Katherine Newman, the new James B. Knapp Dean of The Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, has recently began hosting weekly Monday night dinners at her house on North Charles St.
So far, she has hosted 12 dinners, with an array of discussion topics, ranging from ‘Mad Cows and Weird Biology’ to ‘Dark Matter.’
Upon accepting the position of Dean of Arts and Sciences, Newman knew that she wanted the opportunity to spend some quality time with the undergraduates, even though she would not be in the classroom.
She decided to arrange the dinners so that she could chat informally with the students and learn about their interests, while finding a way to bring the students and faculty together in a more intimate setting.
Alumna Caren Zelicof, who graduated from the Krieger School of Arts and Science in 1986, funds these dinners.
Zelicof and her family has helped support this program, and made the expense of the dinners more manageable.
Newman deliberately invites faculty who are in fields that are in high demand by undergraduates.
They are asked to bring their classes with them and discuss their work.
“This gives students who have some common interest, because they are enrolled in the same class, an opportunity to socialize,” Newman said.
She has invited faculty from myriad departments, including neuroscience, public health, writing seminars, the social sciences and the humanities.
Freshman Andreas Aslaksen was one of the students who attended the dinner on November 29th with his Intro to Sociology class.
“The Dean discussed her own research, which she did previous to joining Hopkins, on the working poor and then Dr. Cherlin gave a talk about how to improve education for children in the lower middle class,” he said. “It was a very good overview and they both gave overall great talks.”
Newman has found these dinners to be quite successful.
“It’s an opportunity to get to know students, almost like my own little focus group every week,” Newman said. “I get the chance to ask them what they’re studying, how they’re finding college life, what they find most interesting, what things they are attracted to outside of the classroom, a little bit about where they’re headed in terms of their careers, and their ambitions for the future. This has given me a feeling for who we have at the heart of the Krieger School.”
The faculty has also enjoyed these dinners immensely. Professors frequently approach Newman to ask if they can present at these gatherings. She is already booked up all through next semester.
“This is very gratifying because it tells me that we have a very engaged faculty who really enjoys spending time with students,” Newman said.
Writing Seminars professor Jean McGarry was one of the professors invited to the Writing Seminars dinner on November 22nd.
“Dean Newman is a friendly and warm host and I think students enjoyed the chance to meet her and hear the work of Writing Seminars’ faculty,” McGarry said.
About 30 undergraduates and some Hopkins’ alumni gathered for a dinner. Then, poet and professor Mary Jo Salter read six poems and answered questions.
McGarry also read part of “A Full House,” a story in her new collection, “Ocean State”.
“I would like students to get a feeling for what faculty are like when they aren’t standing in front of the classroom. I want them to know that professors are people that they can have conversations with and learn something from, in an informal way,” Newman said.
She also hopes that students learn more about the cutting-edge faculty research, since it isn’t always presented in class.
Freshman Jonah Garry, a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) on campus, attended a dinner on October 4th, with twenty-six other cadets.
The topic of this dinner was the consequences of military service on long term economic mobility.
“It was a good opportunity to get to know the administration of the school and connect with the people that play a role in our education,” Garry said.
Newman said that she has learned an immense amount from each dinner. She was particularly fascinated by the discussion of mad cow disease in the New Guinea highlands, and was intrigued by Adam Reese’s explanation of dark energy.
“The only problem that I have come up with is how to include more and more students. I have as many as I could possibly jam in there,” she said. “But, at most that might be maybe a quarter of the students that are on campus at a given time.”
