The SAU Honors College was founded by Dr. Rankin in 2003.
Dr. Lynne Belcher served as founding director until 2009. Mr. David Wingfield,
the current assistant director, has been with the Honors College since its
founding. I have been the director since July 2009.
Mission
The
mission of the Southern Arkansas University Honors College is to encourage
intellectual and academic growth of the university community by giving
academically prepared students the opportunity to pursue challenging and
stimulating academic experiences.
The mission of the Honors College is best understood by
looking at several interlocking components, all of which point to increased
academic excellence. Those include: academic
rigor, extramural travel and internships,
closer contact with faculty, a sense of academic
community, and an external advisory
board. We are meeting our mission, I believe.
Facts and Figures
Honors students must maintain a 3.25 GPA in order to remain enrolled in the HC. They must enroll in
a minimum of 24 hours of honors level
courses. The current GPA of the 184 students in the HC is 3.64. Nearly all will graduate in four years or less. Except
for the engineers, most will pursue
graduate or professional education. We admit around 60 students each year
and graduate nearly 30 each year. The vast majority of those who fail to remain
the HC still graduate from SAU.
National and Regional Honors
Councils
The HC is a member of the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) and the Southern Regional Honors Council
(SRHC). Both meet annually and serve as places to disseminate student and
faculty research and scholarship. The NCHC sets standards and practices for
honors education and conducts research on honors. I have attended all of their
meetings since 2009 and have taken students with me when their work is on the
program. In 2016 I will take six
students with me to their meeting in Seattle. Wingfield and I will present
data on our students' "bucket lists." The students will present
posters on their research. When I first became director I attended the NCHC's
workshop for new directors held that year in Ames, IA.
Specifics
SAU honors students receive an additional stipend. They also receive priority in registration. They may live in the Honors Hall if they choose, depending upon
availability. The HC established 2+2 programs with COTO, SAU Tech, and SACC.
That was done to allow transfer students the opportunity to earn a degree from
the HC. Some of this year's graduates will: pursue research in Antarctica, attend
pharmacy school, engage in grad study in plant pathology and marine
parasitology. Thanks to recent generous anonymous donations, SAU students have
bee able to travel more. Honors students have taken advantage and traveled to Greece, Italy, and Cuba.
Call us: David Wingfield 870
235 4375 or Ed Kardas 870 235 4231
E-mail us at:
dlwingfield@saumag.edu or epkardas@saumag.edu
Web: https://web.saumag.edu/honors Blog: http://sauhc.blogspot.com
