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Student perspectives and performances will be showcased during Lafayette’s annual Family Weekend Sept. 15-17.
“Changing Faces of Lafayette” will be the theme. The weekend will include open classrooms and facilities, musical entertainment, tours of campus and community, sports, and other events that will bring The Lafayette Experience alive for visiting families.
Katie Wyckoff, a senior double major in chemistry and German from Princeton, N.J., is the event’s executive chair. She oversees seven committees, working closely with Donna Krivoski, director of parents programs, and Pam Brewer, associate dean of students and director of student activities.
“Family Weekend is an opportunity for families to experience what their daughters and sons do at Lafayette,” Wyckoff says. “By offering everything from academic discussions and panels to professional entertainment, we hope they get a good idea of the incredible range of opportunities students have at Lafayette. We also offer tours and information about Easton so that students and parents can experience more of the local flavor together.”
President Arthur J. Rothkopf, ’55 will welcome guests Saturday and give an update on the College. There will be an academic information table where Christopher W. Gray, dean of studies, and members of the faculty will provide information and answer questions about academic life, tutoring, curriculum, and research. Engineering faculty will host a coffee hour and an open house in the computer-aided engineering lab.
A highlight of the weekend will be concurrent panel discussions featuring students, faculty, staff, and alumni in the Farinon College Center. Students and faculty will discuss Lafayette’s many opportunities for collaborative research projects in a panel called “Face to Face.” Heron Mochny, a senior from New Delhi, India, will be the moderator for a discussion entitled “A Tapestry of Faces: Cultural Diversity at Lafayette.” In “Facing the World,” students will share their experiences of study abroad. Alumni will share their perspectives and expertise in “Faces of the Past.”
Student musical performances will include shows by the Lafayette Concert Choir and Madrigal Singers, the Pep Band, and Cadence and the Chorduroys, the College’s a cappella singing groups. There will be a dance concert by Molten Swing, the “Northeast’s Hottest Showband.” Renowned hip-hop dancer/choreographer Rennie Harris will give a workshop; jazz pianist Skip Williams, a visiting instructor of music at the College, will display his talents; and comedian Buzz Sutherland will take the stage.
There will be open houses at the Allan P. Kirby Sports Center, David A. Portlock Black Cultural Center, Bailey Health Center, Career Services, and Computing Services.
Three gallery exhibits are on view. “Joan and Ernie,” photographs by Jeanine Pohlhaus, are shown in the Williams Center. At Skillman Library, highlights from Lafayette’s collection of the papers of Howard Chandler Christy, American artist and illustrator, are on view, as is “American Jazz Masters,” a display of photographs by Tad Hershorn.
Tours of campus and community will be offered, including a historic walking tour of the central campus led by Diane Windham Shaw, special collections librarian and College archivist, and tours of Lafayette’s Chateau Chavaniac, the former Easton residence of Allen P. Kirby ’15, modeled after the birthplace of the Marquis de Lafayette in Chavaniac, France.
Saturday’s slate of varsity athletics includes football vs. Princeton, women’s and men’s tennis vs. Towson, varsity and junior varsity field hockey vs. West Chester and men’s soccer vs. Army.
Other student members of Family Weekend committees are
Registration: Jean Marie Ruddy ’01 (biology), Dunmore, Pa., and Mike Barrett ’03 (chemical engineering), Hazleton, Pa.
Academic Programs: Sarah Glacel ’01 (Russian and East European Studies/International Affairs), Fort Hood, Texas, and Lara Hershock ’02 (Spanish), Boiling Springs, Pa.
Hospitality: Molly Phelan ’01 (biology), Westfield, N.J., and Megan Caufield ’03 (history), Massena, N.Y.
Entertainment: Sarah Young ’01 (English), Bryn Mawr, Pa., and Suzanne Metzger ’03 (economics and business), Fair Lawn, N.J.
Tours: Patrick Eidam ’01 (chemistry), New Castle, Pa., and Anna Lopez ’03, Lambertville, N.J.
Open Houses/Exhibits: Mike Baldoni ’02 (psychology), Warren, N.J.; Nkechi Mbadugha ’03 (biology), New Brunswick, N.J.
Promotions: Erin Vanacore ’02 (Spanish), Pelham, N.Y., and Amy Arnold ’03 (electrical and computer engineering), Catasauqua, Pa.
For information, call the Office of Student Activities, (610) 330-5337 or the Office of Parents Programs, (610) 330-5030.