RADFORD - A full slate of activities will be featured Friday through Sunday at Radford University when the campus opens its doors for the 2009 Family Weekend.

“Family Weekend is a tradition that RU has celebrated for over thirty years and is an opportunity for our students’ families to experience first-hand the atmosphere of learning and enrichment that RU’s faculty, staff and students experience daily,” said Alice Coughlin, associate director of student activity operations.

Family Weekend will begin on Friday at 6 p.m. in the Covington Center when President Penelope W. Kyle will host an opening reception for families of RU students during which RU juniors and seniors will participate in the “Donning of the Ring” ceremony. The reception will also feature the presentation of the 2009 “Parent of the Year” award by the RU Student Government Association.

Family Weekend will include a diverse selection of academic programs. The Faculty-Student Collaborative Research and Creative Presentations Forum will occur in rooms 249-50 in the Hurlburt Student Center at Noon Saturday and feature three presentations by RU students and faculty of their research projects. Daniel Burgess, Scott McGregor and Jason Armstrong will discuss their Radford Outdoor Augmented Reality Project, Dr. Tara Phelps-Durr and Emily Williamson will present “The Role of HIRA in Arabidopsis Development,” and Dr. Erin Webster-Garrett and Kristen Almguer will discuss their research into the works of 1991 Nobel Prize winner Nadine Gordimer. The RU Museum of Earth Science will premiere several new displays during its official Fall Opening at 10 a.m. in Reed Hall and the RU Planetarium will be presenting sky shows every two hours from 1 to 7 p.m. in Curie 43.

Guests to the campus will be able to enjoy a rich selection of artistic performances as well. Dancefest ‘09 will feature performances on Friday at 8 p.m. and again on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Bondurant Auditorium. The play “Lend Me A Tenor” will be presented Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Pridemore Playhouse. Both performances will include “Talkbacks” after the performances during which performers and audience members will discuss the work or an individual performer’s role. The Fall Dancefest event is free and tickets for “Lend Me A Tenor” can be purchased at the Bonnie Information Desk.

On Saturday, guests are invited to take self-guided tours of the renovated Heth and Young Halls. Young Hall, recently re-opened and fully equipped with technologically-sophisticated classrooms, is RU’s flagship classroom building. Located in the heart of the campus, the newly enhanced Heth Hall is the focal point for RU’s student affairs operations.

Concurrent with the Family Weekend Activities, RU will be hosting the alumni Welcome Back Reunion Weekend ’09 and the Radford Highlanders Festival, in conjunction with the City of Radford. Information on Family Weekend can be found at www.radford.edu/familyweekend.