Honors College Report

Honors College Report

6 October 2017

Personnel:

• Director Kardas, Assistant Director Wingfield, GAs Amgain & Edeniyl, Student Worker Nash.

Travel:

• Three honors students and Director Kardas will travel to Atlanta in November to make presentations at National Collegiate Honors Council meeting.
• Six SAU personnel: Dr. Berry, Dr. Wang, Mr. Ochs, Dr. Kardas and honors students will visit Havana in February to make presentations at Universidad 2018 meeting. Students will receive partial financial support from the SAU Foundation for both trips.
• Dr. Kardas led a trip to Paris in May 2017 with several SAU students (honors and regular) and community members.
• AGRI honors student Laura Nash visited Cameroon this past summer with three other students and the Boumpjes.
• Gabrielle Davis attended the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience Program at Arkansas State University (ASU) Office of Diversity.
• Taylor McNeel spent nine weeks in Mexico teaching youth (in Spanish!).
• Drs. Paulson and Bryant are recruiting for a trip to China in 2018.

Students:

• This year's entering class was the largest ever (N = 65)
• The May graduating class was the largest ever (N = 32)
• The current Honors College enrollment is the highest ever (N = 168)
• Honors students will register early for courses in the Spring and Summer semesters during the last full week in October. Kardas and Wingfield will meet individually with each student to enter their schedule into POISE.

Honors Events

• Faculty and students from Appalachian State University and SAU will present accounts of their visits to Cuba.
• Dr. Kardas served as host to Rector Carlos Eduardo Suarez Ponciano in August. They visited both SAU farms, Magnolia Hospital, Southern Aluminum, the Chamber of Commerce, and Mayor Parnell Vann.
• GA Amgain will soon activate new Linux hardware for domain: kardas.saumag.edu. That server contains archived Honors College material and runs original routines that aid in honors administration.

Freshman Steak Dinner 2017

Seen at the Freshman Steak Dinner

2017 Entering Class

We welcome our largest class ever. SAU is growing and so is the Honors College

Nash Visits Cameroon

Laura Nash

We had adventures trying to retrieve our money transfers from the banks. The roads were very rough and had seemingly chaotic drivers everywhere. I had the pleasure of tasting some foods outside of my comfort zone: pangolin, porcupine, and goat!

I visited a small scale and a large-scale palm tree plantation and observed their different practices. I visited a research facility which had 5 different departments of study. The entomology sector had over 10,000 insects native to Cameroon encased. All soil testing for Cameroon, and several other parts of the continent, occurs at the IRAD facility.

At the rubber tree plantation, Hevecam, we observed the entire process from seeding to shipment all in one place. They were an Indian owned company whose practices were very good for sustainability. They had 33 schools on their land and housing for employees and much more. I also visited the Cameroon Department of Agriculture, where we learned their objectives and goals for their country as well as how to achieve they plan to achieve them. I traveled to 2 villages to pass out medical supplies and school supplies.

My group also paid for workers to come and fix the wells so that the people had easier access to cleaner water. I took my baths with boiled water mixed in another bucket that had cold water. I visited the ocean in Kribi for a night and it was beautiful! I sang and danced with the locals and just got a true experience of their culture. It was such an amazing trip and I would love the opportunity to go again!

Meet the Honors College Staff

1. From L to R David Wingfield, assistant director; Laura Nash, student worker; Bosede Edeniyi, graduate assistant; Ishwor Amgain, graduate assistant.

The crack SAU Honors College staff pauses briefly to pose for a picture prior to the 2017 Matriculation Ceremony.

David Wingfield has been with the Honors College since Day 1 and is the glue that holds the ship together. He can solve nearly any problem.

Laura Nash is in her second year as our student worker and has already traveled to Cuba and to Cameroon in pursuing her studies in agriculture and accounting.

Bosede Edeniyi is our newest staff member having joined us in summer 2017. She's from Nigeria and is studying Clinical Mental Health Counseling.

Ishwor Amgain is from Nepal and is our technical guru. He handles all of our Web-based efforts and much more.

Davis attends Summer Undergraduate Experience Program

Gabrielle Davis

Honors student Gabrielle Davis attended The Summer Undergraduate Research Experience Program at Arkansas State University (ASU) Office of Diversity this summer.

The goal of the intensive four-week program is to prepare students to flourish in graduate school. Davis had to write a 20-page paper as part of the program. She chose, African American Underrepresentation in the 115th Congress as her paper topic. Dr. Veena Kulkarni of ASU served as her mentor for the paper.

