SAU Honors College

The SAU Honors College was founded in 2003 by Dr. David Rankin, president of SAU. Dr. Lynne Belcher served as founding director and recently retired from SAU. The Honors College seeks and admits qualified students who seek to pursue a serious academic program with equally gifted peers and committed teachers. Honors classes are small and provide academically enriching opportunities for students and the faculty who teach them. Currently, SAU enrolls nearly 170 honors students and graduates about 66% of admitees in four years or less. Anyone interested in applying to the Honors College or seeking further information should contact the director, Dr. Edward P. Kardas at epkardas@saumag.edu or at 870 904-8897.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Our New Poster




Check out our new poster designed by Inna Bagaeva. It uses a Peter Max theme to promote the SAU Honors College. Soon the campus will be plastered with them. We will also send them to high school counselors in the four-state area.

SRHC 2011

The Southern Region Honors Conference (SRHC) will be held in Arkansas I just heard. That's good news for us. So, start putting the finishing touches on any work you are conducting so that you may present it at SRHC this Spring.

Don't know the details of where and when yet. UCA's Rick Scott is hosting the conference. As soon as I hear anything more from him, I'll pass it along.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Thanks! Ivan Smith


Here is a picture of one of the two chairs Ivan Smith Furniture of Magnolia recently donated to the SAU Honors College. The chairs and a cocktail table will go into the Honors College office. Thanks Marty.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Honors College Report July 12, 2010

It's hard to believe that a year has passed since I became director. Where did the time go?

David Wingfield and I are devoting most of our time and energy these days in recruiting the class of 2014. We have admitted 34 students thus far and expect to admit a few more before the Fall semester begins. We expect to crack the 100 student barrier this year in terms of our total enrollment. Our long-term goal is to enroll around 150 honors students. David and I have been busy at BAM! (Be a Mulerider) and have used those opportunities to recruit students and talk to parents. Thanks to one of the Russian students, Honors College now has a large pop up banner to use at BAM! and at other recruiting functions. It, along with a new table cloth and runner, will make our recruiting efforts look more professional.

One of our new honors students is a non-trad and a veteran. A native Magnolian, he comes to us via the Army where he was a bomb disposal technician. In Iraq, he was responsible for defusing or detonating safely hundreds of improvised explosive devices. Hopefully, there will be no call for his services here. Honors College hopes to admit more qualified non trad students in the future.

Honors College has acquired some new equipment. We now have our own fax machine. The number is 870 235-4252. We also bought a scanner, but it has yet to be delivered. It will allow us to input graphic images ourselves and to become more self sufficient in creating our own publications.

Honors College is moving down the corridor in Peace Hall, from room 107 to room 129. That's the old conference room. The Behavioral and Social Sciences department has outgrown the room so they let us have it. It's a little larger than our old room and it has a window. We are hoping to get some comfy furniture donated to create a corner nook for chatting with prospective students and their parents. Honors College is still looking for permanent office space though.

Remember our upcoming events: Matriculation is August 29 at 2 p.m. in Reynolds. We will host a pool party at the Magnolia Country Club on August 30 welcoming the new freshman class. That event will be catered by Mule's Cantina.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Upcoming Events, Early Fall 2010-SAU Honors College

REVISED AUGUST 12, 2010. BECAUSE OF THE EXTREME COST OF RENTING A LARGE BUS CAPABLE OF CARRYING 50 PASSENGERS THE TRIP TO FT. WORTH WILL NOW BE LIMITED TO 22 STUDENTS. WE WILL TAKE A SMALLER SAU BUS INSTEAD.

We will publish the mechanism by which you may subscribe to the trip in a few weeks. The subscription process will be done online and will be announced well ahead of time, online, in classes, and on bulletin boards. EVERYONE WITH INTERNET ACCESS WILL HAVE AN EQUAL CHANCE OF GETTING A SEAT. IT WILL, HOWEVER, BE FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE.

Here is a reminder of upcoming events planned for the early part of the Fall 2010 semester.

August 29, 2010 at 2 p.m. in Donald W. Reynold's Campus and Community Center Foundation Hall:
2010 Honors College Matriculation Ceremony
That ceremony will be followed by a reception in the Grand Hall.

August 30, 2010 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Magnolia Country Club:
Swim Party and Cook-out to welcome new freshman honors class
The SAU bus will provide transportation to and from for those who need it.
Mule's Cantina will cater (hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, plus drinks and dessert)

September 11, 2010 (all day) Art and Cultural Trip to Ft. Worth (limited to 50, first come-first serve). Box lunch included, dinner will be fast food on way home (at your expense). Possible stops include:

Watch this blog for further information.