Picture this - faculty members are sipping fine wine, savoring exquisite cheeses and discussing everything from football to Freud while relaxing in lawn chairs overlooking a picturesque Garden VII on a crisp fall afternoon. Topping off the ambience is a professional pianist tickling the ivories of a Steinway - the mark of elegance and distinction.
Any faculty member who attended the Third Thursday Happy Hour yesterday was able to partake in such a scene.
The happy hours, sponsored by the Colonnade Club, now are being held in the newly restored Pavilion VII, home of the Colonnade Club, from 4 to 6 p.m. on the third Thursday of every month.
Yesterday's happy hour marked the third time the event has been held.
Ida Lee Wooten, president of the Colonnade Club Board of Governors, said part of the success of the happy hours can be attributed to the weather on the days they were held.
The happy hours "have been absolutely wonderful [partially] because they have been held on beautiful fall days," Wooten said.
The club's board decided this past summer to institute faculty happy hours for the upcoming year.
The board wanted to create an opportunity for "informal networking and mentoring" among faculty members, Wooten said, and happy hours seemed to be a popular idea among faculty members.
In a survey administered by the Colonnade Club and Faculty Senate last spring, faculty members expressed support for regularly scheduled happy hours as part of creating a better faculty experience and enhancing dining opportunities.
Faulty Senate Chairman Robert Grainger, who attended the first two happy hours, agreed that they provided a great opportunity to see old friends and meet new colleagues.
"I saw people there I hadn't seen in 10 years and I met new people," Grainger said.
Although a happy hour can be viewed as "frivolous," it is a wonderful opportunity for busy faculty members to relax, talk about their work, learn about other areas of the University and meet new colleagues, he said.
Wooten cited one of her favorite memories as an unexpected event that occurred during the first happy hour in September.
"The first [happy hour] was so much fun because after the paid pianist stopped playing, a group of faculty gathered around the piano and just started banging out old favorites," she said.
Among the other initiatives the Colonnade Club began this year to promote social interaction and networking among faculty members is the Faulty Author Series. In the monthly series, faculty members discuss their most recent books.
The Colonnade Club also is extending one-year-long complimentary memberships to all new faculty members.
The Colonnade Club was formed in 1907 to promote social interaction and intellectual enrichment among faculty members.
Faculty, administrators, alumni, part-time researching and teaching personnel, people at affiliated higher education institutions and people who are not University employees but perform important University service are invited to join.
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