Food For Thought

Food For Thought for Faculty

Housing and Residential Life understands the importance of students having a strong connection to their faculty and has placed a great deal of emphasis on providing opportunities for faculty ⁄student interaction through our residence hall programs. In a continued effort to support our mission of faculty ⁄student engagement, Housing and Residential Life sponsors the ongoing Food for Thought program.

Food for Thought is an opportunity for a Residential Life student staff member to invite four residents and a faculty member of their choice to engage in casual conversation over a meal in an on-campus dining facility as guests of the Department.

Program Participation Steps

Pre-Program

1. Student staff member contacts you to request your participation
2. A date, time, and location for the meal is established

Day of Program

1. Eat with the staff members and residents.
2. Have fun!

Post-Program

1. You will receive an e-mailed evaluation. Please complete and return as soon as possible.
2. Talk about your great experience and refer your colleagues for participation

Your time commitment will be minimal, but the benefits of your involvement will be significant.

Program Benefits

1. Research and theory on college students show that informal faculty interactions play a significant role in student satisfaction and retention.
2. You can help contribute to the Department of Housing and Residential Life’s goal of each Resident Assistant facilitating one Food for Thought program within the academic year.
3. You get to enjoy a free meal and have meaningful conversation with students outside of the classroom.

Other Helpful Information

You may want to find out what type of students the staff member is bringing, and plan accordingly (ex. from a certain major, students who are having a hard time connecting with others, etc.)

Enjoy the time together with the students and let conversation develop naturally. The experience should feel informal and relaxed.

For More Information

Ron Thompson
Associate Director for Residential Life
Florida International University
126 Panther Hall
(305) 348-3661
Ron.Thompson@fiu.edu

Food For Thought for Staff

We understand the importance of residents having a strong connection to their faculty and have placed a great deal of emphasis on providing opportunities for faculty ⁄ resident interaction through various programming initiatives. To support our mission of faculty ⁄ resident engagement, the Department sponsors the ongoing Food for Thought program.

Food for Thought is an opportunity for a Residential Life student staff member to invite four residents and a faculty member of their choice to engage in casual conversation over a meal in an on-campus dining facility.

Program Steps

Pre-program

1. Identify faculty member to participate and explain your plan for their participation.
2. Schedule a date, time, and location for the meal.
3. Identify four residents to participate.
4. Request the meal coupons, tracking sheet, and evaluations from CRL.
5. Be sure to remind the residents and faculty a couple days before the program.

Day of program

1. Complete the information on the tracking sheet.
2. Eat with the faculty member and residents.
3. Have fun!
4. Have residents complete the evaluation forms

Within 3 Days After Program

1. Return the tracking sheet and evaluations to CRL.
2. Send a thank you note to the faculty member.
3. You will receive an e-mailed evaluation. Please complete and return it asap to receive credit for the program.

Program Benefits

1. You get to have a free meal with a committed faculty member and your interested residents, connecting them outside of the classroom which will enhance their educational experience.
2. Each student staff member who facilitates Food for Thought gets their name into a drawing for a prize at the End of the Year Banquet.
3. Each staff member who has their entire staff facilitate Food for Thought gets 200 Staffos to be used in the Staffos Auction at the End of the Year Banquet.

Recruiting Participants

1. Target specific residents based on your goals for the program (ex. based on major, those you don’t know very well, those who haven’t connected with other residents, etc.).
2. Target specific faculty members for the same reasons. If you need help finding an interested faculty member, reference the faculty contact list.
3. Use personal invitations or flyers to gauge interest from residents.

Special Points

1. You may do your program with another staff member, but there must be at least one faculty member for every four residents
2. Faculty members should be someone teaching in their field of expertise.
3. Program can be repeated with permission of CRL and ARLC.