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Congratulations
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Congratulations Greta Pennell from the University of Indianapolis, the lucky winner of the
early registration drawing for two round trip Southwest airline tickets,
donated by M & A Meeting and Event Planning.
Although
rates on airfares from most places are
still good, airfare spikes are being predicted, so please make your airline
reservations as soon as possible for the 2008 National Collegiate Honors
Council Conference in San Antonio, Texas.
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Preconference Program Reminder
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The
NCHC Pre-Conference Program booklets were mailed to you on August 4, 2008. The
Pre-Conference Program will not include any changes received after the July 15
deadline; however, those changes are on the conference website and will
appear in the printed program you will receive in San Antonio. The last opportunity for corrections
to the printed program must be sent to Lydia Lyons by August 27, 2008. Thank you for helping to make
the final printed program as accurate as
possible.
Please
don't forget the early registration deadline is September 24, 2008! |
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Important Dates
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September 1
JNCHC Paper Submissions Due
September 15
Portz Grant Applications Due
September 24
Early Conference Registration Deadline
September 26
Site Visitor Applications Due
September 29
Student of the Year
Nominations Due
October 17
Student Service Day
October 22-26
NCHC Annual Conference
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Dear Honors Friends:
Imagine
our members throughout the country making preparations to attend our annual
conference; and then, please picture yourself there in San Antonio, Texas,
October 22-26, 2008. Hundreds of people
have been devoting much of their time and work to assure that NCHC continues
the tradition of hosting another outstanding conference.
In
addition to the NCHC Conference favorites, the 2008 Conference Planning
Committee is pleased to introduce to this year's conference:
ˇ
International
Education Forum ˇ
Live
Auction ˇ
SENCER
Workshop ˇ
Student
Moderators ˇ
Symposia ˇ
Partners
in the Parks
We
can all be proud that our conference has gone green! Our printer has received the Federal
designation for being a green company. A
big thank you goes to all of the chair persons who have designed and submitted
information for the printed program. I
appreciate those of you who have or will be emailing any changes to presenters'
or colleges'/universities' names to me. Changes must be submitted no later than
August 27, 2008 to allow those corrections to appear in our printed program.
Please
do not delay, register today:
Early registration deadline: on or before
September 24, 2008
Hotel reservation deadline: on or before
September 27, 2008
See
you in San Antonio, Lydia Lyons
2008
NCHC Conference Chair
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Shatter the Glassy Stare: Implementing Experiential Learning in Higher Education
Congratulations to the Honors Semesters Committee on the
recent publication of Shatter the Glassy
Stare: Implementing Experiential
Learning in Higher Education. This
volume provides insights from honors professionals who have taken part in NCHC
Faculty Institutes on experiential learning and explores methods of integrating
experiential learning in the classroom.
Member Price: $ 25
Non-Member Price: $45
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Featured Conference Session
International Education
Increasingly cognizant that our mission as educators of the
"best and the brightest" must include fostering global leadership and
heightening ethical intercultural skills, conference planners selected an
International Education Forum as one of the special features of this year's
exciting NCHC conference. Three extended sessions spanning Friday morning,
Friday afternoon, and Saturday morning will allow time to explore various
aspects of international education and its intersection with Honors. These interactive sessions will feature the
expertise of multiple presenters from a wide variety of international programs and
varied institutions. They will encourage
audience participation, allowing plenty of time for questions and answers. Group exploration of numerous international
models will be included, as well as discussion of concerns and challenges unique
to international education, particularly as it relates to maintaining the
academic integrity of Honors education.
Friday
Morning (9:00am-11:45am):
The first
session will open with participants from four different institutions
addressing
the intersection of Honors international education and
service-learning. As numerous Honors programs are increasingly
focused
upon developing ethical leadership skills and promoting a strong sense
of
social responsibility, many are doing so by expanding service-learning
opportunities. Recognizing the
incredible value of experiential education and learning through
concrete
positive interaction with the local citizenry, several Honors educators
are
seeking ways to combine their interests in international education,
service-learning, and academically-rigorous education. Faculty
and students involved in such
programs, including sites in Thailand,
Jamaica, and Belize,
will present aspects of their experience and examine the benefits and
challenges of this combination.
