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Dinner With 12 Strangers
A three-course presentation:
How dining in good company can help shape the student experience
Agenda (À La Carte)
1. The Premise
2. The Outcome
3. Conclusions and The Future
1) The Premise
• Dinner with 12 Strangers:– 12 Strangers sit down to dinner
– Each stands up at the end with 11 new friends
• Local alumni host dinner for students, faculty, and alumni, in their own home
1) The Premise, cont’d
• Mix of students, alumni & faculty offered participants a unique and inclusive experience
Students Alumni
FacultyDinner with 12 Strangers
1) The Premise, cont’d
• Establish connections– Students with students
• from diverse academic streams and cultural backgrounds
– Students with faculty• to exchange insight and experiences, to increase
comfort with faculty
– Students with alumni• to experience engagement with the broader U of T
community
1) The Premise, cont’d
• Benefit to Students:– Meet alumni and faculty in a relaxed, informal
setting
– Establish connections beyond immediate peer or academic group
– Develop a higher comfort level with faculty and alumni
– Experience the broader U of T community
2) The Outcome
• 5 Dinners hosted in 2006-2007
• 150+ students signed up for invitation list despite limited promotion
• 10% of registrants were through word-of-mouth or student referrals
• 60 participants in total
2) The Outcome, cont’d
• “It was one of the best evenings I’ve had since I started university.”
• “We were all impressed by the effort Michael and his wife Jane put into preparing the meal (which yes, was fantastic…) and being invited into someone’s home was a very welcoming experience.”
!Students met alumni and faculty in a relaxed, informal setting
2) The Outcome, cont’d
• “I got to meet so many interesting people –even people who were in the same class as me, whom I had never met.”
!Students established connections beyond their immediate peer or academic group
2) The Outcome, cont’d
• “I like that there were professors and alumni and students… It created a very stimulating atmosphere and wasn’t just a typical dinner for students.”
!Students developed a higher comfort level with faculty and alumni
2) The Outcome, cont’d
• “The conversations about why each of us came to U of T and what makes us come back as a student or as an alumnus were eye-opening.”
• “U of T is as cosmopolitan inside and outside the classroom.”
!Students experienced the broader U of T community
2) The Outcome, cont’d
• Benefit to Students:!Meet alumni and faculty in a relaxed, informal
setting
!Establish connections beyond immediate peer or academic group
!Develop a higher comfort level with faculty and alumni
!Experience the broader U of T community
3) Conclusions & the Future
• Students were touched by the personal and intimate nature of these events
• Impressed that faculty members attend
• Appreciated hosts’ efforts and generosity
• All participants were highly receptive to this all-inclusive, community-building approach
3) Conclusions & the Future, cont’d
• Next steps:– “Dinner With 12 Strangers” Kit to be made
available to all Divisions
– Will help even small alumni offices to run the program
– Will help expand the number of dinners, participants, and the impact of the program
Last Word
• “I thoroughly enjoyed the Dinner with 12 Strangers and would recommend it to anyone in the U of T community.”