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News & Updates from the Honors College
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| Dean Rita Bailey |
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Welcome to a new year, Honors students!
I am honored to welcome incoming and continuing Kennesaw State University Honors College students to the 2016-17 school year. What do you want to accomplish this year? There are many wonderful opportunities to achieve, learn, and grow. Students who are talented, curious, and have ambitious goals will thrive in the KSU Honors College. The Honors College will work with you to help you succeed.
I'm very excited to join the Honors College as Dean this year. This is an especially exciting year because it is the 20th Anniversary of the founding of Honors programs at KSU. I'm grateful to those who came before me who set the stage for promoting Honors students' success here. I was specifically drawn to this position when I learned that the vision of the Honors College is one that is absolutely student-centered. Specifically, the vision is to encourage Honors students' expansion of intellectual curiosity, to provide encouragement and support for excellence in academic achievements, and to facilitate a culture of service, leadership, and global awareness. This means simply that the KSU Honors College is here for YOU and will support you as you achieve excellence at Kennesaw State University.
The Honors College provides honors courses, honors housing, specialized advising, a dual enrollment program, opportunities for undergraduate research with excellent professors, support for applying for prestigious scholarships, unique and enriching opportunities for international education, community engagement and service, social activities (fun), and, most importantly, a culture of student-centered excellence. I look forward to meeting you and supporting your success in the Honors College at KSU and beyond!
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Join in the celebration as the Honors Program marks its 20th anniversary!
The University Honors Program celebrates a major milestone this year -- the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Honors Program -- and you are invited to the party! Events for students, honors faculty and the campus community are planned throughout the year on both the Kennesaw and Marietta campuses. Students who attend an event will receive a commemorative Honors t-shirt.
Events include meet & greets, a pancake breakfast for residential Honors students, Honors tailgates, service opportunities, Honors faculty lunches, and a book club leading to a 20th Anniversary Lecture featuring Pulitzer Prize winning author and National Poet Laureate Natasha Tretheway. Her book, Native Guard, will be provided free of charge for students who participate. Preregister by emailing Dr. Julia Morrissey at [email protected]. See calendar of events below for more event details.
The Honors Program at KSU was launched in 1996 with a cohort of 25 students and a single honors colloquium. Since this time, the program has grown to offer more than 100 honors courses per year, and enrolls more than 1,000 students on two campuses. Dr. Liza Davis has served as director of the Honors Program on the Kennesaw campus since its founding. She plans to retire in December 2016.
Look for more information about Honors events in email and social media! Follow us @HonorsKSU on Facebook and Twitter!
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More pancakes, please! University Honors student Ariel Walley and Dual Enrollment representative to the Honors Club Brandon Lucas enjoy pancakes at the Honors pancake breakfast held August 14th for residential honors students on the Kennesaw campus. A hotdog lunch for Marietta campus residential students will be held August 20th.
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Winning hands. Anna Broussard, Amanda Weekley, Kristen Persaud, Alexis Abney, Jasmine Crockett and Alexandria Hiott hold their winning Honors Bingo cards at the pancake breakfast.
(Photo by Anna Broussard).
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Need a reminder? Never miss an Honors event or deadline by signing up for Remind text messages!
Honors students can now sign up to receive text alerts about important KSU Honors news and deadlines.
Kennesaw Honors students: text
@uhkennesaw to 81010
Marietta Honors students: text
@uhmarietta to 81010
Dual Enrollment Honors students: text
@2016dehp to 81010
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Nine students graduate as Honors Scholars in summer term, 51 for the year
Nine students graduated as Honors Scholars in summer commencement ceremonies, joining a total of 51 students who earned the designation in the 2015-16 academic year. The Honors Scholar designation requires completion of the honors curriculum, including a capstone thesis or applied project, and graduation with a 3.25 to 3.5 GPA, depending on major.
Summer Honors Scholars were:
- Bianca Anderson, Communication major
- Krystal Bailey, Psychology major
- Yoana Cervantes, Finance major
- Kim Cox, Communication major
- Emily Edwards, Political Science major
- Staci Lusk, Anthropology major
- Mary Madden, Biology major
- Shannon O'Dell, Nursing major
- Abdelsalam Sharkas, Biology major
Honors Scholars wear a red and gold shoulder epaulet, and their names are announced as they cross the stage to receive their diplomas.
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Honors student spotlight
Honors architecture senior wins prestigious national, state awards
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| Laura Sherman |
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Architecture senior Laura Sherman has won the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment 2016 national competition for her design of "Oxygen House," a lung cancer community center in the heart of Atlanta's historic Old Fourth Ward District. She previously won two state-level awards from the Georgia chapter of AIA, the People's Choice Award and a Merit Award. Her project also
won KSU's Comprehensive Studio competition
. Laura
received two architecture scholarships from AIA Georgia, the Dorothy P. Spence Memorial Scholarship and the John D. Mulford Memorial Scholarship.
The Oxygen House
is an adaptive reuse of the to-be-demolished MLK Natatorium building. The site is on an inaccessible inward-facing urban block at the bottom of a 14' retaining wall. Urban context is unified by a building program that addresses a highly-private program of lung cancer patient consultation and is fortified with a supporting community center. Through creating a "breathing building", the architecture takes a net-zero stance against a continuing trend of pollution in Atlanta, GA. The building systems feature a south-facing double skin integrated with HVAC. The project creates a gateway into a previously inaccessible urban block and invites the community into an activated MLK plaza.
The design of the lung cancer patient care and community center conceptually parallels the counterpoints of earth and sky as two contrasting elements that defy and define the other. The building seeks to provide a refuge of clean air and peace while raising awareness of the continuing trend of pollution in Atlanta to the community.
