By Sophie Lange, Managing Editor
Gettysburg College is home to over 30 academic departments, each of which has crafted its own identity and community amongst the students, faculty and staff. As part of this, many of the faculty have developed ways to foster connections throughout their departments, often in the form of events. Some of the most popular ones become department traditions, such as the English and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGS) departments’ Tea Times and the Political Science Department’s PoliSci with Pups.
For the English Department, the original spark of inspiration happened many years ago. Department Chairperson Christopher D’Addario and Professor Joanne Myers first envisioned the event as a gathering of students and faculty in the tradition of the United Kingdom’s universities and research libraries, but the first Tea Time did not happen until after D’Addario became the chair. After the first few drew significant interest from students, the department started holding them every other week. According to D’Addario, the main influence on the structure of their Tea Times was the Huntington Library in California.
“The Huntington Library in California, one of the finest rare book libraries in the world, famously closes every afternoon so that all of the visiting researchers and staff can refresh and gather at a tea time hosted in their Rose Garden,” said D’Addario. “While we never envisioned an everyday event like the Huntington’s, we did want to replicate this kind of sociable environment in an academic setting, something certainly that other English departments do in various forms as well.”
The main goal is for students to have the space to socialize with one another and with faculty in a relaxed setting outside the classroom. While some students stop by the event to grab a quick snack or drink, others spend their time between classes catching up with professors who are not currently teaching any of their courses or other students.
D’Addario hopes that Tea Time communicates two things within the English Department: that the faculty enjoy spending time with the students, and all students are welcome, both at the events and in the English Department as a whole.
“The faculty in English are always happy to see students in and out of the classroom and happy to talk about whatever is on students’ minds,” explained D’Addario. “We want everyone to feel like they can come in to grab a drink or snacks and be a part of the community.”
The English Department’s Tea Times are currently held every other Thursday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on the fourth floor of Breidenbaugh and include a selection of cookies, desserts and other snacks, as well as coffee, teaand hot chocolate.
D’Addario also expressed that it has become a highly anticipated event as of this past year: “Students look forward to it and are upset if we have to cancel it or if it doesn’t happen that week. Faculty also look forward to seeing students at Tea Time, so much so that one faculty member wanted to change his teaching schedule so that he could make the Thursday Tea Times regularly.”
The WGS Department also hosts a Tea Time event as part of its annual department event series, which has become a department tradition that the faculty and staff look forward to sharing with the campus community each year. This year, their theme is Community Building and Change Making.
Chairperson of WGS and Associate Professor of Sociology Alecea Standlee explained that the events began because the faculty wanted to create a relaxed event that would create community among faculty and students within the department, as well as students who are interested in potentially majoring or minoring in WGS.
“The mission of WGS is to allow students to learn to think critically about diverse human experiences and build community and relationships. Our events are an opportunity to come together with others to discuss their own experiences and learn,” said Standlee. “Building community and having the opportunity to explore our shared interests and diverse perspectives is our goal.”
Standlee emphasized that she hopes the event communicates that the students and faculty of the WGS Department are an intellectual and engaged community, but also that they like to have fun within these spaces. The events are casual, inclusive, and foster conversations and connections, both old and new. As part of this, members of the faculty always attend the department events to provide students with opportunities to get to know their professors beyond the classroom.
“Inclusivity is a core value of WGS, and it permeates everything that we do. Our community and our events are always inclusive and welcoming,” Standlee said.
While WGS Tea Time is an occasional event, the department holds a wide range of events throughout each semester. This past semester, it co-sponsored a Body Inclusive Yoga event, as well as several events during Peach and Justice Week.
A departure from the WGS and English Departments, the Political Science Department holds its annual Pups with PoliSci event as a way to encourage connection between students and faculty, while also easing some of the homesickness that comes with being away from home.
Department Chairperson Caroline Hartzell explained that the original inspiration for the event came from the realization that students often miss their pets when they come to college, and many of the faculty within the Political Science Department have dogs. They discovered an opportunity for community within Political Science that created a casual environment for students to meet faculty outside the classroom, which is one of the core parts of their identity as a department. By encouraging informal conversations through this event, they foster connection and create community within the department and the greater campus. They also use these events as a way to promote Political Science to students who are potentially interested in majoring or minoring in the field.
“We hope that it communicates to the students that faculty are ‘normal folks’—with dogs!—and that it encourages them to come talk to us,” Hartzell said. “Our conversations are much more informal [at the event]. Students tell us about their pets, families, and the faculty talk about those topics as well.”
The department holds the event every fall outside Glatfelter Hall. In addition to the faculty members’ dogs, the events also have an ice cream bar. Many professors within the department attend the event as well, regardless of whether they have a dog of their own, because the students often look forward to talking with them, particularly advisors or professors teaching their classes.
Hartzell expressed that, “it’s an event that students look forward to each year, with ‘older’ students telling the new students to look forward to it.”
She said they easily have 50 or more students in attendance, some of whom stay for the entire event.
As a department tradition, Hartzell said it has not changed much over the years, “because the recipe of dogs and ice cream is a winning combo!”
This article originally appeared on pages 10-11 of the April 2026 edition of The Gettysburgian magazine.
