NCHC 2025

The National Collegiate Honors Council held their annual conference this year in San Diego. SAUs Honors students: Justin Gravett, Cole Roberts, Jenna Holmes presented posters showcasing their research done throughout the year. Additionally, five Honors College professors: Ed Kardas, Antoinette Odendaal, Brianna McCartney, Hayder Zghair, and Nathan Lambert held a panel discussion board. The faculty members discussed the development of the full honors courses offered over the years at SAU since Covid-19.  

Dr. Ed Kardas, Dr. Antoinette Odendaal, Dr. Brianna McCartney, Dr. Hayder Zghair, and Professor Nathan Lambert

Students Cole Roberts, Justin Gravett, and Jenna Holmes with Dr. Brianna McCartney, Dr. Hayder Zghair, and Professor Nathan Lambert.

Over 300 students from different colleges around the country presented their research from this year. The SAU Honors College is very proud of all students, and faculty for all of their hard work! 

Chicago NCHC

Four students: Darcy Ellerbee, Isabella Bernard, Jonathan Parker, and Zane Johnston recently attended the NCHC meeting in Chicago in November. All presented posters (see below). They were accompanied by Director Kardas and Assistant Director Odendaal. 

All took the Texas Eagle Amtrak train (in sleeper accommodations) from Texarkana to Chicago.

Waiting for the Texas Eagle. Train was nearly three hours late. L to R: Ellerbee, Parker, Johnston, and Bernard

The trip to Chicago took some 14 hours each way. The fare included meals in a dining car. The sleeper accommodations were tight but better than sitting in coach.

All four presented their honors project work. Bernard had two posters, one on Student Attitudes on Climate Change and she was co-author on another on ChatGPT.

Bernard's poster on climate change. (The posters and the easels did not fit well. That's another poster on the left.)

Johnston's poster, like Bernard's, was a project completed in the Research Methods in Psychology course and both were supervised by Dr. Deborah Wilson.

Johnston's poster on Title IX

Ellerbee, Parker, and Bernard's poster was on ChatGPT. Specifically, it looked at the potential problem of honors applicants submitting AI-written admission essays. This was an honors project from the Cognitive Science course supervised by Ed Kardas.

Parker and Ellerbee stand by their poster. (Bernard, in the same session, could not be both places at once.)

It was not all work and no play, Odendaal made sure of that. All of the students saw other Chicago sites including the Aquarium. I guess it was Shark Week in Chicago.

 

We also ate a lot. Chicago has great restaurants. Here we are at Volare about to eat pasta.

Next year's NCHC meeting will be in Kansas City. If you want to go, prep a proposal.

Special Thanks to Josh Kee and the SAU Foundation for making this trip possible.

 

NCHC Day 3

 When one is on the road, eating becomes an issue. Where? When? What?

Typically, the prices at restaurants at large hotels are higher than those outside the hotel. At this NCHC meeting, however, such outside restaurants were scarce nearby. So, we had to Uber to them.

Unlike Magnolia (hah, hah) there was always a steady supply of Uber drivers nearby and their fares were reasonable. We found some nearby restaurants and enjoyed some good food.

At an upscale Italian restaurant we ate well. Here is my stuffed cannelloni:

But, before that we had a salumi and cheese plate that was laced with white truffle honey:

We also found a Mediterranean restaurant. I opted for the beef skewers:

So, if you want to try something other than SAU cafeteria food, be sure to complete your honors projects and submit them to NCHC in Chicago in November 2023 or to SRHC in Charlotte in March 2023.

Of course, eating was a diversion. We attended some worthwhile sessions too. We have been writing down some possible changes and additions we could implement at SAU. For example:

• National Fellowships
• These are money sources for students to study and travel. SAU honors students have earned such in the past but we want to expand our reach
• More opportunities for SAU honors students to mentor other students
• This might be by working more closely with our SSI program
• Re-instituting and expanding SAU's full honors classes
• Here, as always, money will be an issue
• We hope to appeal to faculty to teach these as free overloads and allowing them to offer a full honors course on a topic they enjoy but could not teach as a part of their normal load
• For example, I might teach: Animal awareness: There we'd examine questions such as Are animals aware? Do they think? How do we know?
   

 Honors students would then have a wider set of interesting courses they could take towards fulfilling the 24 honors hour requirement.

Suffice it to say that in addition to pleasing our palates we learned a great deal at this conference and hope to share it fruits with you and SAU soon.

NCHC Day 1

 

Dr. Ursula Kamanga (L) chats with Dr. Antoinette Odendaal (R) at the Welcome Reception at NCHC 2022 in Dallas.

