As part of its commitment to Providence College’s communal life, the Humanities Program administers a meal plan for faculty and administrators to encourage student engagement and campus wide friendship. Participants receive one complementary meal swipe per week at Raymond Dining Hall when classes are in session, and are free to use these swipes in ways convenient for their schedules.

“Lunches in Ray” began in the fall of 2021 and now enrolls approximately 175 faculty and administrators from across campus. All faculty and administrators are welcome to participate. For more information and to enroll in this initiative, contact Dr. Raymond Hain, Associate Director of the Humanities Program.

Testimonials

My department holds language tables, using our weekly guest passes to have lunch while students chat with us in the target language in a more informal setting outside the classroom. This way, they practice the language, and we foster camaraderie. Also, it is a great chance to engage with staff members at Ray, many of whom are Spanish speakers. These interactions are crucial for building a sense of community. 
Professor of World Languages and Cultures

“Lunches in Ray” has been a Godsend; it has served as a means to break down the professor-student “wall”.
Professor of Economics

Every week, I meet with at least one and often multiple students. I’m so grateful to the college for making this part of the students’ and my experience!
Professor of English

In my first year at PC, I had so many good experiences thanks to the Lunches at Ray program. Not only did I feel a sense of community when meeting with colleagues or former students for a meal, but even more so when I saw people unplanned. My students introduced me to friends who were considering my class for the next semester. They told me about their own trajectories, other classes they were taking, or plans for summer. When I came to PC, I was excited to be at a school where faculty know their students by name – but with Lunches at Ray, it goes so much further than that. My students and I are familiar faces in each other’s lives. I’m able to show them I care about them as whole persons, even after they’re done taking my class. Sure, I see students when walking across campus, too, but I end up talking to them more often when we run into each other at Ray. This program is a truly meaningful way to strengthen the bonds of the Friar Family.
Professor of Sociology and Anthropology

At a primarily undergraduate institution like ours, facilitating community is really important, and what better way to do that than to break bread. I often see current or former students of mine in the dining hall, and we briefly chat about life. I also see faculty from across campus and am able to share insights on teaching and research. This program is really a great way to build connections between students and faculty, and among the faculty ourselves.
Professor of Chemistry

I have spent much more time in Ray since the inauguration of the “Lunches in Ray” program. Meeting students there, either planned or spontaneously, has been a great way to foster more lively, relaxed conversations than usually take place in my office. It has been especially great to run into students I had as freshmen and to catch up with them about their lives.
Professor of History and Classics

Being able to participate in this program has helped me connect with faculty, staff, and students I wouldn’t otherwise have been able to interact with. Although it is a joy to be able to make plans to meet with students for lunch, and I’ve had many great conversations like this, even better have been the serendipitous encounters with former students and individuals I haven’t had a chance to get to know yet. 
Professor of Biology

In any given week, I can see students from my current PSP courses or those in Psychology informally, check in with students, or simply wave to students I’ve had in prior courses. While I believe that the presence and visibility that this provides makes student-faculty relationships more accessible, I know that I also feel more connected.
Professor of Public and Community Service

Lunches in Ray is extremely beneficial to my relationship with students, time management, and overall well-being. I think having professors as a regular fixture in Ray also adds a lot to the campus culture. Many of my students knew I would be eating lunch before class and were able to find me in order to check in or ask questions.
Professor of Art and Art History

I initially signed up so that if I forgot my lunch, had to stay on campus late, or was in a rush I could make a quick stop at Ray. However, it has turned into more than that. I have used the Lunches in Ray program to meet regularly with a colleague whose teaching schedule is the opposite of mine. I have also used it as a venue to meet with junior faculty in my department, as well as with students as an alternative meeting place for unscheduled office hours. Additionally, I have used it to meet with groups of faculty and staff, which has allowed me to meet other PC employees whose paths I would have never crossed before. In short, the Lunches at Ray program has helped me engage with the campus community in ways that I never had before joining the program.
Professor of Sociology

It is very positive to talk with students in a more comfortable setting and to get to know them and learn about their interests, which is often challenging in the classroom setting.
Professor of Music

Through the Lunches in Ray program it entered my mind to meet with my students for independent study and simple conferrals in Ray. This is a great idea, because it creates a space in which we can meet as a campus community and talk about all manner of things. I have since bought a meal plan and now use the cafeteria for a whole range of meetings with colleagues and students. There is no better way to build community than through common meals.
Professor of Philosophy

It’s an essential component for creating an engaged campus!
Professor of Global Studies

Going to Ray for lunch was not just a fantastic way to build in time to connect with other pre-tenure faculty (and have so many great & useful chats with folks both in and outside my home department), but it was also fun spotting our students there at various times; I think seeing me staring in confusion at the salad bar toppings has made at least some of my students be less intimidated about interacting with me & asking questions in class.
Professor of Neuroscience

Lunches in Ray has made it possible for me, several times each semester, to meet one-on-one with a student over a meal or even just coffee and dessert. This is sometimes a student I have in class, sometimes a major or minor in my department. We have met about many different things, but it always offers an opportunity to linger and talk in a way that just does not usually happen in the same way if I am meeting a student in my office. This is a benefit that is not easy to quantify, but when I think back to my own undergraduate experience, I know how valuable it is.
Professor of Theology