UC San Diego’s Oct. 25-26 Family Weekend is first in a series of events and traditions to be established under the university’s new Parent Program. As part of the UC system’s initiative to strengthen parent engagement, the program is designed to build a community of parents to help students have a more successful college experience, as well as provide opportunities for support and advocacy on behalf of the university.

Directing UC San Diego’s newly launched Parents Program are (left to right) Toni Tschann, director of development for Parent Giving, and Cara Appel-Silbaugh, director of Parent Relations.

Results from 2007 National Survey of Student Engagement — one of the nation’s most respected college surveys — show that students with involved parents are more successful and satisfied at college.

“A higher level of engagement from parents and family members helps to support students, both academically and socially,” said Penny Rue, UC San Diego’s vice chancellor for Student Affairs. “The more we keep parents informed and connected, the more their students will feel that they belong here. We have a place on our campus for parents, and their involvement is very much appreciated.”

One UC San Diego parent who is open to further engagement is Wendy Lane, whose son, Jeffrey, is a Sixth College student. “My husband and I are really looking forward to going to Family Weekend, and we’re bringing my parents — I can’t wait to show them the campus! As the parent of a freshman student, getting to know the campus and feeling comfortable with it has been extremely helpful in the ‘letting go’ process. We still miss Jeffrey, but we feel he’s in great hands at this amazing, world-class university.”

Recently coming on board to help implement the fundraising side of UC San Diego’s Parent Program is Toni Tschann, director of development for Parent Giving. Her key responsibilities include motivating UC San Diego parents to support programs that will enrich their student’s college experience and teach the value of philanthropy by example.

Working closely with Tschann to launch the Parent Program is Cara Appel-Silbaugh, Ph.D., the new director of Parent Relations, whose focus is on developing programs to involve and engage parents. She most recently was assistant dean of Student Affairs at UC San Diego’s Eleanor Roosevelt College.

For more information about parent involvement at UC San Diego, please visit www.parents.ucsd.edu.