The undergraduate facebook has long been one of the most commonly used resources on campus, helping students look up telephone numbers, find addresses and refresh memories after fleeting introductions, especially those made under less-than-sober circumstances.
Now they can do the same for their professors — though not necessarily after interaction on the Street.
On Dec. 1, the Office of the Dean of the Faculty announced the launch of the online Faculty Face Book. Like the student version, the faculty facebook contains names and pictures of all faculty on campus, including visiting members as well as academic administrators.
According to former Dean of the Faculty Joseph Taylor, a professor in the physics department, the effort to bring back the faculty facebooks of the 1970s has been going on since 1998 but ran into a few roadblocks.
"We were considering making a small booklet that could be kept handy on people's desks, but the expense associated with that was fairly high," he said. "Putting [the facebook] online was not a viable option back then."
Sorted by name and department, the facebook lists the full academic titles of faculty members and provides search options. Students can now look up the contact information for specific professors or browse each department's faces.
"This makes it easier for the students to not only find [the professors] but also to contact them," said Kristina Miller, senior systems manager of the Dean of the Faculty's office.
Some members of the faculty said they were pleased with the new directory.
"It's a good thing that the faculty's faces are available to the students. Why should [the faculty] be such a mystery?" said Karen Malatesta, senior lecturer in the molecular biology department.
She added that it could create a new means of communication between faculty and students.
"It always helps to visually recognize someone," she said. "If a student wants to find me, then it's great that they can look online and find out what I look like before they come and talk to me."
Students also welcomed the introduction of a revamped faculty facebook.
"Sometimes you remember a professor's face but not their name," Dan-Meng Chen '08 said. "So if you see them online, then you'll recognize them."
But Malatesta had some concerns about the site.
"I think it's a good idea, but what I do not appreciate is the picture of myself that's up there," she said. "I'm glad that we have the option to change it."
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