When they entrust their children to WVU,
parents become Mountaineers, too.
When Shawn
McCarthy's car broke down on a desolate stretch of interstate
during a recent trip home, it was the Mountaineer Parents Club,
rather than AAA, that helped bring him home safely.
"He was on his way home for spring break and was somewhere in Maryland between Cumberland and Hancock, but he wasn't even sure where he was," recalls Shawn's mother, LuAnn Zajaczkowski. "His first thought was to call Mom instead of 911."
She was even more perplexed when a Maryland State Trooper left her son, a WVU freshman, sitting by the road with only a towing service's number.
"I was flipping out because I was here in Newark, Delaware, by myself," she said. That's when she took out her Parents Club directory and found the names of Don and Suzie Sincell, cochairs of the Garrett County, Maryland, Parents Club.
"I called Mr. Sincell after 10 p.m. and explained the situation to him. He offered to go pick up Shawn, who was about an hour from his home, and bring him back to his house," she recalled. "I was just amazed."
Meanwhile, Shawn had been assisted by a helpful tow-truck driver, so Sincell's services weren't necessary. The gesture, however, touched Zajaczkowski and made her thankful for the Parents Club network.
"The Sincells were so kind," she said, "and I couldn't believe they offered to go get Shawn. The only connection they had to me was that they had a daughter who was a junior at WVU, and they knew I was a member of the Parents Club."
Susan Hardesty has collected many such testimonials on the effectiveness of the Mountaineer Parents Club, which she and her husband, WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr., created five years ago under the umbrella of the WVU Alumni Association. Since that time, the Parents Club has grown to include more than 8,000 families in 66 clubs with 15 state chairpersons, including far-away California and Hawaii.
"We're seeing that the networking is more beneficial than anything else," Hardesty said. "Clubs are meeting all over the United States, planning activities that will help families actively support their students at WVU," said Sabrina Cave, director of the Mountaineer Parents Club. "Clubs also plan social activities such as game-watching parties to show their support."
Besides the newsletters and mailings they receive from Parents Club headquarters in Morgantown, members attend activities on campus like Fall Family Weekend and they stay involved by organizing meetings of their local chapters with guest speakers from the University.
They also publish their own newsletters and represent the Mountaineer Parents Club during "College Nights" at local high schools. "The most important thing we can do is to provide parents with information so they have educated answers to their students' questions," Hardesty said.
Many WVU students are first-generation college students, she added. "We're finding that more than half of our parents are not college graduates. That makes the Parents Club even more valuable," she said, remembering a particularly touching incident at a Marion County Parents Club meeting.
"I had a parent come up to me, with tears in her eyes, and she said, 'We had no connection with the University until the Parents Club. We just didn't know how to do it. This is such a wonderful way for us to be part of our son's college life.'"
Other parents look to the Parents Club when they simply don't know where else to turn.
Since 1996, more than 20,000 calls have come into the toll-free Parent Helpline, one of the club's most popular services.
"Some people call because they have very simple questions and need to know where to be directed. Others call with much more in-depth questioning. We even get parents who call and are 'kid-sick,'" said Parent Advocate Susan Lantz, whose friendly voice is a one-woman information clearinghouse on WVU's end of the line.
Jill Kinslow of Dunkirk, Maryland, wonders how her family would have survived her daughter Bailey's freshman year without it.
"Bailey did not choose WVU because it had a Parents Club. However, it was one of the things that helped my husband and me feel comfortable about our daughter's decision," said Kinslow. "Susan Lantz and the Helpline definitely saved me more than one long, 500-mile trip to West Virginia."
Lantz finds that in-state and out-of-state parents tend to call with different kinds of issues. "Out-of-state parents feel like they've sent their kids far away; in-state parents think they've sent their kids to the big city and worry about that."
Even though he lives only about an hour from Morgantown, parent Gary Wilson of Wellsburg found the Helpline valuable when his son Eric, a freshman engineering major, considered dropping a class.
"Susan was great," Mr. Wilson said. "She gave me all the answers: whether he could stay in the honors dorm, whether he would maintain his scholarship."
Some parents call with more pressing concerns. When her daughter Christin phoned late one night in a panic because her wallet-including a pre-paid Mountaineer Card-had been stolen, Mary Dunn of Pineville, Pennsylvania, called the Helpline in the middle of the night and left a detailed message about her daughter's situation. Early the next morning, Dunn received a call from Lantz, who had already alerted Mountaineer Card Services and went on to explain what Christin would need to do to get a replacement card.
"I was quite frankly shocked to get a reply that fast," said Dunn, who belongs to the Lehigh Valley Club.
