Honors Arkansas 2021 Minutes

The meeting was held at Mt. Magazine Lodge in Paris, AR.

Honors Arkansas July 30, 2021

Morning Session

1. I  Welcome and Introductions of New Members. Lynda Coon (UAF)

2. II  Dissent Recap Whitney and Patricia Smith (UCA)
   Taught by Whitney Barringer (UCA) Retooled a Power and Resistance class, truncated to post 1960. There were 26 students, 7 from outside of UCA. One and three hour credit structure. One hour for the community college partners. Syllabus shared with group (copy will be placed in Honors Arkansas Annual Meeting Folder on Sharepoint).

3. III  Governor’s Research Scholars Course – Jennie Popp (UAF) and Louise Hancox (UAF)
   The governor’s research scholars course will focus on food insecurity in the state. All schools are welcome to participate. There is still time to develop project plans. Course will meet this fall Tuesdays 5:00-6:15 as a group for lectures and discussions. Individual institutions will meet another time during the week to work on projects.

4. IV  Joint Workshops Experience and Tailgate Plan Annette Williams Fields (UAPB) and Reynelda Augustine Robinson (UAF)

   A couple of collaborative efforts between UAPB and UAF. First effort: session called “Talking White” where students had a safe space (virtually) to discuss what they are experiencing to help close the gaps of division. Second effort: tailgate and events at the UAF-UAPB football game in Little Rock, October 23. All schools welcome. Will also do a community service project- Feed the Funnel party in the morning, create a competition across schools. Even if you don’t participate in the game can do community service project. There will also be a design the t-shirt contest with a deadline in September, winner will get a prize.

5. V  NCHC 2020 Recap Xochitl Delgado Solorzano (UAF)
   UAF had two sessions at NCHC : 1) Path Program – overview and how our management of the program has changed since we have received funding, a reassessment of needs and wants of the students; 2) Purposefully addressing DEI in the UAF Honors College – we formed committees associated with our priority areas in honors and looked how we can be more inclusive. Information learned was used to inform our strategic plan to purposefully address DEI in UAF honors. UAF hopes to present an update (how things are going) at the National Society for Minorities in Honors conference in a couple of years with an update.

   UCA also presented at NCHC. Leah Horton partnered with a historian (Dr. Smith) on zine making. UCA uses zines to reflect on experiences at the end of Challenge Week...UCA also had a presentation at the National Society for Minorities in Honors conference – three parts: 1) Introduction to Standpoint theory and Social location. 2) Racism in medicine and 3) What we can do in Honors to be more inclusive in Stem.

6. VI  Honors Arkansas Classes at Community Colleges

   Mountain Home has set up honors courses being taught through Honors Arkansas so they count as honors for 1 credit hour (keeps students from getting too many credit hours and allows them to pay for 1 hour in summer when scholarships are rare). Also helps for transfer into four year institutions.

   National Park – Honors shows up as zero credits so students can have it on their transcripts but then step away from other classes and examine an issue (with no tuition cost) in a relaxing environment.

7. VII  Institutional Updates
   UAF – has new Path cohort coming in under a new NSF grant. Partnership with college of engineering. Goal is to expose them to innovation and the creative process. UAF will hold a bridge program where students will visit the McMillion Innovation Studio and The Brewer Hub for Social Innovation and get introduced to project development. Then students will take a three credit hour course in fall and spring where engineering and business students will work on projects and get prepared to do internships and work in industry.... UAF has also reorganized many of its student success efforts under the GREAT – Global, Research, Engagement, Academic, Trajectory – framework.

   UCA – This is the 39th year of UCA Honors College. They are now prepping 40 yr celebration. They are creating a historical documentary and Whit Barringer will run an Oral History class to capture the stories from alumni of the early days.... UCA is also in the process of investigating a new academic space.

   Williams – Is experimenting with the idea of updating their scholarship plan to not front load money but will give more money each year to students who remain in honors. Reward those who they retain.

