Parents Connect With Campus During Family Weekend
Ioana Patringenaru | Oct. 27, 2008
Parents watch as students and their families try rock climbing during the first-ever campuswide Family Weekend event.
They went on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Birch Aquarium. They tried rock climbing. Most importantly, they got to spend time with their children and to discover all the resources UC San Diego has to offer.
More than 800 parents and family members took part Saturday and Sunday in the first-ever campuswide Family Weekend at UCSD. The University of California recently launched an initiative for all 10 UC campuses to hold similar events for parents.
The two-day program also included demonstrations of cutting-edge research at Calit2, a resource fair on Library Walk, an open house at the Cross-Cultural Center and a mixer with Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Penny Rue and provosts of the campus’ six colleges. Parents had the option to take in a play, a concert or soccer and volleyball games Saturday evening. Finally, everyone got together again for a whimsical brunch of Green Eggs and Ham at the UCSD Faculty Club.
“Now you’ve come back officially as part of the family,” Chancellor Marye Anne Fox said Saturday, when she welcomed participants. “Forever you’re part of UCSD.”
Family Weekend is the first in a series of activities and traditions established under the university’s new Parent Program. As part of the UC system’s initiative to strengthen parent engagement, the program is designed to build a parent community that will in turn help students have a more successful college experience. Another goal of the program is to provide opportunities for support and advocacy on behalf of the university.
Chancellor Marye Anne Fox welcomed parents and families Saturday morning at the Price Center.
Saturday, Fox encouraged parents to talk to their children about their experiences on and off campus. She invited them to meet faculty and learn more about student life. She also encouraged parents to seek the university’s input when providing advice for students. “They might not always take your advice—at least that’s been my experience,” she said. “But you’ve got to give it anyway.”
Fox also told parents that the university faces some challenging times. For example, the University of California asked UCSD to take 500 more students than it had budgeted for. That means classes will be slightly larger and students might have to take more early morning and evening classes. “Work with us,” Fox said, “because we’re trying to face the realities that the nation is facing, that the state is facing and provide the very best education for your sons and daughters.”
All universities are realizing how critical parent involvement is to students’ success, Vice Chancellor Rue said Saturday. She added she would be on Library Walk to answer parents’ concerns and questions during a resource fair. She also said she hoped the weekend would be a relaxing experience for parents and students alike. Professor Steven Adler, provost of Warren College, and Ann Reed, a parent and philanthropist, also spoke Saturday morning.
Parents then spent the rest of the morning visiting their children’s colleges. At Sixth College, Jose and Annette Paredes, from the San Francisco Bay Area, toured a classroom dubbed the digital playroom, where they learned more about hands-on student projects. Paredes’ son, Justin Calahong-Monzon, said he chose UCSD because it provided an outstanding biology program and a well-rounded education. The campus also provided more opportunities than other universities, he said. Annette Paredes said she came to learn more about the campus. She also said she liked the university’s effort to make parents part of the family.
Calit2 tour guide Trish Stone shows off the world's highest-resolution computer screen.
Later Saturday afternoon, some parents headed to the Birch Aquarium, while others made their way to the UCSD campus of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology. They donned special glasses to tour the StarCAVE, a virtual-reality environment. They spent some time in front of the highest-resolution computer screen in the world, where they watched images of the planet Mars and of a Leonardo Da Vinci painting. They also learned about cutting-edge student research projects.
“I had no idea this was here,” said Deanna DeLaney, whose daughter, Alexandra, is a freshman. “I can relate to her now.”
DeLaney added she was impressed with the multi-disciplinary projects she saw. “It brings everyone together,” she said. “It’s very progressive.” Alexandra plans to study neuroscience and felt UCSD would be the best campus for her, DeLaney added. Opportunities to do research early on were particularly attractive, the Carlsbad mother also said.
During the second half of the afternoon, the DeLaneys had an opportunity to tour the campus, tour the Stuart Collection or try rock climbing at the Outback Adventures Climbing Center, near Canyonview Pool. Parents also got a chance to chat one on one with Vice Chancellor Rue and the six college provosts during a reception at The Loft@UCSD.
Finally, Sunday morning, parents looked back on their experiences during a brunch reception hosted by the UCSD Alumni Association at the Faculty Club. “It was a very meaningful experience for me,” said Hossein Salaami, whose son, Omid, is a freshman at Thurgood Marshall College.
Penny Rue, vice chancellor for Student Affairs, talks with families Saturday during a mixer at The Loft@UCSD.
He added he learned how faculty are reaching out to his son. An open house at the Cross-Cultural Center particularly impressed Salaami, who is originally from Iran. “I was thinking about common ground,” he said. “I was thinking about how the university provides a space where students can relax while remembering they still have things in common.”
Salaami also said Family Weekend helped him feel more connected to campus. “Everyone wants to help their children,” he said. “The university and the parents are meeting half way.” He listened as Armin Afsahi, the executive director of the Alumni Association, invited parents to come back to campus.
“I want you make this your second home,” Afsahi said.
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