Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bad bad bad idea to do it now!

Happens now quite frequently at privates. Schools no doubt have suggested rules. No one on one. Mix of girls and boys. Consider URM. Spouse needs to be there. No drinks unless all over 21.

Ha ha. I majored in Russian and we used to get hammered at department events, including dinners at professor's houses. And they used to come to our parties in the language dorm. One had a stocked bar in his office and seniors would do shots on Fridays. Other departments definitely had their own after-class traditions, some of which were more refined (but still included alcohol....the English and classics professors weren't going to NOT drink wine. Although, as I recall, the poli sci/econ profs were more into beer.)

Whats the point of going to a SLAC if you don't get the perks of a small school? Getting to know your professors, and interacting with them like an adult, is one of the reasons you go to a tiny school in the middle of nowhere.

I was invited to a professor's house but he invited the whole class. This class also took field trips so it didn't seem unusual.

You have to remember that law students (who tend to be about 23-30) are very different from undergraduates (18-21 years olds). Most of my law school class mates had previously worked for a few years, about a quarter were married, and many already had another graduate degree.

Anonymous wrote:Bad bad bad idea to do it now!

Happens now quite frequently at privates. Schools no doubt have suggested rules. No one on one. Mix of girls and boys. Consider URM. Spouse needs to be there. No drinks unless all over 21.

Anonymous wrote:I'm married to a prof and we've never had any of his students over. Could be just us -- we're not big on entertaining, our apt is small, and we have two little kids underfoot. Maybe he's taken groups of them out for drinks or dinner, I'm not sure, but I don't think he does it often. Mostly he just meets with students during office hours -- whoever wants to come talk to him.

When I picture profs having students over, I picture a scene out of the 1950s where a professor had a big beautiful house filled with books nearby a leafy campus and a wife who's job was to "support" her husband's career and hosted social events to further it. Maybe the professors' wives all met together and had a club or something. Back in the era where men brought their bosses and business associates over for dinner. That's really not done anymore.

As I said before I think it varies with the college. Some stress this. Only so much they can pressure so not everyone has to do it. But many embrace the role. Yes it may feel like something old. And a lot depends on what the professor thinks their job is. Is it to do research, publish, teach a couple of classes, have office hours, and grade or is it more than this. The profs that I knew that had more interaction considered their job to be not quite 24/7 but more than preparing for class and office hours. Of course profs may not be paid the same in relative terms as they have been in the past. But one professor where I went to dinner a couple of times did have that nice big house. His wife was the president of a non-flagship state university. Another prof that I spent time wife -- his wife was an artist and a writer. Both profs and wives loved to entertain -- not to entertain but for the stimulation and discussion. Food was always so so. It was the discussion.

My graduate supervisor and most of the ones in the department did this all the time, but it was always for the whole lab (and sometimes even a second lab that we worked with closely). We were a pretty foody bunch so he would make a main and the students would bring a side, snack or dessert with an unspoken rule that a bag of chips was A-OK since we were pretty broke. There was wine served with dinner but it was nowhere near a big drinking scene. I think the issue would come if a professor was inviting only select students over, or if it was really boozy.

Bad bad bad idea to do it now!

I'm married to a prof and we've never had any of his students over. Could be just us -- we're not big on entertaining, our apt is small, and we have two little kids underfoot. Maybe he's taken groups of them out for drinks or dinner, I'm not sure, but I don't think he does it often. Mostly he just meets with students during office hours -- whoever wants to come talk to him.

When I picture profs having students over, I picture a scene out of the 1950s where a professor had a big beautiful house filled with books nearby a leafy campus and a wife who's job was to "support" her husband's career and hosted social events to further it. Maybe the professors' wives all met together and had a club or something. Back in the era where men brought their bosses and business associates over for dinner. That's really not done anymore.

Anonymous wrote:Here's how it works. As a professor (research university), I interact with two groups of students in a given semester - perhaps 30 undergraduates that are taking my course, and my research group (which includes 3-6 graduate students that I am advising and work closely with for 2-6 years). Of the 30 undergrads, I may approach one or two that show particular potential in my field, and ask them if they would like an opportunity to be my teaching or research assistant. Some times they ask. They then become a part of my research group, and are invited over on occasion along with my grad students. They earn this additional access through their performance and potential. It's theoretically available to all of the undergrads in my class, but given to the few that merit it.