   Harding – Is under new leadership and are in the process of cultivating change throughout the college as well as improving faculty mentoring. Some of the things undertaken in the new leadership: 1) HURC - Harding Undergraduate Research Conference; 2) strengthening the quality of capstone projects. Started an honors thesis program. Had their first three completed honors thesis. Ten more in process; 3) Introduced engagement requirements, involved through coursework in leadership or service. “Engage units” include a list of possible activities but students can also do other equivalent things for approval (e.g., peer mentoring program; Honors Council; leadership in social clubs; discipline specific organizations). Students write up experience. One leadership/service academic unit a semester.

   JBU – Shared one challenge and one success. Challenge: university reorganization from mix of divisions/colleges to colleges only. Honors is a “program”. As such JBU has no direct representation in higher level decision making. Has been unsuccessful in creating a true Honors College but now has a seat on the dean’s council. Success: JBU has enhanced DEI focus on their program. Honors Exec council (students) have developed partnerships with international student groups and progress in highlighting diversity on campus. Student from Honduras translated all of their recruitment materials into Spanish. Honors students, who are native Spanish speakers, have been hired into admissions and give tours in Spanish.

   UAPB – shared the lack of honors scholarships makes it a challenge to recruit Honors students. Students do receive a cord at graduation. Therefore, starting this fall, a new policy is being put into place that requires students to be actively engaged in honors throughout the years in order to get the cord at commencement. They are trying to engage students in things they want to do, such as a virtual book club with student facilitators. Efforts now are focused also on encouraging study abroad (Ghana and Costa Rica) by sharing experiences, helping students become more competitive for national study abroad scholarships.

Honors Arkansas Forums

Afternoon Sessions Recap of Breakout Sessions

Looking towards May 2022 with a topic of Ethics in STEM. Feature talent from across the state. There will be 11 to 15 sessions and possible topics include (but not limited to): Gene editing; Transplants; Reproductive technologies; Health care/disparities; Ethics of space exploration; Ethics of triage in medicine (UAMS);Industrial Farming; Patents in agriculture; Immigration law and credentials; Land soil water conservation – land use issues; Good science/bad science scary science; Ethics of nuclear energy, plastics ; Artificial intelligence ; Chemical cocktails that put people to death; Zoos and animals in captivity, etc. For one credit hour students participate in the lectures. For three hours, students also participate in breakout sessions to discussion. Next step, make a proposal and then will send out to everyone with a call for faculty experts. A volunteer to serve as the institutional host is needed.

Food Insecurity Class

The planning group finalized the nine lecture topics and course schedule. All-institution group sessions will be Tuesdays at 5:00-6:15. Institutions will also meet individually to work on projects (Thursdays at 5:00-6:15 or another time of their choice). The Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance has offered to help institutions find projects if they don’t have one yet. We hope to have students present their work at NCHC and have instructors publish the work through NCHC or other higher ed journals. Join us on Wednesdays at 4:00pm in early August to learn more. Please see materials and zoom links send to all HA members. Everyone is welcome to participate.

Multi Institutional Workshops and Events

The group explored lots of ways that students/faculty/staff from all HA could interact. These include: Research symposium where students could present together (invite parents and families); Leadership conference – virtually or in person in summer where they stay in dorms to reduce costs; Networking and goal setting workshops; Honors Fair for high school honors students; Undergraduate fellowships opportunities. UAC is doing some things already that might fit into this. They will share with the group.

Future National Presentations

The group talked about different topics that may be suited for presentation at NCHC and/or the National Society for Minorities in Honors. Some presentation ideas: mission of Honors Arkansas; Statewide forums; Food Insecurity class; Holistic Admissions. While the Great Plains group is really student focused (no presentations for faculty staff), JBU will share information about HA in the business meeting. Also discussed a possible faculty mentorship program match across institutions.

Next steps

Session leaders will reach out to the entire HA membership with more information and call for participants.

Meeting adjourned.