AUSTIN, Texas— President Larry R. Faulkner of The University of Texas at Austin will visit with UT-bound students and their parents from the Dallas-Fort Worth area during a “Send Off ’99” celebration at the Ball Park at Arlington on Thursday (June 17).
The “Send Off” is to officially welcome the approximately 200 area students who have been accepted to attend UT Austin and to enhance the UniversityÌs relationships with a wide variety of constituents in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
“The summer before a studentÌs freshman year at college is often filled with uncertainty. This sendoff gives me an opportunity to meet and personally welcome new students to UT Austin, to answer questions and assure their parents they are in good hands, and to create a smooth and helpful transition from living at home to living in a university environment. For most freshmen, attending the University is their first life-transforming decision, and I want them to realize they have made an outstanding choice,” said Faulkner.
The president and other UT Austin representatives will arrive at the Ball Park at Arlington at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Legends of the Game Baseball Museum at the Ball Park for an alumi reception and will be available for news media interviews before the reception.
The Send Off ’99 celebration, sponsored by the Dallas chapter of the UT Ex-Students’ Association, will begin at 7 p.m.
Traveling with Faulkner will be representatives from UT Austin offices of admissions, financial aid and housing who can answer questions from students and parents regarding the transition for these high school graduates to a university environment.
This will be the first time a UT Austin “Send Off” has been held in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The idea for these celebrations began in the Rio Grande Valley about seven years ago and has expanded to other cities in Texas, said Dr. Bob Galvan, special assistant with the Office of the Vice President for Human Resources and Community Relations at UT Austin.
Galvan said several students participating in Send Off ’99 are recipients of UT Austin scholarships and many participated this past year in the Bank of America pre-collegiate program called Texas Longhorn PREP (Partners Responding to an Educational Priority). He said PREP helps students develop skills that prepare them to be successful in their college careers.
For additional information, contact Galvan at (512) 475-6061.
