It’s been less than a month since most students left their parents, but some will reunite for Family Weekend, held 29 days earlier than last year to plan around the Big East conference football schedule.

‘Assessment data has told us that parents, guests want a home football game during Family Weekend,’ said Colleen Bench, director of the Parents Office at Syracuse University, in an e-mail. ‘Our date is set entirely around the Big East conference football schedule.’

At least 5,000 people are expected to come to the university this year, Bench said. By Monday, the number of guests coming for Family Weekend had surpassed that of last year.

The weekend is planned around the home football game, this year played against Colgate. 

Families can attend a performance by the SU marching band on the Quad before the game. After the game, there will be a family reception in Schine Student Center.

Planning for Family Weekend begins as soon as the dates are chosen in March or April. The Parents Office works with each SU school and the Division of Student Affairs to sort out the details, Bench said. SU officials also considered religious holidays and other community events in Syracuse when picking the date for this year’s Family Weekend.

‘We connect with all those who scheduled events the preceding year, as well as those who have expressed interest in providing a new event,’ she said.

Some highlights of this year’s Family Weekend include free concerts in Rose and Jules R. Setnor Auditorium and Friday’s Take Your Family to Class sessions, during which families are invited to sit in on classroom experiences.

On Saturday, families can have breakfast with the deans from individual colleges at 9 a.m. and attend a presentation by Chancellor Nancy Cantor, titled ‘Education for the World, in the World: SU as an Anchor Institution,’ at 11:30 a.m.

Entertainment for Saturday includes a performance by Grammy Award-winning jazz artist Branford Marsalis, who will hold a concert in Goldstein Auditorium at 2 p.m.

The University Bookstore is also preparing for Family Weekend with weekend-long discounts on hats, journals and Clinique products, among other items. The bookstore will sponsor a contest in which participants could win an Under Armour hooded sweatshirt, a Hewlett-Packard printer, an SU sphere chair or a Vera Bradley bag.

Family Weekend is an important part of the SU experience that allows families to visit students and become better acquainted with faculty, Bench said. 

She said: ‘Discussions and bonds that develop from Family Weekend ultimately allow us to better serve all students.’ 

dspearl@syr.edu

Published on September 22, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Diana: dspearl@syr.edu | @dianapearl_