Dear CSU Parents and Families:
This week has brought unseasonably warm weather and the countdown to Spring Break has begun (March 14-22)! A few major announcements:
- Dr. Tony Frank, Interim CSU President, will attend the April 4 RAMFAM Association meeting! Please mark your calendar and make plans to join other interested parents & families from 10-noon in the Campus Recreation Center on Saturday, April 4, 2009. Bring your questions, suggestions and ideas and be ready for an interactive and engaging opportunity to visit with Dr. Frank (your students are welcome to attend the session as well). Information regarding calling in to participate in the meeting will be posted on the parent & family website (www.parentsandfamily.colostate.edu).
- The March RAMFAM meeting (this Saturday, March 7) has been cancelled in preparation for the April meeting. Check out the minutes from the February 14, RAMFAM meeting on the parent & family website (www.parentsandfamily.colostate.edu).
- RAMFAM is working on a "RamFamily Friendly" Business Directory to be posted online as well as distributed during Orientation, Ram Welcome, and Homecoming & Family Weekend. We are looking for the names and contact information for any local businesses that have provided outstanding service to your family and/or student. We will invite them to be a part of this business directory for CSU Families. Your business referrals and recommendations can be sent to Kacee.Collard@Colostate.edu.
- Graduation will be held on May 15 & 16, 2009. To find the exact date/time/location for your student's graduation click on this link: http://commencement.colostate.edu/ (this is a correction from last month's e-newsletter).
I apologize for so many announcements. I hope you take time to also read the outstanding articles in this e-newsletter. As always, we identified timely topics to help you support your students at Colorado State University:
- A testimonial from an active RAMFAM member- Lynda Zeringue, mother of a current CSU student.
- Information about returning to the residence halls for next year
- Alternative Spring Break program
- Safety issues during Spring Break
- A Parent's Perspective on Students not Returning Home for the Summer
- Student Tips for Building a Ram Connection
In closing, I look forward to seeing/hearing from many of you at next month's RAMFAM meeting with Dr. Tony Frank, Interim President of Colorado State University!
Jody
Jody Donovan, Ph.D.
Associate Dean of Students/
Executive Director of Parent and Family Programs
Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs
Colorado State University
201 Administration Building
Fort Collins, CO 80523
(970) 491-5312
jody.donovan@colostate.edu
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Why I Participate In RAMFAM
By Lynda Zeringue
(mother of junior Mathematics major)
Being a part of the RAMFAM parent and family group has broadened my knowledge in many areas: student college life, parent college life, faculty college life! We all have our place in our student's CSU education process but none of us can do it without the other. But most important is the satisfaction I feel having confirmed that my daughter is a very capable, mature, intelligent, fun-loving young college student. She doesn't need constant supervision; she is able to make sound choices when it comes to social activities; she has sought out "like" individuals - who think college is important and who want to work hard, but who also know it's important to relax and enjoy your surroundings.
I've met parents from all over the country (in person or by phone) while I helped with PREVIEW sessions; I encouraged them to join our group; to participate however they can; to be a part of their child's college years without making their student feel over-protected, hovered over, or supervised! We share our stories, our children's concerns, and our ideas about how to make things work better or keep in place those things that are just fine.
CSU faculty and staff play a critical role in our RAMFAM meetings (they ARE what make it happen) and they welcome our input and value our ideas. We have a diverse group but would love to have many more parents and family members join us. We meet once a month and brainstorm about everything under the sun as it relates to our students and CSU. This is my second year (4th semester) as a RAMFAM parent, and I hope to continue at CSU as long as my daughter does (maybe even longer while I try to finish my degree).
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Return to the Residence Halls Next Year!
By Toni Miyamoto, Housing & Dining Services
Don't worry about your student finding a place to live next fall! Room Selection for the residence halls is open to all current students starting Friday, February 13! Rooms are reserved on a first-come-first-serve basis for a limited time so submit your reservation early!