Dr. Kamanga teaches communication studies at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Earlier, she and Dr. Kardas attended the meeting of the International Education committee. We three met up later and the two South Africans even conversed in Africaans, briefly.

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.

 

SAU and NPC Sign MOU for Honors 2 + 2

The SAU Honors College welcomes its newest honors 2 + 2 partner, National Park College.

With this addition the Honors College now has four two-year partners. These 2 + 2 memoranda enable students from those two-year colleges to earn honors credits during their time there and then transfer those credits towards SAU's 24 hour honors credit minimum.

These 2 + 2 programs benefit students and their respective schools. Without them transferring into the SAU Honors College would be nearly impossible because, with only junior and senior years left, those students would have difficulty in reaching the honors credit minimum.

The new Honors Arkansas group fully supports two-year honors programs and is working to implement such MOUs statewide as part of its mission to:

• stop brain drain
• attract new out-of-state honors-qualified students
• make honors education more important to statewide leaders by collecting data on honors in the state
• create a common pipeline from the two-year schools to the honors colleges  

NCHC 2018 Report

Five students traveled to Boston recently to attend the annual meeting of the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) to present posters of their work at SAU.

The meeting was held in Boston, so in addition to their work at the conference they were able to take in some of the important historical sites including the Old North Church, Paul Revere's home, the Boston Common, Faneuil Hall, and the Boston Public Library.

Another of Boston's famous sites is the berth of the USS Constitution, Old Ironsides. In the background is the Bunker Hill memorial.

The group left Little Rock on Wednesday 7 November. Below, they enjoy Starbucks drinks before going through security.

From L to R: Lowther, Murugan, King, Ghazzali, and Nash.

The convention hotel was in the midst of a labor dispute from UNITE HERE's Local 26 after talks broke down. Many of the conferences' participants voiced support for the strikers and the NCHC added a separate session to explain the dispute.

Picket line outside Boston Sheraton, one of seven Boston Marriott chain hotels where workers were on strike.

SAU Honors students presented at two student poster sessions:

From L to R: Kameron King, Azitutu Murugan, and Siobhan Lowther stand in front of their history game poster.

Yassimine Ghazzali is in front of her poster on the effects of simulated microgravity.

Senior Laura Nash poses in front of a poster by Kardas, Wingfield, and herself. This research looked analyzed SAU Honors College applicants' responses to the two new essay prompts recently introduced. One asks students to name the two college courses every student should take and the other asks about a social problem of interest to the applicant.

The analysis revealed that the answers to the question about courses showed statistical significance using a chi-square for goodness of fit. Students were more likely to pick courses related to personal growth than to more academic courses.

Laura Nash stands in front of the poster submitted to the Faculty Poster competition.

Dr. Kardas took advantage of the trip to Boston to visit Brittany Kamson, the EF representative in charge of planning the upcoming trip to Italy in May 2019. EF stands for Education First, a privately held company that offers student travel and other learning services throughout the world. SAU has partnered with EF previously on trips to the WWII European Battlefields, Greece, Cuba, China, now Italy.

EF Building in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Next year's NCHC meeting will be held in New Orleans and the Honors College hopes to take a larger contingent of its students because of our proximity to the Crescent City.

Morehead, Hardy, and O'Neal at NCHC

Clai Morehead (top photo) and Zachary Hardy and Kayla O'Neal (bottom photo) discuss their posters with others at the 2015 NCHC meeting in Chicago

Three students, Clai Morehead, Zachary Hardy, and Kayla O'Neal attended the 50th meeting of the NCHC held recently in Chicago. Morehead's poster presented original research on the relationship of selfie taking and narcissism. O'Neal and Hardy's poster described the development of a board game designed to teach players about ancient civilizations.

Students in NOLA for NCHC 2013

Thanks to Deana Hughes, here are two shots of SAU Honors College students visiting New Orleans for the 2013 meeting of the National Collegiate Honors Council.

Above, in the nearly obligatory tourist pose at New Orlean's St. Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square  are (L to R) Subir Shakya, Deana Hughes, Joy Tan, Taylor Duke, and Taryn Sorsby.

Above, brother and sister (L to R) Zachary and Hali Pinson display opposite reactions to a loan of a Cajun music CD. Can you guess who wanted to listen to it all the way home?

NCHC Poster: Kardas & Wilson

We had an active poster session today at the National Collegiate Honors Council meeting in Kansas City today. We distributed about 30 copies of our summary and spoke with more visitors than that. Here is what our poster looked like:

Here's a shot of Debbie Wilson discussing the poster with some passersby:

Next year we plan to connect with some other presenters we met at NCHC who are working on the same problem, non-cognitive assessment of honors applicants. That meeting will be in Phoenix.