Families visit Chancellor's Residence
Published Sept. 18, 2007
Parents who visited campus this weekend were treated to tours of their sons' and daughters' residence hall rooms, and they were also invited to a tour that covered a little more square footage.
The Chancellor's Residence on Francis Quadrangle was opened to students and parents for two hours on Saturday as part of Family Weekend 2007, coordinated by the Department of Student Life.
"We're really excited," said Anne Deaton, Chancellor Brady Deaton's wife. "So far, it's just been a joy to meet students who chose Mizzou from all over the country."
Donna and Robert Vick of Dallas visited the residence while visiting their daughter, freshman Emily Vick.
While visiting, they had to the chance to speak to MU officials, including the Deatons.
"They were very hospitable, telling us about the house," Donna Vick said. "We're really happy to be here. It's a beautiful campus."
They also spoke to Residential Life Director Frankie Minor about their daughter's residence hall, including the department's plans to renovate the hall as part of the Residential Life Master Plan.
The other university officials included Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Cathy Scroggs and Student and Auxiliary Services spokeswoman Michelle Froese.
Scroggs said the open house was a chance to meet both students and their parents and get their impressions of life at MU.
"We talk to them about where they live and their experience living in the residence halls, their experience in their classes," she said. "Parents are really pleased with how pretty the campus is."
She said the officials present were able to ask students why they chose to attend MU.
"It's just been a great day," she said. "And we haven't even won the game yet."
Although guests weren't shown the Deatons' private living quarters upstairs, they were allowed to roam the first floor freely. The area is often used to entertain guests and supporters of the university.
"We try to open the residence so people get a sense of how valuable the residence is to the university and the state of Missouri," Brady Deaton said.
He said the residence had been opened before to undergraduate and graduate students, parents and the community, but never before as part of family weekend.
Brady and Anne Deaton stood just inside the residence's front door, greeting guests. Brady Deaton said they had seen a "steady flow" of visitors.
"It's a good number," he said. "I think it makes a unique connection for parents and students."
Froese said she had met a number of parents from around the nation and the event had attracted a very diverse crowd.
"What's really amazing is that parents are so delighted to be invited," Froese said. "I don't think you can have access to the chancellor like that at certain universities. The Deatons are very progressive in that way."
The Deatons have lived in the residence since July 2006.
Each MU chancellor is allowed to decide whether to move into the residence with his or her family, and many choose not to live on campus.
"In my time that I've been here, in 20 years, it's been every other year," University Events Office Event Coordinator Sue Lehnen said.
The University Events Office is responsible for coordinating events the chancellor plays host to.
Lehnen showed visitors the residence's kitchen, which she said was remodeled in the 1980s to facilitate catering for events.
The kitchen features an extra-large refrigerator and a commercial dishwasher that can clean, sanitize and dry dishes in four minutes.
The residence's dining room can hold to up to 18 guests for a seated dinner, Lehnen said. Because the residence doesn't have a cooking staff, most events are catered, but Lehnen said Anne Deaton sometimes cooks for events with fewer than eight guests.
She said the university had held three events in the residence on Friday, including a lunch for U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., who was visiting campus.
Other Family Weekend events included a show by comedian Josh Blue, a tailgate party at the Hearnes Center Fieldhouse, academic open houses and discounted tickets for the MU football game against the Western Michigan University Broncos.