See her Prezi presentation HERE

The programs covered lots of intellectual bases: law enforcement, social work, financial management, professional development, and photography. The group also traveled to the National Civil Rights Museum housed at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis (the site where Dr. King was assasinated).

Davis reported a greater sense of academic purpose and potential for future accomplishment following the program. She now feels that she will succeed (as if there were any doubt!) when she attends graduate school in Business Administration.

She also got to meet former SAU psychology faculty member Dr. Loretta McGregor who currently teaches at ASU.

SAU at Versailles

As you can see, I did not take this picture, our guide did. I wonder how she got my iPhone to work better for her?

The weather held for us again today. We spent nearly three hours touring parts of Versailles, Louis XIV's "hunting lodge."

After we looked at the famous gardens behind the building (I rented a golf cart, btw). Hard to believe that the French kings lived such lives while their subjects suffered poverty, poor health, and early death.

We'll be home Monday and are not looking forward to that 8.5 hour flight. At least we'll be flying west so we'll gain some of that time back.

Zoave of the Seine

 Historic Flood Levels on the Seine

The Zoave today

On our boat ride today we learned about the Zoave (type of French soldier) that stands near Pont de l'Alma bridge. Many worry that the Seine will flood more often and more hazardly than in the past because of global warming.

Insane on the Seine

I could not take the picture from the bow, not enough room! We're in front of Paris' oldest bridge, the Pont Neuf (the New Bridge), new back in the day, but the oldest now.

So here are two pictures of our group getting ready for Seine River cruise.

Woo Pig! Louvre

When our kids were little and when we were returning to Arkansas, we often played a game. It involved finding the first Arkansas Razorback sign, bumper sticker, or decal. As you might imagine, those become rare once out of the Natural State.

Well, I won the prize on this trip. The Razorback pictured is in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Allez les cochons! (Go pigs in French...)

SAU at Arc de Triomphe

No way to cross THIS street. It would be like the old FROGGER game and you remember how that turns out for the frog.

There is a pedestrian tunnel, btw.

SAU at Eiffel Tower

The weather in Paris has cooperated with us. Today we saw the Eiffel Tower. It's a must see!

SAU Students Visit Cluny Monastery in Paris

SAU students take a break in Paris yesterday while visiting the Cluny Monastery

Liberal and Performing Arts and College of Education Graduate Six

Liberal and Performing Arts and College of Education Honors College Graduates

The College of Education graduated:

Jordan Sandlin.

Liberal and Performing Arts graduated:

Kayla O'Neal
Kenneth Burton
Jessica Huffman
Delora Everett
Jessica Williams

Congratulations!

Science and Engineering Graduates 19

May 2017 Science and Engineering Honors College Graduates

The College of Science and Engineering graduated 19 Honors College students on 5 May 2017. They are:

Michael Reed
Karleigh Reed
Caroline Armstrong
Heather Deaton
Laetitia Dissou
Manisha GC
Cameron Leach
Kara O'Neal
William Connelley
Lindsey Wood
Melissa Chandler
Brishna Hedstrom
Emily Snyder
Taylyn Wilson
Ceesay Fofana
Zachary Hardy
Josh Corbitt
Emily Lock
Taylor Burdick

Congratulations!

College of Business Graduates Eight

Spring 2017 College of Business Honors College Graduates

Eight honors students graduated from the College of Business on Friday 5 May 2017. They were:

James Blann
Patricia Collier
Amy Davis
Austin Taylor (not pictured)
Joseph Atchison (not pictured)
Haley Cordero
Emily Gill
Kiley Corbit

Congratulations!

Chukwu Graduates

Chikaodiri (Nancy) Chukwu, BSN Nursing 2017

Congratulations to Nancy Chukwu upon receiving her BSN today! Best of luck in the future and to your future plans in medicine.

Bassett Wins Physics Award

SAU's Hallman Scholarship winner and honors student Calla Bassett receiving award.

Calla Bassett won the only award given for physics (1st Place) at the recent meeting of the Arkansas Academy of Science held at UCA in Conway, AR. Her paper reported on radiation research performed with her adviser, Dr. Abdel Bachri at UAMS. Way to go Calla!

Casey O'Hara Going South

SAU Honors grad Casey O'Hara is on her way to Antarctica. Can't get much more South than that. She's on her way to conduct graduate school research.