Yes. And it’s always worked perfectly this way.

Some students earn an “A;” while others squeak by with a “D,” or fail out.

Who do you think is best suited to be a graduate teaching fellow?

And among the “A,” students, there are often ones who lack an aptitude for teaching. Having the top candidates out for dinner, or at a home, is simply part of the selection process.

Really not seeing an issue here.

Anonymous wrote:Here's how it works. As a professor (research university), I interact with two groups of students in a given semester - perhaps 30 undergraduates that are taking my course, and my research group (which includes 3-6 graduate students that I am advising and work closely with for 2-6 years). Of the 30 undergrads, I may approach one or two that show particular potential in my field, and ask them if they would like an opportunity to be my teaching or research assistant. Some times they ask. They then become a part of my research group, and are invited over on occasion along with my grad students. They earn this additional access through their performance and potential. It's theoretically available to all of the undergrads in my class, but given to the few that merit it.

This. Not a professor but was a history major. One professor that I did a lot with would invite people with particular interest in his field to dinner when a professor from somewhere else would be in from out of town. Happened a couple of times. There would be a few grad students and a few undergrads. Dinner and then discussion about something in that field. Professors were not from US colleges which made it an interesting discussion.

I agree open to anyone who were high performing students and had an interest in the area that the professor specialized in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the Sciences - very common. Many social events, mostly in professors’ homes. Everyone is invited- spouses, children, etc. Now we do it in parks b/c COVID but Professors are officially hosting, working the grill, sending the invitations, etc.

Very common around holidays as well, to host all students who are not able to make it back home for the holiday feast, or to treat foreign students to our traditions. We typically have a houseful on thanksgiving.

Yes, at an ivy.

How are professors able to invite ALL of their students to parties at their homes? Are their houses really that big?

They invite all of the seniors in the department, or all of the majors, or whatever. The professors in my department used to have a cookout for the majors every spring at one of their houses, it was fun to go off campus and do something social, especially since we were all so sick of school by April of senior year.

One of my intro class teachers--it was her first year teaching, too--invited all the freshmen over at the end of the year to celebrate getting through the first year in our department, which was notoriously hard. She had a tiny apartment and we had a great time and were all like, "this could be us in 10 years!" It's college--you're used to cramming a ton of people in a little apartment and sitting on the floor and eating pizza.

My dad was a Classics Prof at a SLAC. He could routinely have all of his students over at one time when I was growing up. And in the 70s he could give them a little bit of wine with dinner b.c the drinking age was lower- he felt that he was mentoring them in how to drink responsibly and thought it was a shame when the drinking age changed. Nothing inappropriate ever happened- my mom and I were there the whole time. I'm sure he had favorites but he was so passionate about his subject that he graded the work on its own merit.

Here's how it works. As a professor (research university), I interact with two groups of students in a given semester - perhaps 30 undergraduates that are taking my course, and my research group (which includes 3-6 graduate students that I am advising and work closely with for 2-6 years). Of the 30 undergrads, I may approach one or two that show particular potential in my field, and ask them if they would like an opportunity to be my teaching or research assistant. Some times they ask. They then become a part of my research group, and are invited over on occasion along with my grad students. They earn this additional access through their performance and potential. It's theoretically available to all of the undergrads in my class, but given to the few that merit it.

PhD in the ivies; at first, went to a different prof's house about once a month; entire family invited with all students in class/lab and their spouses and kids.

By the final years - there was a second type of event: smaller groups, restaurants, and more booze (the more senior, the drunker - most grad students just nursed a drink or two). Often with visiting faculty. Academics love drinking (especially on Ivy endowment money). But also, this is how most of us got our first tenure track jobs.

I went to a local university that was a commuter college as it was called when I attended and it was not uncommon for students to meet up with teachers outside of our classes at professor homes, etc...