Harvard Has Spent $300,000 on Fine Dining for Faculty and Students

Harvard University is spending approximately $120,000 per year on a fine dining program for faculty and students. The program has reportedly spent $300,000 already at restaurants near the campus.

According to a report from the Crimson, Harvard University has spent $300,000 on a program that allows students to have a one-on-one fine dining experience with a faculty member. The program covers a meal for the students and their professor of choice at one of five partnering restaurants in the area. Now, the program has used up all of its funding for the third consecutive year.

Harvard Egyptology Professor Peter Der Manuelian told the Crimson why the program is so important to him as a faculty member.

“Students get acquainted with professors ‘off stage,’ and we faculty in turn learn much about students’ interests, hopes, and concerns, all in an informal setting with plenty of good cheer,” Manuelian said in a comment. “In an ideal world, I would love to see this program available at any and all times during the academic year.”

One student said that the program helped her build a relationship with one of her favorite professors. “It makes sense that the program is so popular, because it is such an awesome and rare opportunity to interface with faculty in small, less overtly academic settings,” the student said.

Harvard spokesperson Rachel Dane said that funding the program is one of Harvard’s top priorities. “Harvard College values the Classroom to Table program, which seeks to foster conversation and academic connection among undergraduate students to create additional opportunities for intellectual, personal, and social transformation,“ Dane wrote in a comment to the Crimson. “We know that students and faculty alike value this program too (as noted by its high participation rates) and, as such, the College has made it a top priority in our fundraising efforts.”

Harvard is currently waiting on a verdict in the recent Asian-American discrimination case against the university. The plaintiff, an activist group called the Students for Fair Admissions, accused Harvard of discriminating against Asian-American applicants in their admissions process.