Stay warm Casey!

Southern Arkansas and Appalachian State Travel to Cuba

The following document was submitted today for consideration in the 2017 NCHC Program. That meeting will be held in Atlanta in November.

Submitted to NCHC Meeting in Atlanta, November 2017

Title

Cuba and Honors: Two Colleges Experience International Education

Authors

Edward Kardas, Southern Arkansas University

Joseph Gonzalez, Appalachian State University

Laura Nash, Southern Arkansas University

Paige Anderholm, Appalachian State University

Kenyon Jeffrey, Appalachian State University

Abstract

Two professors and three students from two schools describe their experiences in traveling to Cuba. For SAU, traveling to Cuba required two week-long preparatory visits, attendance at an international conference in Havana, two 8-day tours with students, personal contact with Cuban officials, and overcoming much red tape. Speaking and writing Spanish well were important in many ways to ultimately getting permission to visit and to work with Cuban faculty and students for a week on their campus. The result was the creation of a large mural on their campus. The student from SAU traveled there during the third trip visiting several cities on the island. The short time spent there felt like several weeks, she said. She found Cuba beautiful, clear, and clean and noted that Cubans scrimped and saved for their cars, farms, and daily lives. She was struck on how much the Embargo had slowed progress. She wishes to return to continue learning about the unique experiences Cuba has to offer. ASU's visits were part of a course on Cuban culture (including music and dance). The first trip showed mixed results in that students treated it more like a vacation than a learning opportunity. Thus, changes were made during the subsequent trip (increasing academic rigor and recruiting serious participants). Those changes were successful and will be reported here. Students acted more like travelers, not tourists. They avoided the tourist sites, slept in private homes, and traveled in buses and taxis. They  reported that Cuba offered friendship, spectacle, music, dance, and food, but the language barrier was a challenge. At the same time, they realized their responsibility to act as ambassadors from a country many Cubans still viewed as an implacable enemy. The trip made them view themselves in new and more mature ways. 

Track

General Session

Topic Areas

•    International Education

•    Honors Pedagogy

•    Faculty

LCD Projector Requested?

Yes

LCD Projector Information

Yes

Mac Adaptors

Yes

Description for the conference program

Professors and students from two colleges describe the challenges, opportunities, and rewards of traveling to Cuba. Getting there requires overcoming much red tape and a working knowledge of Spanish. Cuba offers unique cultural, agricultural, historical, and artistic opportunities for Americans, especially for those who come as travelers not tourists.

If you have presented a similar session at NCHC or a related conference in the recent past, please indicate why the topic is relevant for presentation in 2017.

Submission Date

9th Mar 2017, 10:27am EST

Latest Update

9th Mar 2017, 11:49am EST

Submission ID

390

SAU Honors College Founding

I found this old e-mail recently. It speaks to the founding of the SAU Honors College. Neat!

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From: Donald Watt
Sent: Wednesday, December 4, 2002 3:47 PM
To: Ben Johnson; Betty McCollum; Bob Terry; Bradley Herzog; Cassandra Cooper; Claudell Woods; Dan Skelton; Dave Martinez; David Murphy; David Sixbey; Debi Rago; Donnis Taylor; Douglas Waterfield; E. Birmingham-Pokorny; Ed Kardas; Elizabeth Davis; Gina Bates; James Reppert; James Willis; Jan Duke; Jane Becnel; Japhet Makia; Joe Bates; John Cary; John Dudley; John Otey; Judith Vasser; Juping Wang; Kathleen Mallory; Kristin Larson; Linda Selman; Lynne Belcher; Margie Farris; Mark Fichter; Mary Thurlkill; Michel Hallot; Natalia Murphy; Paul Babbitt; Paul Shaver; Richard Ambler; Scotland Stout; Shannin Schroeder; Stacy Clanton; Steven Ochs; Tommy Milford; Yonghu Dai
Subject: Honors College - Programs

This afternoon at Deans' Council, I was asked by the VPAA to get input from LPA faculty regarding whether or not we would like to see and Honors College or Honors Programs at SAU.  I need this prior to next Wednesday's Deans' Council meeting.

Please give me your thoughts (brief or comprehensive) as to whether or not you would like to see SAU start:

An Honors College (more comprehensive program)

An Honors Programs (departmental honors)

Some other type of Honors opportunities.

Thanks for your help.  Good luck with finals!

Don
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