Above, Assoc. Prof. John Gallaugher (CSOM) shares a meal and conversation with students (clockwise from right) Lizzie Korsgaard, Stephanie Shen, Katherine Hou and Ji-Won Son at their suite in Edmonds Hall — an event organized through the “Take Home Prof” program. (Photos by Christopher Huang)
Offering Some Food for Thought, and Friendship
Carroll School program supports faculty-student dinners and socializing
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Carroll School of Management undergraduates are getting to play dinner host — and getting to know their professors better in the process.An initiative launched this academic year by CSOM provides a role reversal on the often common practice of faculty hosting groups of students at their nearby homes.
The “Take Home Prof” program provides students with a $75 gift certificate for groceries on the condition that the students do the shopping and the cooking before breaking bread with a faculty member of their choosing, according to Erica Graf, undergraduate programs administrator for CSOM.
On a recent Thursday night, sophomores Katherine Hou, Lizzie Korsgaard, Stephanie Shen, and Ji-Won Son prepared an elaborate meal for Assoc. Prof. John Gallaugher,’88, MBA’90, in their Edmonds Hall suite.
Korsgaard said the idea struck a chord with her because she wants to make personal connections with her professors.
“I thought it would be really exciting,” Korsgaard said. “I just think it’s interesting to have that kind of personal relationship with faculty. That’s what I wanted when I came to BC, but I hadn’t really gotten that yet.”
Both Korsgaard and Shen said they most enjoyed hearing Gallaugher reminisce about meeting his wife, Kim, while both were students at BC and listening to Gallaugher talk about balancing work with family life with his wife, who is expecting their third child.
Those details a student might glean from a professor during the course of a semester, but they’re typically not a classroom topic, said Shen.
“We talked about things not so much related to school,” she said. “But it was a casual setting and we weren’t nervous. We could treat him more as a good friend.”
A blend of Chinese and Korean dishes awaited Gallaugher, who noted he hadn’t been in Edmonds since his stint as a residential assistant.
“Katherine did most of the cooking and she prepared spareribs in vinegar and soy sauce, tomato and eggs, chicken, mushrooms and cauliflower, Thousand Year Old Egg and desesrt was pear in wine sauce with ice cream on top,” Shen said.
“Katherine was in the kitchen pretty much all day,” said Korsgaard,’11.
Gallaugher, an expert in management information systems, said he felt like he was on common ground in the residence hall he called home for two years.
“Twenty years ago I was the RA on the eighth floor of Edmonds,” he said. “We talked about what had changed. Oddly, the rooms looked remarkably similar to the way they did then. The difference is nobody has a phone that plugs into the wall. And Edmonds recycles.”
And there was no shortage of “Jersey” talk, given that Gallaugher and the four students all hail from the Garden State.
“The fact that these students invited me into their home and did such a superb job on the meal, it was wonderful,” said Gallaugher. “I feel honored that they invited me.”
Ed Hayward can be reached at ed.hayward@bc.edu