- Single rooms available in Edwards, Ingersoll, Newsom and Summit Halls
- 3 room units available in Durward and Westfall Halls
- Upperclass/Returning student environments in Newsom (1st floor - all single rooms) and Durward Halls (floors 10-12)
- Stay on campus close to classes, the library, athletic events and much more
- Utilities included (plus more bandwidth was just added to the high-speed internet service in the halls)
- No grocery shopping, cooking or yard maintenance
Reserve a room online at www.housing.colostate.edu/halls/renew
Questions? Your student can ask the hall's office manager or visit www.housing.colostate.edu/halls/contact.htm
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SLiCE Alternative Breaks Offer a Unique Vacation
By Jake Blumberg, SLiCE Office
Students are preparing for a unique Spring Break experience in the coming weeks through the Student Leadership, Involvement and Community Engagement office (SLiCE). Instead of relaxing on sandy beaches, nearly 100 Rams are planning to spend their week off from school serving communities throughout the United States and Central America.
Ten different communities will be welcoming students to work alongside them on service projects. From working on environmental conservation in Achiote, Panama, to staffing a homeless shelter in Washington, D.C., Alternative Break participants will undoubtedly have a life changing experience over their Spring Break. In addition to Washington, D.C. and Panama, students will be traveling to California, Utah, Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana, Nebraska, and Arizona for Alternative Spring Break projects.
In California, students will work on two separate projects: one in Catalina, focusing on environmental issues, and another in Independence, restoring the Manzanar National Historical Site, one of the Japanese internment camps in World War II.
In Utah, a group will travel to Kanab to partner with the Best Friends Animal Society, the nation's largest sanctuary for abused and abandoned animals.
During the Florida trip, students will work with Give Kids The World, an agency that exists to fulfill the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses. Children get to experience a memorable, joyful, and cost-free visit to enjoy the Give Kids The World Village, and volunteers will work to maximize the experience for the children.
The Tennessee trip will allow students to partner with Once Upon a Time, an agency whose mission focuses on the Cherokee Nation and rural Appalachia, and preserving the incredibly rich natural environment near Maryville.
The New Orleans, Louisiana trip will feature volunteer work with the United Way and St. Bernard Project helping to support disaster relief by rebuilding homes in St. Bernard Parish. As reconstruction continues in New Orleans, St. Bernard is in constant need of volunteers to complete the volume of building projects that they are sponsoring, and Colorado State has a consistent partnership with the agency.
Colorado State volunteers headed to Omaha for spring break will work at Lutheran Refugee Services (part of Lutheran Family Services). In the year 2000, 90,000 refugees made their way to the U.S. after being driven from their homes and communities by armed conflict, gross human rights violations, and fear of persecution.
Volunteers headed to sunny Arizona for spring break will support the efforts of the Rancho Feliz Charitable Organization, a nonprofit whose goal is the "democratic redistribution of opportunity" in the service of disadvantaged children and families living near the US/Mexico border.
Although Spring Break opportunities are not available for late registrants, Summer Alternative Breaks will be available for students' applications after Spring Break. Interested students should visit the SLiCE web site, www.slice.colostate.edu for more information and applications
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Spring Break: Tips and Information for Parents & Families
By Miel Sloan & Pam McCracken
Outreach and Prevention Programs-University Counseling Center
Spring break is right around the corner and it is a good time for your student to get in some deserved "R and R." Many students will go home, work, or volunteer during the week long break. Some may even be fortunate to go some place exciting. If you get the opportunity, have a conversation with your student about his or her plans and provide some tips to make it fun, safe, memorable, and above all, relaxing.
According to research by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, parents have a powerful impact in educating their children about the dangerous effects of alcohol abuse. It can't hurt to discuss the role that alcohol may or may not play in spring break activities.
If your student will be traveling:
- Encourage your student to research the laws and policies of the destination site to avoid any legal problems.
- Have your student carry health insurance information, travel in pairs at all times, and use safe, reliable transportation.
- Ask your student to share contact information for hotel, all flight details, or driving directions, and cell phone numbers of friends. Make sure you know your student's passport information as well.
Regardless of where students are for break, every student should:
- Know the potential personal hazards that can result from excessive drinking (assault, poisoning, drunk driving, etc.).
- Know the signs of over alcohol consumption.
- Know what acceptable and responsible use of alcohol is.
- Contact a family member or another adult supporter frequently with whereabouts.
- If your family has established norms around the use of alcohol, now is a good time to reinforce the norms.
- If a student chooses to consume alcoholic beverages make sure he or she drinks plenty of water-bottled is probably the safest bet when traveling, eat, and always have at least one friend who refrains from drinking and travel together.
