As I wrote in my September 2019 column, HBS reunions serve many valuable purposes, including reconnecting with classmates and being a platform to learn about the latest pathbreaking research and ideas from the faculty. Armed with alumni feedback from the reunions since that column appeared, along with the results from our 2019 all-alumni survey on lifelong learning, we are continuing to reshape reunions to deliver an even more meaningful and inspiring weekend of learning and engagement for attendees and for the larger alumni community as well.

From the survey we learned that alumni feel a strong need to reflect and engage with each other on personal-growth topics related to purpose, meaning, and change. In addition to the reunions, this idea is borne out in the popularity of our Skydeck podcasts featuring alumni such as authors Charles Duhigg (MBA 2003) (on the science of a meaningful life) and Neil Pasricha (MBA 2007) (on the happiness equation), as well as The Reflective Leader, an exclusive HBS alumni lifelong learning program welcoming its third cohort this month. And at the reunions, it is evidenced by section and class sessions where alumni share their personal stories and lessons learned. Many alumni noted in the survey that they found these sessions helpful because they consider their fellow alumni trusted advisors both professionally and personally.

Based on your feedback and the survey, for the upcoming Reunion Weekend this June we are iterating on our established reunion model in several ways.

First, we are taking a page from the positive response to the Insights program introduced at last year’s reunions. These sessions feature faculty members and other speakers addressing 10 key topics that align with our lifelong learning research findings. The dynamic nature of these sessions—incorporating reflective exercises, workshops, and increased audience interaction—will be seen in a number of other sessions this spring.

Most notable among these will be a presentation and discussion on happiness led by former Harvard psychology lecturer Tal Ben-Shahar (PhDOB 2004), the author of Happier and Being Happy, among others, who filled more than 900 seats in multiple simulcast classrooms when he spoke at the Spring 2019 reunion. This time, Ben-Shahar will speak live in Klarman Auditorium in a session open to all attendees and then lead a 45-minute discussion on the topic. With an eye toward addressing the desire that surfaced in the alumni survey for greater peer-to-peer learning, we expect to simulcast his talk to several classrooms across campus in which alumni from a small number of sections will conduct their own self-led discussions on this highly personal subject. We expect your feedback from these different formats will provide fresh insights into how we might shape future reunion programs.

And lastly, we will expand our recent efforts to bring elements of reunion to a wider audience so that alumni from around the world may also learn about the latest faculty research and ideas. This spring we will again offer web-based simulcasting of several keynote presentations. The schedule is still being finalized as I write, but expect to tune into Dean Nitin Nohria’s address (his last one as HBS Dean!) and the aforementioned Tal Ben-Shahar, among others. Check your inbox in early June for details on when and how you might watch these, wherever you may be.

As always, I look forward to your feedback on our early-stage efforts to expand lifelong learning opportunities. Please let me know if you have thoughts, suggestions, or concerns as we strive to serve you better.

Das Narayandas is Senior Associate Dean, External Relations and Harvard Business Publishing, and the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration.

(illustration by Scott Chambers)

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