2011-prime year. You may have seen our 2011 poster. It has
hidden meanings if you think about numbers. You see 2011 was a prime number. In
the background, the poster displays prime numbers. Each honors student is like
a prime number, unique.
4-staff members. First among them is David Wingfield who is
responsible for all of the nitty-gritty details surrounding Honors College.
Right now he's probably fretting that he forgot something. David, please stand
so we can recognize you. Second is Suraj Manandhar, our graduate assistant.
Suraj is our computer whiz and is the author of the SAU Map apps available at
the Apple Store. Those apps work on the iPad and the iPhone. He'll report on
that work at the NCHC in November. Third is our student worker, Lilli
Hollensworth. She could not attend tonight; she's home studying for exams.
She's the one who has to do the jobs no one else wants. Last but not least is
Inna Bagaeva, our official photographer. Smile when she points her camera at
you. Inna, where are you? Please take a bow.
27-faculty. Honors College would not work without the
support of our faculty. This year 27 faculty members taught honors courses. We
don't pay our faculty anything extra to teach honors classes (but we do try to
provide them with funds to purchase materials they may need or to pay for
travel). So, they contribute their time and energy freely in order to help the
Honors College and its students succeed. So, please stand if you have ever
taught an honors class so we may recognize you.
18-graduates. This number is a record and includes 2
graduating in 3 years! You students are the reason we are here. While we hate
to see you leave we know that you must. But remember you are always welcome
here at SAU. Please stand up so we can recognize you as a group one final time.
7,000,000,000 people. And counting! While I consider this gathering
to be a large one, I am baffled to think how many more people there are in the
world. Yet, Honors College has a large international contingent representing,
in part, a few of those others not in this room. We have honors students from
students Nepal, China, Malaysia, Bulgaria, Kenya, Korea, and Sri Lanka.
20-International Students. Our 20 international students contribute so
much more to our program than they realize. They demonstrate perseverance,
fortitude, and desire. Put yourself in their place. Imagine traveling over 20
hours just to get here, not seeing parents and loved one for over four years or
longer, being a stranger in a strange place. Let's give them a big hand.
117-US Students. The rest of our students come mostly from
Arkansas and Texas with a few from Oklahoma, Louisiana, and other states. We
are proud to serve our home state and welcome those from any other state in the
Union who wish to come to Southern Arkansas University. Let's honor all of our students
from the States.
1-Returning Students. I know there is at least one Honors College
graduate with us tonight. Please help me welcome Martin Hawron. Very soon he'll
begin work on a graduate degree in mechanical engineering at the University of
Connecticut. He'll also serve as a teaching and research assistant there. Also,
if there are any other Honors College graduates here tonight, please stand up
now so we may recognize you.
13-Honors Council members. The SAU Honors Council is composed of community
leaders from the region. They all serve voluntarily and contribute freely of
their time and treasure. Among their many contributions is spreading the word
about the Honors College and serving as role models for our students. I'd like
to send get well wishes to Harold Fincher, our first council member. He's
recovering from surgery in Searcy. Let's give him and the rest of them a hand
for all they do for the Honors College.
60-places in Honors Seminar
class. That number includes
first year students and current students. We also reserve a number of places
out of that 60 for international students because they cannot arrive until near
the beginning of the school year. Please stand if you were enrolled in Honors
Seminar this year.
100-price to sponsor a table. Look at the name on the card at your table.
Each one represents a donor who contributed $100 to sponsor your table. Many of
them could not be here tonight, but for those who are here will you please
stand so we may recognize you. Also, you will notice that each table also has a
number of SAU Foundation contribution envelopes already pre-marked for
donations to the Honors College. We all know the current economic situation and
how SAU and other institutions have had to tighten their belts. Not to be
crass, but one of my jobs is to raise money for the Honors College to support
its mission. Please consider taking an envelope home and later returning it
with your contribution.
