Breaking bread, boundaries

Seth Jacobs, a history professor at Boston College, is holding forth. From the head of the table, he leads a group of undergraduates in a rollicking discussion that spans the Vietnam War, Ann Coulter, Shakespearean drama, and a range of other topics.

Honors seminar? Advising session? Office hours? Nope, this is dinner.

Seated in the dining room of Jacobs's house in Waban, his ancient black dog snuffling under their chairs, Jacobs hosted six of his history students for a dinner of chicken with saffron rice, reimbursed by the college.

The dinner is part of a four-year-old strategy by BC to encourage professors and students to get together outside the classroom. Students are given a chance to see their esteemed professors in a less pedantic light; professors get a window into the lives of students.

"This makes them seem real," said senior Brandon Barford, one of Jacobs's guests and a veteran of dinners paid for by BC. "It lets you get to know them better, and it's kind of fun to see them in a social setting. Usually they're the teacher and you're the student."

It's not unheard of for professors at many schools to invite students to their homes, especially at residential campuses like BC that trumpet the close access students have to faculty. But BC's program is unusual in its scope. Nearly half the students on the Chestnut Hill campus have dined at home with their professors, who are repaid up to $150 for the meals.

The dinners are the brainchild of Joe Quinn, dean of BC's College of Arts and Sciences, who years ago was a guest for dinner at the home of one of his Amherst College professors. The evening proved so memorable that when he became dean, he decided to allocate a portion of his budget to faculty-hosted meals.

Since its inception, the idea has caught on dramatically. In the program's first year, about 47 professors held dinners or other meals, hosting a total of about 700 students, said Quinn. Last year, 172 faculty invited 2,850 students to their homes.

"It's a small expenditure for the university, but its popularity has risen every single year," Quinn said. "It's not the money that has people doing it -- it's having people say, wow, that's a neat idea."

BC spends about $20,000 a year on the effort, and each semester the college sends memos urging faculty to invite students to their homes. Faculty members who live farther afield can even arrange for college vans to shuttle students. Professors at BC did invite students to their houses before the program began, but such efforts tended to be informal. Having the college put its weight and wallet behind the program has prodded more teachers to give it a try.

"It's encouragement," said Michael Resler, chairman of the department of German studies. "Once you've done it, your first time will not be your last."

For years Resler opened his New Hampshire home to students for a day of skiing or snowboarding. But now he augments such casual invites by hosting his classes each semester closer to home.

The BC program has spawned a similar effort at Bentley College. The Waltham school's Faculty Fellows program, which encourages professors to meet informally with students -- either for meals or elsewhere -- was suggested by a former BC employee, said Amy Beth Polonsky, Lower Campus Residence Director at Bentley.

Mark Frydenberg, a senior lecturer in computer systems information at Bentley, has taken students on field trips to a local bank and the school's data center, followed by dinner at a nearby restaurant or the student cafeteria.

The face time has already paid off in a surprising way. Such informal conversations opened his eyes to the stresses students face at the end of each semester when the tests come fast and furious, he said. Based on that insight, Frydenberg moved his class's final exam to a few weeks before the end of the term.

BC's Jacobs also experienced some revelations after hosting his first student dinner.

"They're much more quick-witted in informal settings," he said. "I can only ascribe it to the natural intimidation of normal student-professor interactions."

For the students' part, they were amazed at how quickly the evening progressed. When Samantha Massie, 22, a senior walked in the door at 6, she figured they'd be done in a few hours. At 10 p.m., however, the students and Jacobs reluctantly said good night.

The bonds formed at such casual meals may last for years. John and Susan Michalczyk, both BC faculty members, have hosted student dinners at their Wayland home for more than 20 years. Last year their daughter Rachel, then a BC freshman, attended her first student dinner at the home of a professor. During the meal, the teacher announced that nearly two decades ago he had been introduced to the practice at the home of one of his professors, where he had enjoyed meeting the man's family, including his young children -- one of whom was Rachel.

"So the tradition continues," said Susan Michalczyk.