“It was pretty cool to magically get this email in my inbox and wonder, what is this about?”

Felician University student Dana Kukol was surprised to receive an invitation to a “President’s Lunch” for Friday, April 16 along with several other students. Ms. Kukol is a freshman in the ABSN hybrid nursing program in Parsippany. The program is completely virtual, and Ms. Kukol has never been to the Felician campuses in either Rutherford or Lodi, and her interaction with other students is very limited. She says getting the invitation to the President’s Lunch was fun and enjoyable. “To actually meet the president and see some faculty of the school was very, very nice, and since I don’t come to this campus, it was nice to see it in spring and know what this campus is about.”

President Crawford with students

The lunch in the Boardroom in the Iviswold Castle on the Rutherford campus was a chance for Felician University Interim President James W. Crawford, III to meet with students and find out what’s on their minds.  “I was impressed with the caliber and quality of thought in our students. They’re very insightful, very thoughtful, and very focused on their work,” said President Crawford.

Meeting and talking to students over lunch once or twice a month is a new initiative of the Interim President.  According to Dr. Ron Gray, Vice President for Students Affairs and Dean of Students, “The lunches are an opportunity for the President to connect with students, to see him and talk with him, and voice a concern, and it’s just another time where the President can interact with our students.” President Crawford had wanted to start the new tradition in February, but it was delayed due to the COVID-10 pandemic. Now with plans underway for Felician to reopen in the Fall the President’s lunches will continue.

Mariama Odoi, is a junior from Ghana who is studying biology/ Pre-Med at Felician. She loved being invited to the President’s Lunch but said it wasn’t necessary to make her feel listened to because, “I feel that way everyday because this school is small.  Everywhere I go, there are people to talk to so I feel like I’m at home every day.”

President Crawford says it was very gratifying to talk to students and learn they are, “happy to be deriving the benefits of being in the Felician family. I also heard from them some things that we can do better. They were honest, not complaints, just thoughts that can help us help them do better. So, I was I was very impressed with that.”

Who might get an invite to a President’s Lunch? Dr. Gray says President Crawford meets and speaks regularly with student government leaders and athletes, and the President’s Lunch is a chance for him to meet with commuter students and others, who like Ms. Kukol don’t attend classes on campus. “We’ve reached out to each academic department, each school and said, give us some students that you think would benefit from this. They don’t have to be student leaders, and as we move on to the next one, we’ll have some graduate students at the lunches as well.”

The President’s Lunch is one more unique benefit Felician offers students because of the University’s small size. “We can bring in small groups of students on a more recurring basis, and make opportunities for them to connect with one another, but also with the president and others in the administration. We are in relation with each other and connecting with one another constantly,” noted Dr. Gray.