NCHC Fellows

NCHC Fellows are distinguished individuals who have given substantial time and energy to furthering the cause of honors education. Their years of dedication and leadership, paired with recognition on their home campus for outstanding honors teaching, make them invaluable sources of knowledge in the honors community.

NCHC members are invited to nominate those who have made a national impact on the honors community for distinction as an NCHC Fellow.

This award recognizes our honors colleagues who demonstrate a long-term commitment to honors education at their home institutions and leadership with the National Collegiate Honors Council. Significant state and regional honors involvement is also taken into consideration.

Factors considered for nomination include:

• NCHC, regional, and/or state honors organization leadership
• Scholarly activities relating to honors education
• NCHC, regional, and/or state honors special events, institutes, etc.
• Recognition for outstanding honors teaching on the home campus
• Assistance provided to other honors programs/colleges (site visits, consulting, etc.)
• Demonstrated record of sustained commitment to honors education

Nominated candidates for the Fellows distinction must have the support of three letters from current NCHC professional, student, or institutional members, only one of whom may be from the same institution as the candidate.

NCHC is proud to recognize honors educators who have a significant record of commitment and service to the honors community.

2023 Class of Fellows

Suketu Bhavsar

Caly Poly Pomona

What is your favorite NCHC memory?

"In my first couple of years; the warm and inviting way individuals in NCHC leadership welcomed me, an unknown and very new to honors, in their gatherings."

What do you consider to be your greatest professional achievement?

"As an Astrophysicist, my contributions to quantifying the Large Scale Structure of the Universe. In Honors, the many students who tell me that my mentoring changed their lives."

Jim Buss

Ball State University

What is your favorite NCHC memory?

"For me, NCHC has always been about the community of honors practitioners and the long-standing friendships that this community has afforded me. Thus, my favorite memories (and there are many) involve spending time with honors friends at conference, workshops, and committee and board meetings. They also include memories of caravanning students from my home campuses to NCHC and witnessing their sheer joy at being in company with so many other honors students from across the globe.

If I had to pick one memory from these experiences, however, it would be the year that our university brought the two student editors of the campus honors newsletter to NCHC in Denver. Convinced that we were not in competition for any awards, and at the request of one of the newsletter's editor who desperately wanted to visit the "Unsinkable" Molly Brown home, the three of us struck off for the Molly Brown museum shortly before the awards ceremony. As we stood in line to visit the home, I received a text from an NCHC colleague that those students would be receiving an award. Thus, we hopped out of line and ran ten blocks or so from the museum to the hotel. We were a sweaty mess by the time we arrived, but the students were thrilled to receive the award and proud to bring home to our campus. I still keep in touch with one of those former students who still reminds me that I owe her a ticket to the Molly Brown house.

This memory sticks out for several reasons. First, for many students who attend conference, it is a signature experience and a lifelong memory. Nearly a decade later, and one alumni still remembers the sprint to accept her award. Second, for practitioners in the honors community, this is truly a large, yet intimate community. The person who texted me about the award somehow realized that I wasn't in attendance at the awards ceremony (the only time I've skipped in more than a decade). I've been active in my disciplinary organizations for two decades and have never felt the level of acceptance and belonging as I do with my colleagues in NCHC; they are family. I think that is why so many of us consider NCHC home."

What do you consider to be your greatest professional achievement?

"The work toward developing the NCHC Shared Principles and Practices of Honors Education certainly sticks out as a highlight in my professional career, because the process involved many individuals from a diverse range of honors programs and colleges across the country. That diversity in thought and application of honors taught me so much about the larger honors community. I also think that the broad range of viewpoints, which included different types of honors programs and colleges, as well as people involved in honors--director and deans, faculty, staff, students, etc.--resulted in a document that reflects the vast experiences for those of us involved in honors education around the globe. It was a long, deliberate process, but one that turned out to be incredibly rewarding. I truly hope that it aids the honors community for many years to come."

Steven C. Edwards

Delgado Community College

What is your favorite NCHC memory?

"I have enjoyed all of my NCHC conference and committee experiences. My favorite memory relates to my work with the Arts Master Classes. At my first NCHC conference - years ago - I wandered into a room because I heard music (I didn't know NCHC had master classes, at that point). I was not only welcomed, but put to work and immediately recruited to help plan the next year's conference. In a process that resembled becoming the Dread Pirate Roberts in The Princess Bride, I ended up as coordinator, and have thoroughly enjoyed working with my NCHC arts colleagues and, especially, encouraging our incredibly talented students."

