Two Honors Students Receive National Scholarships!

Honors student James Dahlman (junior, biomedical engineering) received a 2008 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, awarded nationally to outstanding undergraduate science students who are active researchers.  Since 2006, James has been conducting research under the direction of Dr. Daniel Miracle at the Air Force Research Laboratory Materials and Manufacturing Directorate. James plans to pursue a Ph. D in Materials Engineering so he can conduct research in medical materials and teach at the university level.

James is the fifth student from Wright State to receive a Goldwater Scholarship, awarded by the Goldwater Foundation, a federally endowed agency established by Congress in 1986 to honor the memory of Senator Barry M. Goldwater. The Goldwater Scholarship is the premier undergraduate award of its type in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering. Congratulations, James!

Also receiving national scholarship recognition is Shawn Daniels, who was 1 of only 60 students nationwide to be awarded a $5,000 graduate fellowship from The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.  Shawn will graduate in June 2008 as a University Honors Scholar with a double major in Latin and Greek in the Department of Classics.  This fall Shawn plans to attend the University of Florida with an Alumni Fellowship, which will cover his educational expenses and provide him with a generous stipend for the next five years.  Shawn was also accepted for graduate studies at the University of Michigan and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Shawn has been an active member of the campus community.  In addition to tutoring in Latin and Greek, he has worked as a Teaching Assistant in Classics and served on the Dean’s Student Advisory Board.  His most notable achievement was the revitalization and reorganization of the Classics Club.  Serving as president this year, he helped the group decide on a variety of activities including a museum visit to Indianapolis to see a traveling exhibit from the Louvre, a six-hour “Rome” Marathon (viewing the HBO series), and a spring play reading party.  Congratulations, Shawn!

2008 Honors Institute to Focus on "Creating Sustainable Environments"

We are pleased to announce the 2008 Honors Institute on "Creating Sustainable Environments" to be held January 28 and 29, 2008. A collaboration with the WSU Presidential Lecture Series, the third annual Institute will feature a January 28 keynote address by Dr. Jared Diamond--Pulitzer Prize recipient and award-winning academic. Diamond, universally regarded as one of the great minds of our time, is author of the Pultizer Prize-winning book Guns, Germs and Steel and its followup, Collapse. Through his books and lectures, Diamond explains the environmental and geographic reasons why certain human populations have flourished, while others, such as the Vikings in Greenland, the Maya, and modern-day Rwanda, have fallen apart. His research offers insights into such questions as: What makes certain societies especially vulnerable? Why didn't their leaders recognize and address their environmental problems? And perhaps most importantly--What can we learn from their examples and do differently to avoid their fates? Diamond's address--"Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed"--will be presented on January 28 at 7 p.m. in the Student Union Apollo Room.

Then on January 29, the Honors Institute day-long Symposium will feature luncheon speaker Carolyn Watkins from Ohio's Environmental Protection Agency.

Both events are free and open to the public. However, the January 29 symposium requires advance registration, which will be available online in mid-December. For schedule and registration information, watch the Institute Web site for updates at www.wright.edu/honorsinstitute.

Honors Receives 2007 President's Award for Outstanding Collaborative Unit

The University Honors Program, along with the College of Engineering and Computer Science and University College, received the President's Award for Outstanding Collaborative Units at a September ceremony in the Student Union Apollo Room.  With the goal of enhancing their students' experiences in the crucial first quarters on campus, Honors, Engineering, and University College created several new intitiatives, including:

• a reception for Engineering and University College students to meet advisors and faculty in an informal setting;
• the first joint Academic Advising Day for Engineering and University College students intending to major in computer science and engineering; and
• the creation of ten new learning communities that brought together first-year Honors and Engineering students in an academic setting.

Cathy Sayer Recognized as the 2007 Honors Teacher of the Year

Cathy Sayer (lecturer, Department of English) has taught writing and literature at Wright State for fourteen years and, for much of that time, in the Honors Program. She is a pioneer in the service learning concept at WSU, incorporating it into all of her courses, affording students the opportunity to achieve academic learning objectives through community service. Appropriately, Cathy was recently appointed University Director of Service Learning.

Cathy is a serious yet respected writing teacher. Her students acknowledge almost universally that they learn a great deal about writing in her courses--and have to work hard for it. Cathy's student nominator said, "Ms. Sayer has been an inspiration, and I count myself lucky to have had her for Honors English." And then the ultimate compliment: "I have received a grade of A+ on every writing assignment that I have had since her class!"