Friday
Afternoon (1:00pm-3:45pm): The second session will feature an exploration of
"best practices" in Honors international education. A large group of presenters representing ten
different institutions will share experiences and invite investigation of
numerous issues including how to design appropriate program models and how to
assure quality academic experiences, as well as delving into discussion on funding
options and students and faculty recruitment. Extended time for questions and
answers and valuable interaction between experienced, neophyte, and "wannabee"
international educators will be provided.
Saturday Morning
(10:00am-11:45am): During the final session, participants will examine
pedagogical and philosophical concerns of international education. This discussion, again involving numerous
presenters from varied institutions, will tackle some of the tough questions
that international educators face including issues of inappropriately
showcasing "the other" or failing to recognize ethnocentrism or disregarding
the difference between tourist travel and genuine international education. Again
audience participation will be strongly encouraged.
In addition
to these three extended blocks of time devoted to Honors international
education issues, shorter sessions will be scattered throughout the conference
that will highlight various aspects of international education, enabling all
conference participants to broaden their knowledge of international education
and share their experiences with fellow Honors educators.
~by Mary Kay Mulvaney
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Congratulations 2008 Portz Scholars
On behalf of the Portz Committee, the Committee on Awards
and Grants is pleased to announce the 2008 Portz Scholars for the 18th year of
the competition. Members of the Portz
Scholars Committee read 36 outstanding papers during the first part of the
summer and selected the top three student papers.
The Portz Scholars Program began
in 1990 to enable NCHC to acknowledge John and Edythe Portz's many
contributions to Honors education. These
two altruists have been an inspiration to the members of the Portz Committee
through their financial
commitment to support the Portz grants for innovation in Honors programs and
colleges.
The three 2008 Portz Scholars
will be featured at a plenary session at the National Collegiate Honors
Conference in San Antonio and will be awarded a $250.00 stipend at the luncheon
on Saturday, October 25th, 2008.
NCHC's 2008 Portz Scholars
are:
Erin E. Edgington, University
of Nevada-Reno; Tamara Valentine, Honors Director.
"Costume and Propriety in Madame Bovary: La "Culture
de Lin"
This paper
examines the relationship between costume and propriety in Flaubert's Madame Bovary and demonstrates that
costume functions as a semiotic system paralleling the development of Emma
Bovary's character. The paper also
examines whether two film versions of the novel preserve the semiotically
relevant references to costume.
David R. Hill, Kent
State University;
Donald R. Williams, Honors Dean
"Evolution of
Quorum Sensing Genes in the Genus Burkholderia"
This project was designed to enhance
our understanding of the evolution of quorum-sensing genes, using complete
genomes of representatives of genus Burkholderia
and several other closely related Proteobacteria. The study suggest adaptive diversification
and specificity of CepIR systems, possibly driven by kin discrimination in the
production of public goods, such as virulence proteins.
 Chantal
Russell, St. Mary's College
of Maryland; Michael
Taber, Honors Director
"Innocence for Sale? Toward an Alternative Discourse of Sex
Trafficking in Women"
This
paper makes the argument that there is a dire need for a reconfigured,
international discourse on sex trafficking that is free from the politics,
paternalism, and repressive moralism that characterizes the current one and
lays out what this new discourse would look like.
This year's Portz Scholars were selected by Victoria
Bocchichio (Kent State University), Kate Bruce (University of North Carolina,
Wilmington), Ann Eisenberg
(University of Texas, San Antonio), David Forbes (University of South Alabama),
Maria Fracasso (Towson University), Melinda Frederick (Prince George's
Community College), Leslie Heaphy (Kent State University), Connie
LaMarca-Frankel (Pasco-Hernando Community College), Nancy Reichert (Southern
Polytechnic State University), Tamara Valentine (University of Nevada-Reno),
and Betsy Yarrison (University of Baltimore).
