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College Information
Contact: D. Cory Pols Dean: Priscilla M. Clarkson; Associate Dean: Daniel Gordon; Executive Director: Meredith Lind; Director of Administration: Angela McCall; Director of Advising and Student Programs: D. Cory Pols; Director of the Community Engagement Program: John Reiff; Director of Student Recruitment: Alexandrina Deschamps; Director of Development and External Relations: Meredith Feltus; Associate Director of Student Programs: Melissa Woglom; Office of National Scholarship Advisement Director: Susan Whitbourne; Director of Curriculum Development and Assessment: Alexander Phillips. The mission of Commonwealth Honors College is to provide an intellectually challenging honors curriculum, create a community of scholars, and prepare future leaders. The college offers a variety of educational, service, social, and advising opportunities to support its over 3,000 academically talented students. Commonwealth Honors College is a campus-wide program; students from all majors in every college are eligible to join the honors college. Students are also encouraged to design their own major through Bachelor’s Degree with Individual Concentration (BDIC), which serves both non-honors students and honors students and is described in the Academic Departments and Programs section of the Guide. Only Commonwealth Honors College students are eligible to graduate as Commonwealth Honors College Scholars and with Departmental or Multidisciplinary Honors. Love of learning lies at the heart of Commonwealth Honors College. The curriculum of the honors college emphasizes inquiry and facilitates critical analysis, independent research, collaborative work, and effective communication skills. Consistent with the land-grant mission of the University, Commonwealth Honors College also promotes engagement with society. The college affords its students many opportunities for engagement through a variety of academically-based opportunities including internships, co-ops, experiential learning courses, leadership training, and Community Service Learning courses. The college also promotes student leadership through specific leadership courses, through its speaker series and alumni mentoring/shadowing programs, and by encouraging student participation in college activities including peer mentoring, committee work, and activity planning. Honors students experience the advantages of a small college and the wide-ranging opportunities of a nationally recognized research university. The college encourages students to undertake research and supports their efforts by helping to identify faculty mentors, proffering thesis workshops, and offering research fellowships for financial assistance. The college also offers academic advising, sponsors a lecture series that brings distinguished visitors to the campus to speak on selected national issues, publishes a web-based newsletter, sponsors service projects and student gatherings, and administers a competitive awards program. First-year honors students may select from several Residential Academic Programs (RAPs) including Honors RAPs offered by Commonwealth Honors College, the Talent Advancement Programs (TAPs), and other RAPs designed for all University students. |
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