Since 2002, hundreds of professors at Harvard, MIT, Yale, Brown and surrounding universities have engaged in The Faculty Roundtable dinner-discussions, experiencing the potential to bring added depth to their lives as scholars and educators. The Faculty Roundtable in New York City was launched in Spring 2018 with presentations given by MIT's Ian Hutchinson and Brown's Ken Miller.
Roundtables are dedicated to fostering dialogue that explores the intersection of current academic thought with ethics, worldview, research and every shade of religious and nonreligious thought on issues related to science, philosophy and religion. Select community leaders are invited to ensure a diversity of viewpoints.
The event includes dinner, wine, dessert and discussion after brief remarks from our presenters. At the close of our evening, we include time for questions and comments directed to each other and to our presenters.
The Roundtables are sponsored and funded in part by the John Templeton Foundation, a philanthropic catalyst for discoveries related to the big questions of human purpose and ultimate reality. Additional funding has been provided by generous scholars and foundations invested in the intersection of science and faith.
*Though these events are invitation only, we are more than glad to work with you to welcome your colleagues to participate. Please contact us for more information or requests.
Reviews
“The program was provocative; the evening was deeply satisfying. This was sociability at its best.” Professor of Philosophy
“Interesting views on Science and its 'provability' as expressed by the presenters. I am a chemical engineer and found the arguments fascinating.” Professor of Engineering
“Unlike a straightforward lecture, which people tend to engage with primarily intellectually and often combatively, this dinner and talk allowed for a kind of fellowship and mutual respect to develop that held a space for differences of opinion to co-exist and for new friendships to form. This sort of networking experience was very powerful!” Professor of Religious Studies
“I thought it was great and provided a safe space to have some interesting conversations with other faculty that I certainly would have never had otherwise.” Professor of Applied Mathematics
"I really, really enjoyed the talk and the research. I also enjoyed the post-lecture discussion. It’s a privilege to join the roundtable because this is one of only a handful of venues where non-religious and religious believers can have well-considered and reasoned discussion without getting defensive or offensive. I find these discussions very rewarding." Professor of Law
"This activity is very helpful to build a collaborative and open-minded teaching and research community." Professor of Asian Languages and Cultures
"It was the kind of night that should be the norm in academia — serious conversation among smart people about contested issues, with pretty much everyone who spoke and counter-spoke both witty and civil." Professor of Computer Science
NYC Co-Chairs
Fiona Dieffenbacher Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Fashion at Parsons School of Design, The New School
Seth Freeman Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University and Organizational Management, NYU
Alex De Sherbinin Associate Director, Science Applications Division at the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) of the Earth Institute at Columbia University