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KSU honors students named National Science Foundation STEM Scholars
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| The Spring 2016 NSF S-STEM scholar cohort poses for a group photo. |
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| David Richmond |
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Five honors students were named National Science Foundation STEM Scholars in Spring 2016. The S-STEM program provides scholarships of up to $4,000 annually to academically talented KSU students with financial need. Students majoring in mathematics, biology, biotechnology, chemistry, biochemistry and computer science are eligible for the renewable awards. The students include:
- Denise Hernandez, Mathematics major.
- Zane Johnston, Computer Science major
- David Richmond, Mathematics and Economics double major
- Patrick Schambach, Mathematics major
- Abdelsalam Sharkasi, Biology major
STEM scholars are encouraged to conduct and present undergraduate research. For example, Denise Hernandez worked with KSU mathematics professor Dr. Meghan Burke to use differential equations to find the rate at which Ebola can spread among corpses. David Richmond worked with Math department Chair Dr. Joe DeMaio and fellow STEM Scholar Denise Hernandez on mathematical research to find the number of independent sets on the chorded cycle using the Fibonacci sequence. The students presented their work at KSU's undergraduate research conference and hope to publish it in math journals. Dr. Ana-Maria Croicu directs the S-STEM Scholars program. For more information, visit https://s-stem.kennesaw.edu.
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| Anna Eck |
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Honors scholarship recipients selected
Four incoming Honors students have been selected to receive scholarships from the Honors College. On the Kennesaw campus,
Anna Eck and
Emily Stuchlik were selected as the first recipients of the new Dasher-Spruell Presidential Scholarship. Anna is a first-year Theatre major from Loganville, Ga. who was active in her high school's theatre productions, improv club, choral ensemble, and Odyssey of the Mind, among other extracurricular activities. Emily is a former Dual Enrollment Honors Program student from Etowah High School who is now a first-year Nursing major. She is also a member of the President's Emerging Global Scholars cohort. Her interest in nursing was piqued by serving as a volunteer the past two summers in the cardiac recovery unit and the heart failure unit at Emory Saint Joseph's hospital.
First-year students
Emily Gunby and
Joshua Sisson were selected as recipients of the Marietta Campus Honors Scholarship. Emily is an Environmental Sciences major from Wheeler High School who competed at the international level with the CircuitRunners Robotics club, co-founded the Wheeler chapter of the Society of Women Engineers, and helped lead programming and other STEM classes at elementary schools through the National Technical Honors Society. She also was drum major for the marching band.
Joshua is a Computer Game Design and Development major from Evans, Ga. with a minor in Theatre. He performed in lead roles in multiple high school musicals and won awards for Best Actor at regional and state levels. He has also served as a small group leader at his church.
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Honors SGA Senator William Parish
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Honors Club officers, SGA Honors senator elected
The following students have been elected officers of the Honors Club. President:
Nick Testin, Electrical Engineering major
Vice President:
Elizabeth Odeyemi, Biology major
Secretary:
Hannah Jordan, English major
Treasurer:
Brooke Morgan, Accounting interest
Public Relations:
Cindi Simmons, Computer Science and
Anna Massey, Biology
DEHP representatives:
Asia Hypsher and
Brandon Lucas
William Parish is the
Student Government Association Senator representing the Honors College. William is a sophomore computer science major who also serves as an RA on the Marietta campus. He invites students who have questions or concerns related to student government to contact him at [email protected].
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Do you have an accomplishment we can share? Email your news and photo to [email protected].
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August - September Dates and Deadlines
Aug. 15 -
First day of classes
Aug. 15 & 16 - Welcome Back Meet & Greets: Kennesaw Honors Lounge, Willingham Hall 217, 9:30-4:30; Marietta Honors Lounge, D-Building 101 9-11 a.m.
Aug. 20, noon to 2 p.m. -
Honors Hotdogs on the Green for Marietta residential Honors students. Between Norton & Howell buildings.
Aug. 22 - Drop/Add ends.
Aug. 23, 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. - Welcome to Honors meeting (mandatory) for Marietta Honors first-year students, J-161
Aug. 26, noon - 1 p.m. - Welcome to Honors meeting (mandatory) for Marietta Honors first-year students, J-161
Aug. 30, 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. - Marietta Honors upperclassmen meeting (mandatory), J-161
Sept. 1, noon to 1:00 p.m. - Honors Faculty Luncheon, Kennesaw Student Center room 205
Sept. 2, noon to 1:00 p.m. - Marietta Honors upperclassmen meeting (mandatory), Student Center Ballroom
Sept. 8, 3:30-4:30 p.m. - Fulbright U.S. Student Scholarship Program: An Overview, Willingham Hall 226
Sept. 8, 5 p.m. - Welcome to Honors meeting (mandatory) for 1st-year honors students on the Kennesaw campus. Student Center University Rooms A&B
Sept. 10, - Honors Tailgate, Black lot, 2 hours before game. Look for the gold Honors College tent. Free food, music, games!
Sept. 14, 3:30-4:30 p.m. - Prestigious Scholarships and Fellowships: An Introduction, Willingham 226
Sept. 15, 3:30-6:30 p.m.
- 1st Annual Honors Kickball Game. Marietta campus softball field.
Sept. 20, 3:30-4:30 p.m. -
Prestigious Scholarships and Fellowships: An Introduction, Willingham 226
Sept. 21, 12:30-1:30 p.m. - First Honors Book Club meeting. Lunch provided. Willingham Hall 226.
Sept. 22, 3:30-4:30 p.m. -
Prestigious Scholarships and Fellowships: An Introduction, Willingham 226
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KSU Honors College | honors.kennesaw.edu
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