Dear Students, Alumni, and Friends,
There have been a number of changes around the Honors and Scholars offices. Accordingly, I thought this would be a good time to update you on where we are and where we’re headed. First, please join me in welcoming Dr. Virginia Stormer to our staff. She joined us in July, becoming the full-time advisor for first-year Chancellor’s Honors Program students. She recently completed her PhD in English literature at UT, and she served as a graduate assistant on Tom Heffernan’s honors study abroad program in Cambridge, UK. We are delighted to welcome her to our team.
In related news, Dr. Kristina Cantin has assumed direct responsibility for creating and administering a research program for all honors students. She works with students, faculty, and UT’s Office of Undergraduate Research to assist students in all aspects of their research, from finding a faculty mentor to negotiating the IRB process to identifying resources for attending conferences and presenting results. In addition to these duties, she also provides advising to continuing students in the CHP.
The next year and a half will see additional changes in our staff and programming. We recently received funding from the Office of the Provost to launch two new honors programs: (1) a yet-to-be-named honors leadership program; and (2) a new scholars program, tentatively named the 1794 Scholars Program in honor of the founding year of the University of Tennessee. This will bring us to a total of four honors and scholars programs, each with a unique focus and aimed at specific types of students.
Creating these programs will allow us to better serve the diversity of talented students at UT and increase the total number of students we serve, bringing us closer in enrollment to our peers. Both new programs are scheduled to launch in the fall 2017 semester.
The leadership program is designed for students interested in learning about and engaging in leadership, both on campus and in the community. Students in the program will earn a minor in leadership studies from the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and engage in unique service and leadership opportunities. They will receive university scholarships and be eligible to participate in the program’s living and learning community.
The 1794 Scholars Program will be a two-year program focused on preparing students for entry into the CHP, college-based honors programs, or both. Participants will share a unique living and learning community, enroll in special sections of the first-year honors seminar class, have access to CHP classes, and be eligible for scholarship funding.
That, in a nutshell, is where we are and where we are going—at least in the short term. As always, we welcome your questions about our programs and the special opportunities we offer UT’s most academically talented students.
Dr. Timothy Hulsey
Associate Provost, Office of Honors & Scholars Programs