What is the Honors Institute?

photo of students at the honors institute

The Honors Institute is a multi-track learning experience that includes a provocative community event. Its purpose is to prepare Honors students to think beyond their academic training and to make it a habit of incorporating this training into larger, humanistic considerations of the common good. Focusing each year on a different contemporary intellectual issue of ethical importance, the Institute consists of:

  • two interdisciplinary Honors seminars
  • a civic engagement project for Honors seminar students
  • a community keynote address, free and open to the public, delivered by a figure of national or international prominence
  • a community symposium, free and open to the public, consisting of small, intensive discussion sessions run by regional experts and humanities scholars

What is this year's topic?

The 2013 Honors Institute will explore the universe and outer space from an interdisciplinary perspective.

What will happen at the Institute Symposium?

The 2013 Institute Symposium on "The Mysteries of the Universe" will consist of a combination of inquiry and action sessions:

  • Morning breakout sessions, exploring the many facets of memory, facilitated by regional academic experts on the topic.
  • A luncheon presentation related to the topic that includes a question-and-answer period.
  • Community organizations presenting their organizations' work and conducting outreach at informational tables and displays.

What is the location and date of Neil deGrasse Tyson's keynote address?

Tyson's keynote address will be held on Thursday, March 7, 2013, at 7:00 p.m. in the Student Union Apollo Room on Wright State University's Main Campus in Dayton, Ohio. The keynote address, in collaboration with the Wright State University Presidential Lecture Series, is free and open to the public, and tickets are not required.

What is the location and date of the Honors Institute Symposium?

The 2013 Honors Institute Symposium is scheduled for Friday, March 8, 2013, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. in the WSU Student Union. Lunch will be provided and will feature Henry Fountain as the luncheon speaker. The Symposium is free and open to the public, but space is limited and advance registration is required.

What topics have been featured at previous Honors Institute events?

2006 - "The Human Brain" featuring Dr. Oliver Sacks, physician and author

2007 - "Poverty and Society" featuring Dr. Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize recipient

2008 - "Creating Sustainable Environments" featuring Dr. Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize recipient and award-winning academic

2009 - "Free Speech in a Global Society" featuring Mr. Nicholas Kristof, Pulitzer Prize recipient and New York Times columnist

2010 - "Connecting with China" featuring Mr. James Fallows, national correspondent for The Atlantic

2011 - "Intersections of Memory" featuring Ms. Charlayne Hunter-Gault, award winning journalist and author

2012 - "Exploring the Oceans" featuring Dr. Robert Ballard, Deep-Sea Explorer and Discoverer of the Titanic