Cathy's accomplishments and service have been recognized across the campus. The College of Liberal Arts presented her with their Outstanding Teaching Award in 2004, the award for Overall Excellence in Learning Community Instruction in Fall 2005, and the Outstanding First-Year Student Advocate in 2006. The University Honors Program is pleased to add "Honors Teacher of the Year" to her achievements.

Scott DeHart Receives WSU's 2007 Student Employee of the Year Award

Scott DeHart (sophomore, management/French minor) was recognized in April as the 2007 WSU Student Employee of the Year. Scott works as a sutdent assistant in Modern Languages where his creativity, initiative, and ability to treat everyone with respect and courtesy have made him an excellent member of the staff. Nominator David Garrison, chair of Modern Languages, described Scott as "… the most mature, prolite, professional, and dedicated student worker I have every seen."

(left to right) Lane, Garrison, DeHart, Abrahamowicz, and Morris at the April reception.

A 2005 graduate of Unioto High School in Chillicothe, OH, Scott regularly returns to his high school to promote the importance of taking foreign language classes. His career goal is to work for an international organization blending his skills and knowledge of management with the French language.

Roger Fecher Receives a 2007 Barry Goldwater Scholarship

Honors student Roger Fecher (junior, biology) won a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship awarded nationally to outstanding undergraduate science students who are active researchers. Roger has worked with Dr. Robert Fyffe in the Center for Brain Research (now the Wright State Comprehensive Neuroscience Center), which is currently working to improve understanding of the nervous system's communication mechanisms in health and disease, with primary focuses on neuronal development and response mechanisms to disease and injury. Roger plans to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. in neuroscience toward the goal of conducting medically-oriented research at a prominent university.

Roger is the fourth student from Wright State to receive a Goldwater Scholarship, awarded by the Goldwater Foundation, a federally endowed agency established by Congress in 1986 to honor the memory of Senator Barry M. Goldwater. The Goldwater Scholarship is the premier undergraduate award of its type in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering. Congratulations, Roger!

The Second Annual Honors Institute was an Outstanding Success!

This year's event focused on poverty and society and drew a crowd of more than 1,000 to Dr. Wangari Maathai's January 30 keynote address on "Empowerment and the Escape from Poverty" in the Student Union Apollo Room. On January 31, nearly 250 community members, faculty, staff, and students participated in the full-day symposium, featuring Ambassador Tony Hall as the luncheon speaker.

This year's Honors Institute Student Fellows put thought into action by implementing the Student Microfinance Campaign to establish a Village Bank through FINCA International in the African country of Malawi.  To date, nearly $5,200 toward the $5,000 campaign goal has been raised! For more information on the 2007 Honors Institute's speakers, microfinance campaign, and other activities, please visit the Honors Institute Web site.  Also, check out our Photo Gallery to view pictures from this year's event.

The third annual Honors Institute in 2008 will focus on the environment.  Watch for updates!

Costa Rica Program Receives Excellence Award

On Tuesday, October 24, the University Honors Program, the Department of English Language and Literatures, the Department of Modern Languages, and the University Center for International Education were presented the President's Award for Excellence for Outstanding Collaborative Units for the Ambassador Program to Costa Rica.

Since 1995, Bobby Rubin (former Honors Faculty-in-Residence), along with Dorothy Alvarez, has taken more than 100 students on a "December in Paradise" trip to Costa Rica, always with excellent results. The trip has been so successful that it seemed more students should be able to participate. To achieve this goal of accessibility, additional courses were offered for credit this fall. Honors students could opt to take a seminar on Latin American culture, while Modern Languages students could earn credit for their immersion in Spanish, and students in the Teaching English as a Foreign Language program earn practicum credits by teaching in a Costa Rican school. As a result, a record number of thirty students from all three departments spent three weeks in Costa Rica this December with Rubin, Alvarez, and Spanish instructors Heather Blubaugh and Jennifer Cabrera.

Monica Snow from the Raj Soin College of Business captured the essence of the program when she wrote, "The Ambassador Program to Costa Rica offers academic credit and a richer learning experience to a far larger number of students because of the outstanding cooperation among these four units. Students benefit by more in-depth instruction and practical applications of the skills they seek for their specific majors. This highly successful program demonstrates the value to students when the university offers innovative, multi-disciplinary courses during the intersession." In addition, Manley Perkel, emeritus professor of mathematics, who nominated the program for the award, called it the "perfect study abroad vehicle." Honors director Susan Carrafiello noted that winning the award was a wonderful recognition, but the real reward is seeing the lasting impact this program has had on the students who have participated.