similarly, students in a class are encouraged to invite their professor to lunch with them as well. This program was designed to encourage and improve faculty-student communication in an informal setting. In the past, professors and students have taken the time to discuss anything from current events to class projects. This is a terrific opportunity for students to talk to professors about life at RPI, whether it’s on academics or extra-classroom activities.
When the program was reintroduced in early 2004, it was hoped that students and faculty could share ideas and feedback about a course or issues facing the Institute. While many professors make use of this program each semester, few students have had the opportunity to take advantage of this program. To some, the idea is that this program is only for the students in the Schools of Management and Humanities and Social Sciences, but professors from all fields can invite their students to lunch. For this reason, we encourage professors and students in all schools to take the initiative and talk to each other about going to lunch. It can be a reward for your appetite as well as the fact that you may learn a lot about each other. Each stands to gain a relationship with one another that may prove useful down the line by gaining contacts for if a student needs a recommendation or is looking for help with a research paper.
