JMU HONORS PROGRAM251 Warren Service Drive
MSC 1501
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
Hillcrest House
540.568.6953
540.568.7728
540.568.8079 (fax)
E-mail: honors@jmu.edu
Office hours:
Mon.-Fri., 8:00am-5:00pm
EPILOGUE SPRING 2009
Quick Links
JMU Homepage Honors Program Homepage
Honors Alumni Homepage Honors Alumni News and Notes
Class of 2009
109 members of the JMU's Class of 2009 graduated with honors distinction. Many were also members of national honors societies, in recognition of both general and disciplinary academic excellence. Most will be going on to graduate and professional schools either directly or after pursuing other short term activities, including service work.
Class of 2013
Over 1700 high school seniors applied for fall 2009 admission into the Honors Program. Our entering freshman group of about 200 is an outstanding group, having strong standardized test scores, excellent grades in challenging high school curricula, and significant extracurricular activities. 160 of these students along with 30 sophomores will live in the new honors residence hall.
Provost Award for Excellence in Honors Teaching
The 2009 Provost Award for Excellence in Honors Teaching was awarded to Ms. Karen Evans, Instructor of English and Cross-Disciplinary Studies. The winner of the award is recognized at the Provost's annual award ceremony and receives a $1000 honorarium. Karen also received the distinguished faculty service award at the annual fall honors banquet.
Prestigious Scholarship Awards
The Honors Program oversees the university's efforts at helping its students compete for highly prestigious and competitive national scholarships. Dr. Melinda Adams, Assistant Professor of Political Science, coordinates these efforts. Her responsibilities include publicizing these opportunities, identifying strong candidates, matching them to the appropriate scholarships, and assisting students through the very demanding application process. This year, we are very pleased to have winners of the Goldwater Scholarship, the Fulbright Scholarship, and the National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, all of whom are honors students.
Honors Students on the Appalachian Trail
May 2009 saw the introduction of the Honors Program's first summer seminar offering, "A Taste of the Appalachian Trail." The seminar, which included eight days of camping and hiking on the AT, was led by Dr. Kate Kessler and was a great success! Everyone returned safe, happy, eager to get back on the trail, and, most important, with a far greater appreciation for and understanding of the Trail and its many facets. (http://breezejmu.org/2009/04/30/from-the-text-to-the-trail/)
Honors in London
In May 2010, Dr. Falk and Dr. Shanahan will take a group of honors freshmen and sophomores to London for a seminar on "Art and Economics in the Bloomsbury Group." The London trip will be preceded by preparatory academic work in the spring and will be followed by a student symposium in the fall. A similar seminar is being planned for Florence beginning in May 2011. (http://www.jmu.edu/honorsprog/abroad.shtml)
Staff Changes
Dr. Maureen Shanahan, our Associate Director, is on academic leave for the current calendar year. Maureen spent the first half of the year participating in a residency fellowship at the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France. While there and since returning to the U.S., she is completing a book on Traumatic Communities: Fernand Léger, the Experience of Trauma, and Collective Identities. Dr. Susan Halsell, Associate Professor of Biology, has been serving as interim Associate Director.
Ms. Anne Marie Harrison resigned her position as Administrative Assistant. We are pleased to welcome our new Administrative Assistant, Ms. Sandy Hatcher.
Alumni News
Thanks to those of you who have sent us information about your life after JMU! We are posting that information on the News and Notes section of our alumni website. If you have not yet responded or have new information for us, here is where you can go to fill us in.
Support the Program
The Honors Program is actively seeking financial support from alums, parents, and other friends of the program to help fund programming, student research, and study abroad. Please consider giving your support to the program. If you would like to provide support to a specific area rather than contributing to the general program fund, please contact us and we will work out a procedure to assure that this happens.
Have a Great Summer from the Entire Honors Staff!
Barry Falk Susan Halsell Mary Kay Adams
Program Director Interim Associate Director Assistant Director
Melinda Adams Karen Allison Sandy Hatcher
Scholarship Coordinator Executive Secretary Administrative Assistant
