Welcome Parents & Families!

The Office of Parent and Family Relations at The College of Saint Rose is dedicated to assisting you, the families, in supporting your student throughout their college experience.

The College of Saint Rose philosophy regarding parents as vital members of our community is expressed by the theme “Parents as Partners”. The Office of Parent and Family Relations has the same goal as you do. This common goal is to support the academic and personal journey that your student has begun and to provide resources that allow for a rewarding and successful experience. Now that you and your student have joined the Saint Rose family, you too, can experience the passion, knowledge and purpose that the College of Saint Rose has to offer.

History of the Office of Parent and Family Relations

In 2003, the then Director of Residence Life, Wendy Neifeld Wheeler initiated a proposal to President R. Mark Sullivan suggesting the development of the Office of Parent and Family Relations. This proposal highlighted the philosophy of “parents as partners” and underscored the importance of parental support for student success. This new office would serve as the hub for parent communication, would provide advocacy for parent concerns, and would assist parents in understanding “best practices” as it relates to parenting a college student.

Since that time, the Office has secured a Graduate Assistant part-time position, has created a Parent Handbook, designed and implemented successful Parent Orientation programming, invited our special cohort of Legacy Parents to numerous on and off-campus events, hosted annual socials during Family Weekend, used various social media outlets to connect parents to parents, prepared weekly electronic messaging that highlighted events and activities, and has assisted hundreds of parents in navigating the Saint Rose experience.

Mission Statement

The Office of Parent and Family Relations is dedicated to providing consistent communication to families and community members, while serving as a resource and advocate for a family’s issues and concerns on behalf of the educational mission of their student. We are here to serve as a campus liaison between families and the college community. It is our goal to assist families to better understand their students’ experience and resolve issues or conflicts as they arise.

Parent Testimonials

"The College of Saint Rose never ceases to amaze me. We had an amazing orientation experience and realized again that Lauren’s decision to attend Saint Rose is definitely the right one! Thank you for all of your efforts with Orientation. We look forward to becoming part of the Saint Rose Family!"-Jodi Minkoff (mother of Lauren Minkoff, Class of 2015).

"I wanted to thank you for a wonderful, exciting and informative welcoming at the Parent/Student Summer Orientation 2011. My family and I were very anxious to hear and see what resource’s Saint Rose would be available to offer to us as the parent as well as the student, our son Christopher. There was so much information in each session that was a lot more than we could have ever expected. All of the presenters were so knowledgeable. The one thing that stood out for us is that Saint Rose values Parents as Partners and encourages ongoing communications. The Saint Rose statement regarding "Encouragement and Empowerment" definitely resonates with our family values. Both Wendy and Faith made us feel connected to the college and that Saint Rose is one big “Family.” My student, Christopher has been so blessed to have chosen and having been accepted to such a reputable institution of learning. "- Cher and Jean Joseph (parents of Christopher Joseph, Class of 2015)