More resources for spring break safety:
The National Institute on Drug Abuse has information that all parents should know about the protective factors that may buffer or prevent substance abuse: http://www.nida.nih.gov.
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I'm Not Coming Home This Summer
By Judy Brobst, Career Counselor
Growing up and moving out (and on!) are things we hope our students will do. For some it comes earlier than others, but when it comes, we, as parents & family members, need to be ready for it. Is this the year you get the call in March or April when your student informs you that they won't be home for the summer? I remember when we got that call from our son and the emotions we went through as parents. All the plans we had made, the things we would do together, how nice it would be to have him home - all gone.
Perhaps they have chosen to attend summer school to get caught up on their classes so they can graduate on time. Maybe this is the summer of an amazing internship and they are off to another city and state. Maybe it's just a local job that offers full-time work. Whatever the reason they aren't coming home, as parents and family members, we need to show support for this transition in their life.
While we may have been looking forward to them coming home, as parents and family members, we can now spread our wings a little.
- Plan a family vacation to go and visit them in their new summer location. Maybe it's somewhere you have always wanted to go and just never found a reason - now you have one.
- Keep in touch via instant messaging, ask them to create a blog so you can see what they are up to and you can create one as well to keep them informed of what's going on at home.
- If they have a younger sibling, and it's appropriate, perhaps it's just a long weekend for that sibling to go and visit to learn that someday this will be them (a teachable moment!)
It's exciting to watch our children grow up, expand their wings and start to explore life on their own. If we have the right conversations and ask some questions, we'll feel better knowing that this decision will help them with their personal and professional growth. It will provide them with an opportunity to discover what it's like to start from scratch in a new location perhaps without a support network. Think back -we did the same thing - how exciting it was for us then and how exciting we can help it be for our students now.
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Building a Ram Connection
By Tanida Ruampant, Alumni Relations
In the wild, rams are known to travel in large herds. Similar to our wildlife counterparts, CSU Rams benefit from establishing and maintaining a large network. The CSU Alumni Association can be integral in helping students form connections throughout their collegiate experience and beyond.
There are multiple ways a student can build their Ram network. Here are a few suggestions for students as they matriculate through their college career:
First-year students/freshmen
- Visit the Alumni Association website to learn about programs and services offered to students.
- Join the Student Alumni Connection (SAC) and be a part of alumni events and traditions, and leadership and mentoring opportunities.
- Participate in Ram Pride activities: paint the A, participate in Homecoming/Family Weekend festivities, athletic events, and community service programs.
- Get involved in any of the more than 300 student organizations available on campus.
Sophomores
- Consider applying for leadership roles in student organizations.
- Develop relationships with key faculty and staff members.
Juniors
Seniors
- Consider joining the Alumni Association to take advantage of the benefits and services exclusive to members.
- Stay connected to CSU by keeping addresses up to date.
- Attend professional networking mixers. In order for people to help students, they must know that students are looking and what they are looking for.
- Maintain mentors in fields of interest. Relationships need to be cultivated - even if it's just an email update that's sent once a month.
- Log On! The CSU Alumni Association has a presence on social media sites such as Facebook.com and LinkedIn.com. Join CSU Alumni Association groups and pages on these sites and maximize exposure to fellow CSU alumni and supporters.
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CSU System Chancellor Search
The Colorado State University System Board of Governors has moved forward with a national search for a chancellor of the CSU System.
Historically, the position of chancellor and president were conjoined, formerly held by Larry Penley, who resigned in November 2008. The Board appointed Tony Frank to serve as interim president of the CSU Fort Collins campus. The chancellor role was left vacant. In December, the board came to a consensus that it was in the best interest of the university to separate the two posts.
A search committee was appointed representing a broad and diverse mix of stakeholders from the CSU communities.
"The search for a new leader of the CSU System is a matter of great importance and opportunity for the CSU community," said Doug Jones, chair of the CSU System Board of Governors. "The committee members were selected for their value and understanding of CSU's contributions to the state and their professional acumen to conduct the search with integrity and efficiency."
The board does not plan to retain a search firm, which will save up to $100,000. The committee members are volunteering their time to serve in this capacity; staff time to support the committee is considered part of the responsibilities of those individuals. The board expects costs associated with the search process to be minimal.
For more information and updates on the CSU System chancellor search, please visit www.csusystem.edu/chancellorsearch.
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