{"221101":{"#nid":"221101","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Faculty Invited to Host \u2018Hot Topic\u2019 Dinners","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIf you are a faculty member who is interested in new ways to interact with Georgia Tech students, consider volunteering to host a Residence Life Hot Topic Dinner.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAbout five years ago, we started offering the dinners to give both faculty and students the opportunity to talk about topics that are interesting to them, in an informal setting,\u201d said Brett Hulst, assistant director of Housing and the Freshman Experience. \u201cThe goal is for our students to feel more comfortable talking with faculty, and the dinners are just one way we address the component of the strategic plan that encourages increased faculty and student interaction.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe time commitment is minimal for those interested in participating. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor example, Cindy Zapata, an assistant professor in the Scheller College of Business, has hosted a dinner, and said that it only took about two hours of her time to prepare.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s up to the faculty member to think of a topic he or she is passionate about \u2014 whether it\u2019s a hobby or a current event \u2014 and come up with a few discussion questions,\u201d said Holly Shikano, coordinator of residential academic initiatives for staff and community development in Residence Life. \u201cAfter that\u2019s done, all you have to do is navigate to the building the night of the dinner and hang out with our students.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECharles Liotta, a Regents Professor emeritus and chair in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has also hosted a dinner. He chose to speak about his experiences with students over many years at Tech and his love for chemistry.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELiotta\u2019s advice to any colleagues interested in participating in the program? \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cDon\u2019t do all of the talking,\u201d he said. \u201cBe sure you engage in give-and-take \u003Cbr \/\u003Econversations.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShikano is also looking to organize a few dinners at the beginning of the semester that focus on this year\u2019s First-Year Reading book, Living with Complexity by Don Norman. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThose interested in leading a discussion on the book should email \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:shikano@gatech.edu%20\u0022\u003Eher\u003C\/a\u003E by July 30. Anyone interested in hosting a dinner on another topic should let Shikano know by Sept. 6.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIf you are a faculty member who is interested in new ways to interact with Georgia Tech students, consider volunteering to host a Residence Life Hot Topic Dinner.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"If you are a faculty member who is interested in new ways to interact with Georgia Tech students, consider volunteering to host a Residence Life Hot Topic Dinner."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2013-07-08 15:49:27","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:14:30","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-07-08T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-07-08T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1506","name":"faculty"},{"id":"56211","name":"Hot Topic Dinners"},{"id":"7747","name":"residence life"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:shikano@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EHolly Shikano\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResidence Life\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}