We know that like us, many of you would prefer to avoid reality and not think about our impending graduation, but we thought we would take this opportunity to get Class Day on your radar screens. On June 6th, one day before our Graduation, the entire Class of 2001 will assemble for Class Day. Class Day is an opportunity for the members of Class of 2001 to reflect upon their HBS experiences and ponder the future. Don’t worry if you don’t remember or process all this information, we will be bombarding you with reminders and more info over the next few months.
Preliminary Schedule:
Wednesday, June 6th: Class Day
1pm – 2pm BBQ on HBS Campus (behind Kresge) for everybody
2:30 – 4:00pm Class Day Ceremony on Baker Lawn (Faculty Awards, Student Speaker, Guest Speaker)
4pm Section reunions in classrooms for Graduating students
4pm Faculty speaker for guests in Burden
9pm Class of 2001 social event
At the center of activities on June 6th will be the Class Day Ceremony. The Ceremony includes the presentation of Faculty Awards and speeches by a Student Speaker and Guest Speaker.
Faculty Awards:
Although started in 1997, the Faculty Awards have already become an integral part of the Class Day tradition. This honor is bestowed by graduating students upon Harvard Business School faculty members who have made particularly exceptional contribution to the graduating class’ HBS experience.
This year the honors will be given to two required curriculum and two elective curriculum faculty members. Since their inception, these awards have carried a significant degree of prestige and have been highly coveted among the faculty.
In the past years over 95% of the graduating class participated in the award selection, voting based on the following six criteria for an exceptional faculty members:
o Inspiration: transfers their passion for the subject matter to students.
o Knowledge Transfer: makes difficult course material accessible to all students through clear explanations and demonstrated relevance.
o Accessibility: is available to students outside the classroom on a personal and professional basis.
o Career Guidance: helps to identify industry contacts and evaluate potential career options.
o Quality of Life: helps to improve the quality of life on campus.
o Feedback: provides feedback which contributes to professional and personal development.
The actual selection process keeps the spirit of fairness and gratitude. The scoring system is set up so that the professors who win will be those who garner votes from the highest percentage of the total students taught. Several years of the Award’s history show that this even is one of the most truly representative of the graduating class, as it gives a chance for every student to show respect and gratitude to the tremendous effort and dedication of the Harvard Business School Faculty.
The Class of 2001 will be asked to fill out a poll in late March to nominate faculty members for this award.
Student Speaker:
One member of the Class of 2001 will be elected to speak at our Class Day event on June 6th to reflect on the life at HBS from a student’s perspective and the road that lies ahead.
This is the process by which the speaker will be chosen:
o The entire class of 2001 is invited to speak in the first round of speeches – last year over 50 students expressed interest for the first round.
o In the first round each student speaks for 3 minutes in front a room of judges – students from each section will be asked to volunteer to judge on behalf of the entire Class of 2001.
o The first round speakers are judged on the following criteria: Speech addresses audience (= Class of 2001), Presentation Skills & Creativity, and overall General Impression.
o The top 10 speakers will go onto the finals. Each student will speak for 5 minutes and will be judged by the entire Class of 2001.
We will be emailing deadlines to the class regarding this process shortly.
Guest Speaker:
The guest speaker was chosen from a list of incredible individuals. All we can say at this point is that we are very excited with our Guest Speaker. Stay tuned…
If you have any questions about Class Day, please feel reach out to the Committee:
Simeen Ali, OD,Kelly Diamond, Associate Director, Student LifeJay Hedley, OK,Shalini Srivastava, OG,Faraz Ali, OF