What do you consider to be your greatest professional achievement?

"My greatest professional achievement is surviving being denied tenure and continuing my academic, professional, and personal life."

Beata M. Jones

Texas Christian University

What is your favorite NCHC memory?

"In 2014, amidst the NCHC National Conference, fate granted me the opportunity to meet Marca Wolfensberger from Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen, the Netherlands. Marca and I discovered an instant connection, that led to a friendship rooted in our shared professional passions.

Over the course of a decade, our bond lead us on a journey filled with honors, other fantastic honors colleagues and mentors, such as John Zubizarreta, honors adventures, and countless lessons. Together, we embraced new horizons, seized every chance to learn, and celebrated a tapestry of achievements.

As I reflect on that serendipitous encounter, gratitude fills my heart for the transformative friendship we forged amidst the NCHC's embrace."

What do you consider to be your greatest professional achievement?

"In 2005, I had the privilege of helping to establish and consequently lead for seven years a unique business honors program at the Neeley School of Business, Texas Christian University. Named Neeley Fellows, this initiative became a sanctuary for aspiring business leaders, where dreams took flight and innovation knew no boundaries. Witnessing its continued success in 2023 fills my heart with immense pride. Neeley Fellows has left an indelible mark on the lives of countless students, igniting their curiosity and fueling their ambitions. Its legacy stands tall as a testament to the power of passion and perseverance, as each participant evolves into a leader, innovator, and change-maker. The story of Neeley Fellows represents the transformative potential that resides within us all and reminds us of the profound impact we can make on the world."

David Jones

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

What is your favorite NCHC memory?

"I have so many wonderful memories of NCHC conferences that it is extremely hard to pick one! But I will have to pick the 2018 NCHC conference in Boston. I arranged for our honors office manager to attend with me, Ms. Pam Golden, who did so many things to make the program successful despite not having opportunities to travel. We had a reunion dinner with the four honors staff from the early 2010s at UW-Eau Claire: Jeff Vahlbusch, Ivy Gerbis, Pam and me. We were also joined by a colleague I had just met from Illinois, who happened to be a friend of Ivy's from high school! I don't remember the cuisine from that dinner, but I sure do remember how enjoyable it was to be surrounded by beloved colleagues!

There are also so many great memories from working with colleagues from the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, the NCHC Board, the many folks who developed honors monographs, the national staff... I am truly blessed and humbled at the amazing interactions with so many dedicated and talented colleagues in honors."

What do you consider to be your greatest professional achievement?

"I'm especially proud of my role in helping to integrate diversity and inclusion as constructs and practices in honors education. I was a co-author of the NCHC's first official statement affirming the importance of diversity and inclusion. Through NCHC, I have widely shared the lessons learned from the successful implementation of holistic admissions and a more diverse curriculum at UW- Eau Claire. It is deeply encouraging to see that the honors community is widely engaged now in the pursuit of inclusive excellence. Even as we face unjustified backlash against critical race theory and holistic admissions, the previous work we have done leaves us better prepared to articulate the case for inclusive education in honors."

Jonathan Kotinek

Texas A&M University

What is your favorite NCHC memory?

"There are so many great NCHC memories! Some top memories include working with my Diversity co-chairs Lisa Coleman and Alan Oda on our monographs and Diversity Forum, working with Betsy Yarrison and Annemarie Guzy on the Education of the Gifted SIG, serving on the Board, and renewing friendships each year at conference. Having the opportunity to tag along to Pub Board dinners is one of the top, too!

Perhaps the most impactful was the roundtable discussion that Joan Digby and I hosted at the 2010 conference, "Defining Honors: Distilling Meaning from a Chorus of Voices" since that conversation has continued to shape the way that I work in honors both at my institution and in various professional connections."

What do you consider to be your greatest professional achievement?

"The things that I think of in terms of professional achievement--the diversity monographs, the definition of honors education, and, more recently, the Justice Challenge USDA grant--have all been collective efforts that I have been grateful to be associated with. In that sense, I think my greatest professional achievement has been to develop and expand a fabulous professional network that has, in turn, provided me with opportunities to contribute to the field of honors education."

2023 NCHC Fellows Nominations

Nominations will be accepted February 1 - March 15, 2023.

Please use the form below, or at this link.