The CTW hired Harvard University professor Gerald S. Lesser to design the show's educational objectives and establish and lead a National Board of Advisers.[50] Instead of providing what Lesser called "window dressing",[51] the Board actively participated in the construction of educational goals and creative methods.[52] At the Board's direction, Lesser conducted five three-day curriculum planning seminars in Boston and New York City in summer 1968.[51][53][note 7] The purpose of the seminars was to ascertain which school-preparation skills to emphasize in the new show. The producers gathered professionals with diverse backgrounds to obtain ideas for educational content. They reported that the seminars were "widely successful",[53] and resulted in long and detailed lists of possible topics for inclusion in the Sesame Street curriculum;[53] in fact, the seminars produced more suggested educational objectives than could ever be addressed by one television series.[54]