Honors Deans and Directors can
download applications for the 2009 Portz Scholars competition at the NCHC
website. The deadline for the 2009 competition will be
June 5, 2009.
~ By Ann R. Eisenberg, University of Texas at San
Antonio, co-chair Portz Committee
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4th Annual Student Auction
Call for Auction Items
Keep those auction items coming and get ready to outbid the competition in
NCHC's first live auction in San Antonio. Bring your wallets and get ready
to spend on prizes like:
- An NCHC Institutional Membership
- Conference Registration Fee for the 2009 NCHC Meeting
in Washington, DC
- A Complete Set of NCHC Monographs on Honors
Education
- Numerous signed books by well-known authors
- Many more exciting items!
The live auction depends on the
generosity and creativity of Honors directors and students. Please
consider donating an item for the live auction. If you have some ideas
and want to discuss them, email Westminster College Honors director Richard
Badenhausen.
Proceeds will go to the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center to support the scholarship fund that assists families who
cannot afford tuition in Guadalupe's arts education program. A group of
Guadalupe youth dancers will also perform immediately before the auction!
Also, if
you haven't already committed to bringing a hoodie from your institution, now
is the time. Following the opening
party, students will gather for their own traditional opening night
party. Programs from around the country are encouraged to bring a hoodie
to donate for this raffle, which will allow students to purchase tickets for a
chance to win a piece of college wear from a fellow NCHC member institution.
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President's Column
The month of August signals a new academic year and new
challenges for Honors education. By its
very mission, Honors education requires a high degree of scholarly
creativity. What are the resources that
support such innovation and creativity?
Historically, student scholarship is engendered by faculty mentors;
reciprocally mentors are influenced by student questions and reactions.
Although many scholars thought of scientists such as
Albert Einstein as a solitary eccentric, this was really not the case. While Einstein was working on his first
theory of relativity, he often invited many friends to his home, where they
discussed physics, philosophy, and literature.
Einstein wanted to be a broad based scholar. He purposely gathered with a wide variety of
scholars, outside his discipline. He
engendered creativity from multiple perspectives.
The National Collegiate Honors Council serves as a unique
scholarly gathering with many disciplines represented. Our committees and boards are composed of a
wealth of experience and disciplinary backgrounds.
Whether electronic discussion or institutes, our
membership insists on high quality educational experiences. Our journals publish research that defines
the nature of honors education. Our
annual conference is an opportunity to gather best practices in Honors education. A strength of our organization is the
generosity with which members willingly share their model programs and
experiences.
As you approach the new academic year, the National
Collegiate Honors Council is ready to support your educational challenges. I wish you a very happy and productive New
Year in 2008-2009! ~ Hallie Savage
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Featured Committee
Teaching & Learning
The Teaching and Learning Committee's charge covers
the core of what Honors-and education itself-is all about. That makes all of us in NCHC at least
honorary, ex officio members of the committee.
The primary role of the committee in recent years
has been to sponsor one of the largest strands in the annual conference
program. Topics ranging from new
approaches to teaching to interesting new course designs regularly share space
in the Teaching and Learning Strand. At
the past several conferences, the committee itself has sponsored "invited"
panels, selecting topics and then seeking volunteers to present. This approach
has allowed us to exercise a little influence on discussion and, more
importantly, has helped us broaden participation at NCHC. If you don't have an established network of
NCHC colleagues, it can be difficult to get involved when so much of the
program is devoted to group presentations.
The committee also sponsors a recurring
session, the Student Fishbowl, in which students from a variety of institutions
talk candidly about their experiences in Honors. The Celebration of Teaching and Learning is
the strand's signature event, the format changing year by year.
