Students can go here to select what day they are available, and the first five students who select that date will get a free lunch with whichever administrator chose that date.
After the 2015 Beneficence Dialogue and seeing the success of Lunch with a Cop, the university decided to launch the Lunch with an Administrator program.
Ro Anne Royer Engle, interim associate vice president for student affairs and enrollment services, said students at the dialogue wanted more informal and formal interactions with administrators.
“We spent this past fall trying to figure out how we could set it up and talked with administrators about how we could set it up, so we launched it this spring,” Royer Engle said. “Hopefully students will be engaged, and then at the end of the semester we will do some assessments.”
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Those assessments will come from students and administrators to determine what went well with the program, what could be done better and if it serves the purpose students wanted.
Six administrators volunteered to participate, and each is a member of the president’s cabinet. So far, 33 students have signed up for the program.
Students can go here to select what day they are available, and the first five students who select that date will get a free lunch with whichever administrator chose that date. A confirmation email will be sent with the administrator's name and meeting place.
“We’re excited about it [and] to see what happens because it’s something students asked for. It’s great when you can actually deliver something like that and give students more access to administrators, but also give administrators the opportunity to talk with students informally over lunch, get to know them and their experiences at Ball State," Royer Engle said. "That’s important for them as administrators but also for students to see the face and the person behind this position.”
Royer Engle wants not only student leaders, but any student to take advantage of Lunch with an Administrator and interact.
“I just really encourage students to take the opportunity to engage with administrators," she said. "It’s not something that a lot of administrators across institutions do on a regular basis, so it’s really a different program … that’s what they really want to do, and sometimes just in the task of doing your position [as an administrator], it’s hard to find that time, so being able to dedicate that time to do that is something all of them wanted to do and eagerly participated in.”
Kay Bales, vice president for student affairs and enrollment services, who also serves as dean of students, was one of the administrators who signed up to participate.
“I appreciate any opportunity to meet students and learn more about their experiences as a Ball State student," Bales said. "I hope these exchanges are mutually beneficial as we share ideas and discuss topics of interest to students. I look forward to hearing about our students’ journeys and what they hope for in the future.”
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