UNIVERSITY SLATES OPEN HOUSE

(KINGSVILLE, October 28, 1996) - Texas A&M University-Kingsville will open its doors in welcome to the community on Saturday, Nov. 9, as it invites residents of Kingsville and surrounding cities to visit the campus and sample programs and offerings at A&M-Kingsville.

"It's customary between neighbors -- and that's what the university and city of Kingsville are," said A&M-Kingsville President Dr. Manuel L. Ibanez, "to have friends over from time to time for a cup of coffee and to catch up on what each other is doing."

That is the concept behind the event, the first of its kind in several years, as colleges and departments and other university units display and demonstrate their activities, explained Dr. Kay J. Clayton, Vice President for Student Affairs and Special Services and chair of the open house.

Events begin at 1 p.m. in the Steinke Physical Education Center where academic units will have booths and exhibits. Demonstrations and other activities better suited to laboratories and classrooms will be conducted in academic buildings around campus.

A printed program and student guides will assist visitors in finding their way to an area of interest. At 4 p.m. the President and Mrs. Ibanez will host guests at a "block party" on University Boulevard in front of the Student Union Building.

The university will host several other activities on Nov. 9. The annual Parents' Day will attract moms and dads from around the state to check the progress of their offspring. A full slate of activities is planned for them under the direction of Frank Ureno, Dean of Students and Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs. Parents' Day culminates with the football game that night at 7 p.m. when the Hoggies entertain Abilene Christian University.

Other activities include a visit by nearly 1,000 Alice youngsters and their parents for a "High Hopes Trip" designed to give the fifth graders an early taste of college life. In addition, upwards of 200 cheerleaders from Texas and Mexico will be the university's guests. Several hundred test-takers will also be on campus taking a variety of tests for graduate and professional school.

-TAMUK-
-Mary McAdam