The committee has also sponsored two
monographs in the NCHC monograph series.
The most recent was just released. Preliminary planning for the next monograph
will begin in San Antonio. The committee
is also exploring the development of a series of faculty institutes as a forum
for improvement and innovation in teaching and learning and, conceivably, a
vehicle for research in the future.
Current co-chairs of Teaching and
Learning are Jay Mandt (Wichita State University) and Alison Primoza (San Diego
Mesa College).
~ by Jay Mandt
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NCHC Student of the Year
Now Taking Nominations
 Nominations for the NCHC
Student of the Year Award are now being accepted by the Student Concerns
Committee. The NCHC Student of the Year Award is presented to one honors
student who has had an impact on his or her honors program and who has
participated in honors at the regional and/or national level (attending
and/or presenting at conferences, etc.).
The winner will be recognized during the 2008 NCHC Conference in San Antonio
and will receive a cash award.
This is the only NCHC award designed, judged, and presented by honors
students. Because the award will be judged by members of the NCHC Student
Concerns Committee, committee members are ineligible.
If there is an honors student currently in your program you would like to
nominate for this award, please have your student complete this form and submit a resume or
list of accomplishments, if available. You must also provide a letter in
support of your student's nomination that elaborates on why this student
should be chosen NCHC Student of the Year. Please nominate only one student
for this award.
Any questions or comments should be directed to Kathleen King.
The application deadline is Monday, September 29, 2008. We will be unable to
accept nominations after the deadline.
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Call for Portz Grant Applications
The NCHC Portz Fund Committee would
like to invite interested NCHC institutions and professional members to submit
an application for a Portz grant. These
grants are intended to support Honors program/college innovation and can be small,
up to $500, or large, up to $10,000.
To apply, submit the Portz Fund Grant Application Form and supporting narrative to Kate Bruce by September 15, 2008.
Applications that demonstrate clearly the way in which the proposed innovation
will be of benefit beyond the confines of the institution's own Honors
program/college are normally favored as are applications that demonstrate
commitment of the institution's own funds.
The narrative statement should
address the way in which a Portz Fund grant will help your Honors
program/college in terms of one or more of the Basic Characteristics of a
Fully-Developed Honors Program.
Portz Grant award recipients are expected to present the results of
their grants at an NCHC or regional honors conference.
For more information, please contact
Kate Bruce.
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Student Service Day
The National Collegiate Honors Council announces
Student
Service Day, Friday, October 17, 2008
Don't miss out! Get your Honors program
involved this fall.
Students from the
Honors Institute at Hillsborough Community College pulling weeds at an
orphanage, Everyday Blessings, for the NCHC Student Service Day in Spring 2008
Service Ideas Include:
-Yard clean-up for elderly or disabled
-Volunteer at local libraries, thrift stores, or soup kitchens
-Host a Halloween party for at-risk youth
-Elementary or middle school outreach
Mark your calendar for the Spring Student Service Day, too -- April 17,
2009
We want to know what you've done for your community. Email your service plans,
reports, and photos to the national office and we'll feature your program in
the next newsletter.
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Site Visitor Applications
NCHC Colleagues,
This is a reminder that the NCHC Assessment and Evaluation
committee will be reviewing applications of those who wish to be added to the
list of NCHC Recommended Site Visitors in order to be able to make a
recommendation to the NCHC Board of Directors for its action during the 2008
NCHC Conference in San Antonio.
REQUIRED
QUALIFICATIONS AND APPLICATION PROCEDURE:
An individual who is interested in becoming an NCHC recommended site
visitor must be a current institutional or individual professional member of
NCHC, been a member for the last five years, and must have attended thee out of
the last five national conferences (including the conference at which his or
her application is considered). The
individual also must have successfully completed an NCHC Institute for Site
Visitor Training. These Institutes
generally are offered every other year and have been held in Brooklyn (2000), Chicago (2002), Albuquerque (2004), Lincoln
(2006), and Portland, OR (2008).
