40th Anniversary Kickoff – Highlights

Some highlights from the 3-5 April 2009 40th Anniversary Kickoff weekend at ESG.

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Friday activities

Luncheon

The 40th anniversary celebration kicked off with a Friday lunch attended by ESG students, staff and about 10 ESG alums. The alums talked about their experience in ESG, how they decided on what to major in, what they've done since graduation, and offered a few words of advice for current students.

Ice-breaker

Later that afternoon, 30 alums participated in an "ice breaker" in which people were asked to describe themselves in a sentence and then a word, and also share their main memory of ESG. Confidentiality prevents us from sharing all that went on, but it did seem to us that there was frequent mention of activities that clearly expanded one's horizons, as well as a great deal of fondness for the good old days.

Dinner

Friday night, despite heavy rains, a group of about 20 ESGers visited nearby restaurant, Mulan, for an excellent Taiwanese dinner. One table exhibited their adventurous nature and had the waitress select all the dishes. No one was disappointed.

Saturday activities

Seminars

Events kicked off at 2 in the afternoon with a series of seminars and workshops (listed below). Events were well attended and well received, and reminded everyone of the importance of small-group, interactive education, the inherent connection between teaching and learning, and the value of thinking outside the box.

• Robert Solomon, Solving impossible problems
• Aubrey Jaffer '04, Radiative cooling in a hot humid climate
• Herb Lin '73, Alternative careers in the policy world
• Peter Fiekowsky '77, The future: fact or fabrication. See also: http://results.com
• Zak Fallows '11, Introducing dopamine and serotonin For more info, visit: Exploring Pharmacology  and Drug Chart 
• Graham Ramsay (staff) and Holly Sweet (staff), Creative ways of exploring your life 

Community dinner

About 70 people joined us for dinner Saturday night, including spouses and friends of alums as well as current students and staff.  Food was courtesy of City Girl Cafe and included pecan encrusted chicken, garlic collard greens, and sweet potatoes.  People ate, schmoozed, and stayed until late in the evening.

Sunday activities

Brainstorming brunch

30+ alums and current staff got together for food (quiche and bagels from the S&S) and brainstorming.  Three groups met (led by staff members Graham Ramsay, Patti Christie, and Holly Sweet) and discussed the following issues. 

• What was the main value of ESG to you?
  
• What is the main value of ESG to MIT?
  
• What are future ideas for ESG to pursue? (click here to link to alumni responses to these questions)
  

Life after the party

We will be organizing a year long series of events, the next event of which will be another meeting of alums in June (date TBA) to continue discussion of future ideas and how alums can continue connection with ESG.

Attendees List