HLLC hosts first annual Honors Parent Day

The dedication of the Honors Living-Learning Community will be held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in the HLLC courtyard.

The event will also launch the first Honors Parents Day.

The Honors Living-Learning Community, which opened this semester, will be dedicated after speeches from several Honors College faculty, staff and students.

Speakers include, Linda Clark, honors oral communications professor, Paul Raath, honors upperclassmen and residence life staff member, and Krystina Gleghorn, a freshman honors student.

Dignitaries from Academic Affairs and Student Affairs will also speak.

After the dedication, there will be an Honors Parents Day Tailgate in Tailgate City preceding the Homecoming football game against Florida International.

There will be commemorative giveaways at the dedication and at the tailgate.

"Oftentimes we forget that students aren't the only ones adjusting to college life. We want to ease that transition," Rebecca Oliver, director of student services for the Honors College, said. "So many parents were intimately involved in the recruitment process."

The event is intended to allow parents the opportunity to become more familiar with the honors college program and to include them in the campus's Homecoming day celebration.

"Could you pile any more events on such a great day?" Oliver said. "Students are involved, alumni are involved, and now parents are involved too."

The Honors College wants to "continue connecting with parents."

Oliver said those students and their parents are "inextricably linked" to the college.

Oliver credited many with the success of the Honors Living Learning Community. The project was a collaborative effort between the academic and student affairs departments.

In addition, Oliver said the classroom would not have happened without the support of Dr. Potts.

This is a "time to reflect on how far we have come," Oliver said.

The success of the Honors Living Learning Community has lead to the construction of two new Living-Learning Communities on campus.

The Honors buildings were a prototype to test the waters for future Living-Learning Communities.

"When it works, it's a springboard." Oliver said. "Honors is happy to have played a part in writing the story [for future project]."

Gil Fowler, associate dean for the Honors College also expressed his expectations for the event.

"We hope it will be a big day all across campus," Fowler said. "[This will be a] welcoming opportunity for parents to share in homecoming and an exciting time on campus."