{"113681":{"#nid":"113681","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Faculty and Alumni Welcome Students into Their Homes","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA strong identifier of the Georgia Tech community is its pride\nfor the Institute, and Tech\u2019s largest student organization is now providing an\noutlet for students, faculty and alumni to come together and forge connections rooted\nin their enthusiasm for Georgia Tech. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EEach week on Sunday evening, the Student Alumni Association\n(SAA) coordinates Dinner Jackets, a dinner hosted by a faculty member or\nalumnus. Hosts welcome students into their homes for an evening of hospitality\nand casual conversation. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBy hosting dinners, faculty members seem more approachable,\nnot just who they are when lecturing in front of a white board,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/gtsaa.com\/node\/105\u0022\u003EGary May\u003C\/a\u003E, dean of the College of\nEngineering and a Georgia Tech alumnus, who has hosted two dinners with his\nwife, also a Tech graduate. \u201cThose students can learn about our interests\noutside of the classroom, like the fact that I love to collect comic books.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe program was coined \u0022Dinner Jackets\u0022 in 2011, and initially began as a way for alumni to give\nback to current students and reminisce about their time at Georgia Tech and\nlove for its traditions; in turn, students gain professional advice from past\nYellow Jacket generations. The events are now open to all faculty members\ninterested in hosting, regardless of their alma mater. Faculty have enjoyed\nenhancing faculty-student interaction, in line with Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/vision\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EStrategic\nPlan\u003C\/a\u003E, by exposing students to diverse environments outside the classroom.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EPrevious dinners have been hosted by esteemed members of the\nGeorgia Tech community, such as\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/gtsaa.com\/node\/493\u0022\u003E Rafael Bras\u003C\/a\u003E,\nprovost and executive vice president of Academic Affairs, and \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/gtsaa.com\/node\/526\u0022\u003ETom Fanning\u003C\/a\u003E, CEO and chairman of Southern\nCompany.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cDinner Jackets is a great way to allow for student\ncommunication in a more intimate setting,\u201d said Greg Jones, current SAA Dinner\nJackets chair and a third-year mechanical engineering undergraduate. \u201cIt\u2019s rare\nto be given the opportunity to be served dinner by the CEO of Southern Company\nand his wife.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EUpcoming dinners with available seating include \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/gtsaa.com\/node\/539\u0022\u003ERich DeAugustinis\u003C\/a\u003E, vice president with\nThe Coca-Cola Company on March 11 and \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/gtsaa.com\/node\/533\u0022\u003ECatherine\nMurray-Rust\u003C\/a\u003E, vice provost of learning excellence and dean of libraries, on\nApril 15.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EInterested students can attend a future Dinner Jackets event\nby \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/gtsaa.com\/how-to-join\/join-today\u0022\u003Ejoining SAA online\u003C\/a\u003E. Members\ncan view additional upcoming hosts, read their biographies and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gtalumni.org\/registrations\/dinnerjacketsspring12\/responses\/new\u0022\u003Eregister\u003C\/a\u003E\nfor free on the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/gtsaa.com\/events-and-programs\/alumni-connections\/dinner-jackets\u0022\u003EDinner\nJackets website\u003C\/a\u003E. Students are limited to attending one dinner per semester.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETech\u2019s largest student organization is giving students the\nopportunity to learn about their professors and esteemed alumni outside of an\nacademic setting.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Tech\u2019s largest student organization is giving students the opportunity to learn about their professors and esteemed alumni outside of an academic setting."}],"uid":"15436","created_gmt":"2012-03-02 10:55:08","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:48","author":"Automator","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-03-02T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-03-02T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"113701":{"id":"113701","type":"image","title":"Dean May Dinner Jackets SAA","body":null,"created":"1449178226","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:30:26","changed":"1475894471","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:11","alt":"Dean May Dinner Jackets SAA","file":{"fid":"194192","name":"dinner_jackets-dean_may_copy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dinner_jackets-dean_may_copy_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dinner_jackets-dean_may_copy_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3647727,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dinner_jackets-dean_may_copy_0.jpg?itok=NsARTmnG"}}},"media_ids":["113701"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/gtsaa.com\/events-and-programs\/alumni-connections\/dinner-jackets","title":"Dinner Jackets Homepage"},{"url":"https:\/\/gtalumni.org\/registrations\/dinnerjacketsspring12\/responses\/new","title":"Dinner Jackets Registration"},{"url":"http:\/\/gtsaa.com\/","title":"GT Student Alumni Association"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"506","name":"alumni"},{"id":"1506","name":"faculty"},{"id":"11762","name":"faculty-student interaction"},{"id":"167058","name":"Student"},{"id":"167406","name":"Student Alumni Association"}],"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:gregorymartinjones@gatech.edu\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EGregory Jones\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDinner Jackets Chair, Student Alumni Association\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:dinnerjackets@gtsaa.com\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Edinnerjackets@gtsaa.com\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}