9/26/01
Contact:
Guy Sims, associate director, student activities, (319) 273-2683
Vicki Grimes, University Marketing & Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
UNI Family Weekend Friday through Sunday, Sept. 28-30
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The 27th Annual Family Weekend at the University of Northern Iowa will be Friday through Sunday, Sept. 28-30. Activities include college and departmental open houses; cultural, educational and recreational opportunities; and tours of various campus venues.
The 2001 Family of the Year will be recognized by the UNI Parents Association during Saturday’s tailgate event at noon in the UNI-Dome south parking lot, where there also will be pre-game activities. The Leifker family, which includes parents Tom and Cindy of Dubuque, and their six children, was selected for this year’s honor. (See related story this date.)
The UNI-Dome rededication ceremony begins at 2 p.m. in the Dome's south parking lot, marking the structure's 25th anniversary. The Dome will open at 2:30 p.m. for the 4:05 p.m. football game, pitting the UNI Panthers against the Youngstown State Penguins. For tickets or game information call the UNI-Dome at (319) 273-DOME.
The School of Music Benefit Concert, "Put a Little Romance in Your Repertoire," will begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday, in the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center's (GBPAC) Great Hall. At 1 p.m. Sunday, also in the GBPAC, the UNI International Dance Theatre and Orchesis Dance Company will perform. This event is free and open to the public.
The Wellness and Recreation Center will be open throughout the weekend for family recreation. There will be presentations at the Marshall Center School and UNI Museum; sky-viewing at the Hillside Observatory; and a carillon recital at the Campanile by Robert Byrnes, university carillonneur.
For a detailed list of UNI Family Weekend activities, go to
www.uni.edu/pubrel/familyweekend/.
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9/26/01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Keevan Kosidowski, director of special gifts, UNI Foundation, (319) 273-6078
Vicki Grimes, University Marketing & Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
Leifker family of Dubuque named 2001 University of Northern Iowa Family of the Year
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The University of Northern Iowa 2001 Family of the Year will be recognized by the UNI Parents Association on Saturday, Sept. 29. Their recognition is part of the annual UNI Family Weekend, Sept. 28-30.
The Leifker Family of Dubuque will receive the award. They will be honored during the "Family Feast" tailgate being held on the Northeast Plaza outside the UNI-Dome, beginning at noon. They also will be recognized during the pre-game activities for UNI's 4:05 p.m. football game against the Penguins of Youngstown State, in the UNI-Dome.
The Leifker family includes parents Tom and Cindy, and their children, Mark, Scott, Brian, Ben, Danielle and Dustin. Mark, a UNI senior majoring in finance and accounting, nominated his family.
In his nomination he wrote that he and his siblings learned the importance of working together through hard times, of earning an education and of applying a strong work ethic by their parents' example. Forced from farming in the farm crisis of the 1980s, Tom worked two jobs and enrolled in college, giving him the opportunity to advance in his career, while Cindy stayed home to raise the children. "This showed us a strong sense of family in our early years," Mark wrote.
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