Families Weekend: Parents discover educational, cultural opportunities open to their children

Families Weekend: Parents discover educational, cultural opportunities open to their children

College
students generally are glad for the independence they have
from their parents, but Rice students will welcome their
folks to campus with open arms for Families Weekend.

The annual event
will be held Oct. 5-7, offering lectures, seminars and many
other educational and fun opportunities for Rice students
and their families.

The theme of
Families Weekend 2000 is “Rice and the World: Way Beyond
the Hedges.” The Families Weekend lecture series will
offer topics with an international tilt by some of Rice’s
most distinguished professors.

The lectures
in the series will be given by Lynne Huffer, professor of
French studies; Allen Matusow, the W.G. Twyman Professor
of History; Tayfun Tezduyar, the James F. Barbour Professor
in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science; Chiu-Mi
Lai, lecturer, Center for the Study of Languages/Asian Studies
Program; Kathy Matthews, dean of the Wiess School of Natural
Sciences and the Stewart Memorial Professor of Biochemistry
and Cell Biology; and Richard Stoll, associate director
of the James A. Baker III Institute of Public Policy.

Some of the
other weekend activities include seminars and discussions
about such topics as Leadership Rice, the Rice Career Center
and work abroad program and the study abroad program, and
a lecture and tea for grandparents with John Boles, the
William Pettus Hobby Professor of History.

As always, parents
will have the chance to attend class with their students.

“A perennial
favorite of parents is to attend classes with their students,”
said Hanszen senior Jennifer Tang, Student Association external
vice president who serves on the Families Weekend planning
committee. “Oftentimes parents will chime in with their
own insights during class and, in smaller classes, the professors
will include them in the discussions.”

But Tang pointed
out that the purpose of Families Weekend is not only to
introduce parents to the education that their children are
receiving, but also to Rice student life. The weekend events
include a variety of activities that reflect the diverse
interests of Rice students.

For sports fans,
the weekend includes plenty of activities. Rice will take
on Fresno State in football, and parents and students also
can take in a volleyball game and a number of intramural
and club sports games.

For those who
enjoy theater, Wiess College will offer “One Acts”
and the Rice Players will show “Smash.” In addition,
the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra will present a concert,
and the exhibit “Kastenhaus” will be on display
at the Rice University Art Gallery.
Parents also will have the chance to venture beyond the
hedges, with buses departing every half hour to the Museum
District from the Ley Student Center on Saturday.

For more information
about Families Weekend activities and for reservation information,
call Jennifer Harding (713) 348-6094 or 1-800-742-3258 or
e-mail her at <harding@rice.edu>.
Information also can be found on the Web at <www.rice.edu/famweek>.
For more information about Rice’s Parents’ Program,
which sponsors Families Weekend, contact Tisha McKissick
at (713) 348-4992 or <mckissit@rice.edu>.