Students now have a new mechanism for approaching their professors outside of the classroom-other than sending them the awkward late-night e-mails.
Officially launched last week, the Honoring Our Professors Engagement program was created by Joe Gonzalez, associate dean for residential life, in an effort to encourage a stronger connection between students and faculty through sit-down meals.
"Ideally, it would be more than just an interesting conversation over a meal," Gonzalez said. "A faculty member involved in research might give a student awareness of a research opportunity they never had, and they might then follow up with that faculty member and say, 'You know, you mentioned this research you do.'"
Faculty had previously expressed interest in participating in hall-related activities but were struggling to do so since they do not have the same connections as someone actually living there, he said.
Gonzalez added that HOPE will help strengthen connections that already exist between students and faculty and use those relationships to give students the chance to meet faculty they never met before.
Resident assistants can invite faculty members to breakfast, lunch or dinner with a group of six students or fewer at no cost to either party. The meals are compensated by prepaid cards, which are funded by Residence Life and Housing Services, that the resident assistants must check out prior to the gathering.
Although no requests have been made yet, Gonzalez said he hopes applications for meal cards will begin trickling in soon. He added that he hopes to face the challenge of a funding shortage for the project by demonstrating high levels of interest to elicit further funds.
Resident assistants may choose to host as many meals with faculty members and students as they like. The meals, however, must take place at a location on campus, excluding the Washington Duke Inn.
"I think it's a critical part of the Duke undergraduate experience, that every student should be forging what I'll refer to as a special relation with a faculty member," Gonzalez said. "And I guess the way I'd define that is that you have no hesitation to ask that faculty member to be a reference for you, that you're that comfortable with them and that they know you that well that making that request is not cause for stress."
Gonzalez said he hopes by the end of their Duke career, students will have a special connection with a faculty member as a result of the introductory meal sponsored by HOPE. He added that he foresees more significant relationships forming, allowing students to discover research opportunities they never would have heard of or a discipline that makes them think more about the academic opportunities they wish to pursue.
"I think it has the potential to change the culture to some degree if it is utilized at a high level," Gonzalez said. "I feel like for some students, especially when they first arrive, connecting to faculty isn't necessarily something they know how to do easily."
Sophomore Michael Worsman, a resident assistant in Jarvis Residence Hall, said he feels the same way.
"I think it's a really awesome program and a great opportunity for students to get to know their professors better," he said. "Even faculty members that aren't necessarily professors of a particular student are very important links on campus and crucial to helping students finding great careers."
After hearing about HOPE, a few students said they are interested in being a part of the program.
"I'm really excited to participate in it because it's a fantastic opportunity to integrate the students and faculty and help us get to know the faculty better and maybe learn more about internships or job openings in the future," said freshman Krystina Wallis.
The concept of the program originated from the HOPE Banquet, a similar effort two years ago where resident assistants had the opportunity to invite faculty members who had had a significant impact on their lives to a banquet with other student-faculty pairs to thank the faculty for their work and dedication, Gonzalez said.
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