Parents Newsletter: Spring 2013 Issue
An Update from Parents Programs
Hello from Parents Programs at SLC!
It's hard to believe but not only is second semester in full swing, but Spring Break is upon us. We wish your children enjoyable weeks, with an opportunity to refresh and recharge for the final months of the semester. To those of you with graduating seniors we wish early congratulations and look forward to seeing you at Commencement on May 24, 2013.
Commencement 2013
The College' 85th Commencement will be held on campus at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 24. Visit the Commencement site to find helpful general information—and stay tuned for the announcement of this year's guest speaker! And remember, if you have any questions or concerns leading up to the big day, you can always contact the Office of College Events at (914) 395-2412 or collegeevents@sarahlawrence.edu.
Annette Bening Visits SLC
On February 12, four time Oscar-nominee Annette Bening visited campus and spoke to students as part of the Theatre program's Guest Artist Series. She shared her vast experience and talked one-on-one with students in the Suzanne Werner Wright Theatre.
More Recognition for SLC Faculty
Late last month, CBS Money Watch reported that the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, which compiles the college rankings each year for Forbes magazine, listed SLC among the 25 colleges with the best professors. This recognition came on the heels of last fall's #1 faculty ranking in the Princeton Review's 2013 edition of "The Best 377 Colleges."
Physicists are People, Too!
A February 20 post on Noodle.org listed Physics faculty member Scott Calvin's First-Year Studies course "Physicists Are People, Too" among the Top 10 Most Interseting College Courses. In the class, students study physicists past and present, real and fictional, from Galileo to Meitner to Feynman. To learn more about physicists—and how to think like they do—students read technical works and popularizations, as well as plays, biographies and memoirs, and science fiction.
When asked about the recognition, Calvin said: "I'm delighted that Noodle selected my First Year Studies course as one of the most interesting in the country! But I'm even more proud of the students who have enrolled in it. Role-playing and student-designed experiments and projects are central elements of the course. I provide the structure, the space for creative intellectual work, and some of the inspiration, but it's the students who have to make it happen. And they do!"
2013 Senior Gift
Q: What do you get when you bring together SLC Seniors who love their faculty, love their campus, and love their peers?
A: The Senior Gift Committee!
This year’s committee is the biggest ever—15 members strong—and they have taken on the task of reaching a record 60% participation in gifts from the Senior Class. They are confident and the Parent Programs staff is confident they will reach their goal. They have already surpassed their student fundraising goal of $2,013, raising $2,729 with two more months until commencement.
The goal of the committee is to raise awareness about The Fund for Sarah Lawrence and to stress the importance of giving back to the College. Their motto is Once an SLCer, ALWAYS an SLCer. Together the 2013 Senior Class is starting their legacy of giving back. Seniors understand that their donations today and in the future ensure the value of their Sarah Lawrence degree and make an SLC education available to the next generation of students. All members of the SLC community, including parents, are invited to join our Seniors in reaching their FSL goals. For more information about the committee and to read about the members please visit the 2013 Senior Gift Committee page.
Entrepreneurship Immersion Pilot Program Launches
The College recently launched SLCeeds, an entrepreneurship immersion pilot program. Through SLCeeds, students have the unique opportunity to develop an entrepreneurial idea to pitch-readiness through a series of lectures, workshops, mentoring, live pitches, and a boot-camp designed to stimulate and mold ideas. The program will facilitate teams of students coalescing around business and/or social problems they are interested in solving.
Naked Came the Post-Postmodernist
The New York Times' "City Room" blog recently covered Melvin Jules Bukiet's Fiction Workshop, in which 12 students are collectively writing a novel, called Naked Came the Post-Postmodernist, to be published later this year by Arcade Publishing. USA Today lists the course in an article entitled, "8 really unique college courses."
The PHIL Project
The PHIL Project and the Senior Gift Committee teamed up to celebrate the 1st Annual SLC Student Philanthropy Day. The goal of the committees was to raise awareness amongst students, staff, and faculty on what donations to The Fund for Sarah Lawrence support and how the campus community's lives are positively affected every day by the generosity of our alumni and parent donors. The event was successful in raising awareness and several students and faculty actively participated in the cause by making their own donations.
The night before the event, committee members placed bright green signs that listed the costs of items that The Fund supports. Prices ranged from $5 goggles to $1,000 for certain electronic research journals at the library to $7,500 for fitness equipment. To further the cause of awareness the committee members tabled at key locations during lunch and handed out hot chocolate packets with labels that also listed the costs of critical items The Fund supports.
More important than bringing in actual donations from the student body is our students voicing their appreciation for all our parent and alumni donors that make their SLC experience possible.
Important Dates
May 17
Last day of classes
May 24
Commencement
August 31
Opening Day
New students arrive
September 2
Returning students arrive
October 21-22
October Study Days
November 8-10
Family Weekend
November 27-December 1
Thanksgiving Break
December 20
Last day of classes for fall semester
Stay Connected
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Vera Wang '71 addresses Class of 2013; photos, videos, media clips available on Commencement site