Dear Providence College Parents,

The role of parents in the college experience has profoundly changed over the last two decades. When I attended Providence College in the late 1970s, it was commonly accepted that a student's college would serve the in loco parentis role - that is, the institution would take on some of the functions and responsibilities of parents related to student safety, discipline, and other matters. Parents sent their sons and daughters off to college confident that the chosen institution would act in their stead for the best interests of their students.

Communication between parents and children who lived on campus was limited to the occasional visit home and infrequent phone calls. Students who needed to work through difficulties with adjusting to college life, incompatible roommates, challenging faculty members, or unfamiliar social experiences did so largely on their own, with assistance from appropriate college resources and close friends.

How times have changed! Parental involvement in the lives of children is now more intense, focused, and long-lasting than ever before. Significantly more students today live on campus and they often communicate daily with parents through cell phone, e-mail, and other electronic means. College administrators have seen increasing levels of parental involvement in all aspects of the college experience. Well-meaning parents contact college staff to intervene on behalf of their sons and daughters on issues large and small that inevitably arise. Social behavior experts have coined a term to describe this type of parent behavior: "helicopter parents." For college administrators, it is an apt description of parents at the extreme end of the spectrum who "hover" over their students and attempt to guide and direct them, often in unhelpful and unhealthy ways.

At Providence College, we have long believed that one of the most significant ways that a parent can guide a son or daughter is by allowing that young person the independence to experience and learn how to become a wise and responsible individual. This important message - which is essential for student maturity - is not always easy for parents to hear. For years, as part of our freshman orientation program, new parents have received sound advice from College administrators about how to best encourage and support their student's independence as they begin the college experience.

I am pleased to inform you that two of these long-time administrators - Jacqueline MacKay and Dr. Wanda Ingram - have been appointed to the College's new Parent Program. Associate Dean MacKay will serve as director of the Parent Program, bringing more nearly 35 years of academic experience and special expertise in the field of parent involvement to this new service. Dr. Ingram will serve as Senior Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies for First-Year and Parent Programs. The co-authors of an award-winning handbook, First Year Transitions: A Guide for Parents of Providence College Students, and Let the Journey Begin: A Parent's Monthly Guide to the College Experience (Houghton Mifflin, New York, 2002), these two highly experienced women offer a wealth of knowledge and insight to our parents.

The goals of the Providence College Parent Program are to provide comprehensive resources and programs for parents to inform and educate them about the college experience and to promote student success, as well as to collaborate with offices campus-wide in support of parent programs. Our Parent Program will emphasize a growth-oriented, developmental approach to help parents understand their role in the context of placing increased responsibility on their daughter or son.

Dean MacKay will coordinate communications to parents of our undergraduates, educate parents about compliance with federal law and institutional regulations, and serve as a primary resource to other campus units on parent issues. The parent resources that are being developed include dedicated Web site pages for parent information ( www.providence.edu/PCParents), an electronic newsletter, a parent handbook, books about the college experience, and other targeted parent publications.

We are confident that this exciting new program will be beneficial for our students, their parents, and the many individuals at the College who have occasion to communicate with parents. You will be hearing more about how you can access this service in the months ahead through direct communications from Dean MacKay and the Parents Program.

Another campus office that communicates with parents is the Office of Institutional Advancement. Their "Parents for Providence" program has reached out to parents who express an interest to advance Providence College by hosting or participating in College events sponsored by the College's admission, athletics, career services, and institutional advancement divisions; and by promoting annual giving to the Parents' Fund. The parents who have been involved with this effort are enthusiastic ambassadors for Providence College, and we deeply appreciate their involvement and support. To explore the opportunities available through Parents for Providence, I invite you to visit the Web pages at www.providence.edu/Alumni/Parents+for+Providence.

During this month when our nation pauses to give thanks to God for his many blessings, I am personally grateful for the thousands of parents who have enabled and encouraged their sons and daughters - often at great personal sacrifice - to pursue their dreams by attending Providence College. Your love and support for your child immeasurably adds to all of our lives.

Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P.