To be considered, an applicant must submit an application form,
abbreviated curriculum vitae limited to Honors and assessment/evaluation
activities, the names and addresses of three relevant professional references
(at least two of whom are from institutions other than the applicant's own home
institution), and a one-page statement of the applicant's views on the role of
a site visitor.
To be considered this year, your application and required supporting documents must be received by the NCHC Headquarters Office by September 26, 2008.
If you have any questions about the qualifications or
process, please feel free to contact Rosalie Otero or Greg Lanier, co-chairs of the Assessment
& Evaluation Committee.
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Call for Papers
The National Collegiate Honors Council
Publications Board would like to encourage members to submit research essays on
any topic of interest to the honors community for the next issue of JNCHC
(deadline: September 1, 2008).
This issue will also include a Forum focused on the theme "Honors and
Academic Integrity." We invite essays of roughly a thousand words
that consider this theme in the context of your campus and/or a national
context. Should honors be honorable? Do honors programs and colleges have
a special mandate to ensure honesty and integrity? Do honors programs
experience unique problems related to academic integrity? Do honors
students labor under exceptional pressures that threaten academic
integrity? Should honors programs have honors codes that are distinct
from those of the institution? Is plagiarism more widespread now than it
was before the Internet? Is the concept of plagiarism becoming archaic in
the Internet Age? What are the implications of services like
Turnitin.com, which convey an inherent assumption that students are
cheaters? What impacts have plagiarism and attempts to detect it had on
teaching and learning in honors?
The JNCHC editorial policy, publication guidelines, and list of editorial
policy, publication guidelines and list of editorial board members are
available on the NCHC website.
Submissions should be emailed to Ada Long.
The Publications Board is also interested in receiving manuscripts on diverse topics
in honors education and urges people with expertise interested in writing such
a monograph to submit a prospectus.
Prospective authors should submit a proposal discussing the purpose or scope of
the manuscript, a prospectus that includes a chapter by chapter summary, and a
curriculum vitae.
Direct all inquiries, proposals, and manuscripts to the General Editor of the
Monograph Series:
Dr. Jeff Portnoy
General Editor, Monograph Series
Honors Program
Georgia Perimeter College
555 N. Indian Creek Drive
Clarkston, GA 30021
(678) 891-3620
All monograph proposals will be reviewed by the NCHC Publications Board. A
committee of the Publications Board will review all completed manuscripts and
forward recommendations concerning the publication to the Publications
Board.
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2008 Board of Directors
President
Hallie Savage, Clarion University of Pennsylvania
President Elect
Lydia Lyons, Hillsborough Community College
Past President
Kate Bruce, University of North Carolina Wilmington
Vice President
John Zubizarreta, Columbia College
Secretary
Bonnie Irwin, Eastern Illinois University
Treasurer
Rolland W. Pack, Freed-Hardeman
Annmarie Guzy, University of South Alabama
Greg Lanier, University of West Florida
*Will Lee, Texas A&M University
Kathy A. Lyon, Winthrop University
Jay Mandt, Wichita State University
*Shane Miller, West Virginia University
Deborah Craig, Kent State University
*Roxanne Moralez, Texas State University-San Marcos
Patrice Berger, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Rosalie Otero, University of New Mexico
*Sara Brady, Hillsborough Community College
Ruth Randall, Johnson County Community College
John Britt, Lee College-Texas
James Ruebel, Ball State University
*Hesham Elnagar, Northern Arizona University
Richard I. Scott, University of Central Arkansas
*Sarah Fann, University of North Carolina-Wilmington
Bob Spurrier, Oklahoma State University
*Student Member
Summer 2008 Board Meeting
NCHC Staff
Cindy Hill, Executive Director (402) 472-9155
Carolee Martin-Brink (402) 472-9150
Judy Smith (402) 472-9150
Trish Souliere (402) 472-9172
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