"I have friends whose children go to Penn State and they've never heard of anything like this," she added."I honestly don't think such an organization exists too many places and it wasn't around when I was in school. It's just a fabulous concept because it makes us feel like we're still a part of our children's lives—while still letting go."
It is possible that the WVU Parents Club model could spread to other colleges and universities across the country.
Hardesty gave a presentation about the concept two years ago at a convention of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC). In the fall of 2000 she became the president of the NASULGC Council of President's and Chancellor's Spouses. Her presidential duties will include hosting 10-12 NASULGC spouses in May for a two-day planning session.
"When NASULGC spouses ask me about the success of the Parents Club, I tell them that the most important factor is that the president and his administration believe in it. I say to them, 'If your spouse is willing to accept that this is very important, then it will work.'"
Clearly, President Hardesty believes in the importance of the Mountaineer Parents Club and its service to students and their families. Under the couple's leadership, the Club has not only grown in membership but also has increased its presence on campus.
Parents Club members have created a Leisure Reading Collection of fiction and nonfiction books in the WVU Libraries, and this year 30 of WVU's incoming freshmen benefited from a $1,000 Mountaineer Parents Club scholarship for high school seniors who served as student body presidents.
The Parents Club has also received support from various campus departments, such as the textbook discounts offered by the WVU Bookstores and ticket giveaways courtesy of the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Community businesses, such as Eat 'N Park restaurant, also contribute to the Parents Club, and area hotels and over 40 Main Street Morgantown businesses offer significant discounts to parents.
"When you are willing to listen, to share information, to let others
give advice and feedback, there can be positive change. I think
the Parents Club has demonstrated that."
Susan Hardesty
Susan Brown Hardesty '67, '74 MA, became
WVU's first lady in 1995. Almost immediately, she and her husband
co-founded the Mountaineer Parents Club. Because of their strong
leadership in this area of the undergraduate student experience,
and because they have two children enrolled at WVU, they both
wear the distinctive Parents Club pin: it's the "flying
WV" logo within the outline of a heart.
Susan Hardesty took a few moments to answer some questions about
the Parents Club and the philosophy behind its founding and activities.
How do you think the Parents
Club fits into WVU's student-centered approach to learning?
I think the Parents Club has sent a message to the University
community about the importance of students and their families.
The responsiveness of the toll-free Helpline—the fact that
we've answered 20,000 calls—is a powerful tool. The University
has seen the effectiveness of this service and realizes how positive
it is. We've said we're willing to share the power. I think the
entire University has shared in the success of the club's various
feedback mechanisms. When you are willing to listen, to share
information, to let others give advice and feedback, there can
be positive change. I think the Parents Club has demonstrated
that.
How does WVU's Parents
Club differ from those at other universities?
I think most universities have something for parents, whether
it's on a small or large scale. The Texas A&M "Aggie
Moms" are probably the best-known and longest-established
organization. But I think we are unique because we have individual
clubs across our state and nationwide, membership is free, and
our organization is not about fund-raising. In fact, raising
money is not on our radar. Our emphasis is very different. It's
very clear to parents that our purpose is student and family
support.
Can you give an example
of how a student was helped by the Mountaineer Parents Club?
I have many letters from parents thanking us for helping them
or their student. I recall a phone call we got one night from
a parent in California who had sent her son across the country
to attend WVU. The son arrived at the Pittsburgh airport and
had no idea how to get to Morgantown. He ended up traveling to
Morgantown by taxi, but that took all of his money and he didn't
know what to do. So his mother called the Parents Club, and my
assistant met with the student the next day and helped him work
out his financing and told him about our shuttle service to and
from the airport for a reasonable fee. That's the kind of networking
we see that's really helping our students.
Why do you think it's important
to keep parents involved in their students' lives while they
are at WVU?
A recent Gallup poll reported that the public believes parent
involvement determines success in public schools7#151;even more
so than the schools and teachers themselves. This is incredible.
At WVU, we've been saying for a long time now that parental involvement
shouldn't stop just because students are leaving home to go to
college. The most important involvement is that which brings
the parent into the school. The Parents Club lets students know
that parents are actively engaged and that they really care.
And the Parents Club offers activities that help families connect
with their students. They write newsletters, send in books for
the Leisure Reading Collection, plan their summer picnics, learn
from WVU speakers at their meetings, participate in Fall Family
Weekend, and attend football games. They are staying connected
with their sons and daughters.
What is the connection
between the Parents Club and WVU alumni?
It's important for Alumni Association chapters to include parents
in their events. Many of our clubs hold their summer picnics
with alumni chapters in their areas, such as the crab feast in
Washington, D.C., and the annual pig roast in Boone County. Students
can benefit from alumni contact, especially when searching for
jobs. Involved parents will encourage their students will stay
connected to WVU after graduation.