3-students going off campus. You might ask what does Honors College need
the money for. Here is one answer. We have 3 students traveling to other places
in order to further their education. One student, Chris Harris, will spend the
summer in Washington, DC. Chris is a political science major. His internship
will give him invaluable experience towards his eventual career goals. Deana
Hughes, a biology major, will spend the fall semester at Northern Arizona
University's Grand Canyon Honors Semester program. You should see some of the
items she is required to bring: wool socks, down vest, sleeping bag, LED
headlamp, and biodegradable soap. She also plans to bring a t-shirt that says
"I really am a mulerider." That will be apt when it comes time to
descend to the canyon floor on muleback. Alex Novotny, a theatre major, will spend the
fall semester at Disneyworld in Orlando. There he will have the opportunity to
practice his craft while taking courses as well. In case you were wondering all
of this costs money and the three students have raised most of it on their own.
The Honors College has helped connect them to donors and will provide
additional funds for them as well. Let's recognize these three for their
initiative. First, Deana Hughes. Now, Chris Harris. And finally, Alex Novotny.
15,000-NASA Grant. Speaking of money, four students Courtney
Phillips, Hali Pinson, Michelle Beavers, and Zachary Pinson will be the
beneficiaries of a NASA grant from the Arkansas Space Science Consortium. This
grant was initiated by SAU faculty member and Honors College professor Dr.
Abdel Bachri. The grant will support research on female and male undergraduate
engineering students in the state of Arkansas. The research idea came from
Courtney Phillips based upon earlier data showing that female engineers leave
the profession at a higher rate than males. We want to understand how
undergraduate women engineering students see their job prospects while they are
still in college. Now, I'd like to introduce Courtney Phillips, Hali Pinson,
Michelle Beavers, and Zachary Pinson. I'd also like to introduce Dr. Abdel
Bachri who has done way more than his share of the work necessary for SAU to
secure this grant.
63-iPads. You may have heard of our iPad initiative. We
will repeat it for everyone enrolled in Honors Seminar in 2012. Yes, we will be
getting the new iPads. The end of class survey we conducted demonstrated very
high levels of satisfaction. Just so you will know, two were broken but thanks
to our insurance policy were replaced for a $50 deductible. Two were lost, for
a little while, but were soon returned. This program, by the way, is paid for
by the students themselves. Students in Honors Seminar forgo their usual
stipend for their first year here in order for us to purchase iPads.
200-Our new quarters. Soon, we will have a new address 200 Nelson
Hall. It represents a major milestone in our program. One of the rooms will be
the new Honors Lounge. It will have cable TV, computers, hot and cold drinks,
snacks, and more. We see it as the honors students' campus dayroom, a place
they can drop in for a few minutes or an hour or two in between classes. That
way they don't have to trek back to the Honors Hall during the day.
90-Miles to Cuba from Key West. In the Spring of 2013 we hope to take a
contingent of honors students and faculty to Cuba. We are working for corporate
sponsorships and will engage in major fundraising for that trip. Eventually, we
hope to establish a working relationship with a Cuban university to promote
exchange programs in both directions. Yes, it's true that I tweeted Fidel
Castro recently.
1-Lucky Me. One is not the loneliest number. One is the
last number tonight and it represents me. I have to tell you I love what I am
doing. It is a lot of work but it does not seem like work. Working with honors
students is a pleasure, as any other faculty member knows. Walking into an
honors classroom is different. Suddenly, I'm in front of 20 or so eager faces unafraid
to ask questions or to demand answers. Teaching honors students really is its
own reward.
As I have said before, the Honors
College has a wonderful relationship with the SAU administration. Everyone
there has supported the iPad initiative, the move to Nelson Hall, and sending
students to internships. I'm positive our synergistic relationship will
continue. Honors College adds much to SAU and SAU makes Honors College
possible.
Honors faculty also deserve a great
deal of credit to the success of the Honors College. Without them there would
be no Honors College.
Finally, I don't do anything alone.
I don't have to. I'm surrounded by competent and willing people. All of them
have the best interests of the Honors College at heart. They make my job easy.
Thanks to all of you for allowing me
such an easy life. I don't really know what I have done to deserve it and I'm
not going to question it either. Congratulations once again to our graduates. I
hope you have enjoyed your brief stay here and will always look back fondly at
your time here. Thank you parents too. Your helicopter fleet is minimal and is
usually grounded. Thank you for lending us your children for a few short years.
Now it's time for the real reason we
are here. The door prizes! For that I'll turn the microphone and the podium
over to the HCA, the Honors College Association. I hope my number wins
something too.
