With
the first term in the books, we are well into both the academic year and the
Parents Council calendar. We hope that your experience is proving as satisfying
and energizing as ours!
As
co-chairs of this year's Parents Council, we have become much more familiar
with the programs, activities, and support available to the Union parent
community. In fact, in the past two months, we've learned much more than we
absorbed in the first two years of our daughter's Union experience. In the
spirit of disclosure, and in an effort to get everyone on the same page, we'd
like to highlight some of what has been going on, and what there is to look
forward to.
This
year all parents of current Union students are welcome to join us on the
Parents Council. This is both a new and inclusive concept, allowing for much
greater and more fluid communications between the College and the parent
community.
The
Fall Homecoming and Family Weekend was an enormous success, with more than
2,000 alumni, parents, and friends in Schenectady for the shindig.
Debbie
Denefrio has already sent out the first appeal for this year's Parents Fund. We
encourage you to participate – and if possible, increase your gift. We are
going to.
We have
sent out this year's first e-mail newsletter communication. While the Parents
Council has no interest in clogging up your e-mail box, we are intent on
keeping you up to date. We also encourage you to make any inquiry regarding
Union information, policy, or suggestion to Parents_Council@union.edu. We will
see that every e-mail receives immediate attention and a timely reply.
The
College is constantly looking for new ways to keep parents and alumni connected
with the campus. The most recent is About U – an e-mail newsletter containing
news headlines and story summaries from Union. If you are interested in finding
out more about this and perhaps subscribing, take a look at www.union.edu/aboutu.
Finally,
parents who would like to become actively involved in the Parents Council are
invited – more to the point, encouraged – to join The Steering Committee. We
can certainly use your help! Would you like to participate in a job fair? Does
your company offer internships to college students? To register your interest
in getting involved in an area that interests you, click on this link: Parents_Council@union.edu.
In the
meantime, feel free to check our web page at www.union.edu/parents
If you'd
like to actually speak with someone about one of the many ways you can
participate, please call Lis Bischoff-Ormsbee, director of the Parents Program
at 518-388-6601 or send her an e-mail at bischofe@union.edu
We look
forward to seeing you 'round the campus.
Sally
and Tom Simons,
parents
of Emily '03
Parents
Council Co-Chairs