Dear University Honors community,
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I hope you are looking forward to the Fall semester as much as we are looking forward to welcoming you to University Honors!
By now you’ll have seen the University’s recent
announcements
concerning Fall 2020
instruction, campus life
, and
on-campus housing
. I can imagine that these communications may have prompted new questions and raised additional concerns. I will not pretend that we have all the answers today: the challenges we face are both unfamiliar and quickly evolving.
But here are two certainties.
First, our top priorities are, and will remain, the health, safety, and well-being of everyone in our community.
In collaboration with campus partners like the Department of Resident Life, we are currently adapting our courses, co-curricular programming, and operations so that all of us may observe the
preventative measures
announced by the University,
guidance
from the Maryland Department of Health, and
guidelines
outlined by the Centers for Disease Control.
Against the backdrop of this commitment, all of us in UH—from the outstanding faculty who will teach and mentor you, to the devoted staff members committed to your success, to our returning students whom you’ll soon get to know—are working overtime to ensure that your experience this fall is as fun and rewarding as ever. Sure, things will look a little different: classes will meet in new formats, friendships will be forged in new contexts, and the dynamics of campus life will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen. But here’s the second certainty:
your courses
will
be extraordinary, you
will
make lifelong friendships, and the UH community—your community—
will
flourish.
Today, I’d like to share with you a few of the steps we’re taking to make sure of this.
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CLASSES
All, or nearly all, University Honors classes will be taught online … and they’re going to be terrific! Here are some of the reasons why:
- Most of our online classes will be taught completely or partly synchronously. This will enable you to meet with your instructors and collaborate with your classmates live and in real time.
- Featuring techniques for exploring your strengths, tools for mapping your ambitions, and opportunities to build community with your first-year peers, Gateway Seminar has been custom-built for an online learning environment.
- Your Thematic Cluster and Theory & Practice faculty are actively retooling their syllabi to make activities more collaborative and even more relevant to the challenges of 2020.
- UH professors Rick Bell, Maggie Elwell (Revolution), Kelly Colvin, David Cunningham (War & Peace), Shawn Parry-Giles (Deliberation), Heidi Scott, and Mia Smith-Bynum (Identity & Intersectionality) recently won not one, but two major grants that will enable them to transform their courses in tech-savvy ways that streamline student interaction and facilitate deep-dive discussions.
The
Schedule of Classes
will be updated with information on the format of HNUH classes beginning July 15, 2020.
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PALS
Each section of Gateway Seminar is supported by a
Peer Academic Leader (PAL)
. These upper-class UH students are dedicated to mentoring first-year students like you through the transitions to UMD and to life in the program. Your PAL—the Peer Academic Leader associated with the Gateway Seminar section in which you enroll—will be reaching out to you directly later this summer to welcome you to UH and to help assist your transition into our community. Stay tuned!
ADVISING
University Honors staff and students stand ready to support and advise you as you progress through our program and your other academic coursework.
- Our newly redesigned Peer Mentor Network is comprised of UH sophomores, juniors, and seniors who have volunteered to offer both general advice about your major and academic tutoring for specific classes. You will receive more information about the Peer Mentor Network around the start of Fall semester.
- Our Assistant Director for Student Achievement, Dean Hebert, is available via email (dehebert@umd.edu) and/or Zoom to address your specific questions or concerns about planning your path through our two-year curriculum, selecting UH courses, Honors citation requirements, campus resources to enable your academic success, etc. Please click here to email him directly.
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The UH team is busy planning for new and creative ways for you to connect virtually, make friends, and come together as a community. While we anticipate that most co-curricular and extracurricular programming will take place online, we will actively seek opportunities for in-person engagement (e.g., outside events, small groups), where these can be offered safely and in observance of UMD guidelines. We encourage you to join us in crafting these experiences together by sending your ideas and suggestions and getting involved. This is your UH!
Here are some of the exciting plans we have in store for you beginning this fall:
- virtual programs, initiatives, and study groups;
- extracurricular events like watch parties, game nights, escape rooms, etc.;
- a brand new Student Life Council;
- opportunities to engage with upper-class UH students and leaders, both individually and in groups;
- conversations and dialogues about current events and important topics;
- cohort experiences centered around Gateway Seminar participation; and
- leadership opportunities through our Student Advisory Board and other student organizations in UH and the Honors College.
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LIVING IN UH
We recognize that your decision whether or not to live on campus may be complicated and will certainly be informed by many factors. And as a program, we fully support whatever decision you make.
- If you elect to live on campus, we look forward to welcoming you to College Park in the fall. You are encouraged to consult the Department of Resident Life webpage, where you’ll find information regarding housing assignments, roommate requests, what you can expect life in the residence halls this fall, FAQs, etc.
- If you previously submitted your On-Campus Housing and Dining Agreement and are now reconsidering that decision, please be aware that Resident Life has extended its cancelation deadline. You now have until Friday, July 17 to cancel this agreement without incurring any financial penalty.
- If you choose not to live on campus this fall, rest assured that our online classes and virtual co-curricular programming will enable us to welcome you as fully participating members of the UH community.
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2020 Outstanding Student Award recipient, Sasha Kahn
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In the weeks ahead, we’ll be connecting with you across a number of different platforms:
- By email. Keep an eye out for communications from the program and from your PAL.
- Through our website. In the days ahead, we’ll be updating our FAQs page with Fall 2020 information. There, you’ll also find information about our curriculum, citation requirements, life and community in UH, etc.
- On social media. Be sure to follow us @UnivHonorsUMD on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Our Instagram account, in particular, is about to become very active!
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The extraordinary circumstances in which the world now finds itself only underscore the need for the very opportunities that await you during your two-year journey through University Honors:
- the chance to discover yourself and stoke your passions;
- coursework on timeless topics of urgent significance;
- an inclusive community of promising students, dedicated staff, and expert faculty drawn from all backgrounds and disciplines; and
- a launching pad to your future at UMD and beyond.
We are thoroughly committed to your health, happiness, and success. And we cannot wait to welcome you to UH this fall!
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Dr. Stephan Blatti
Director, University Honors
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University of Maryland
2101 Susquehanna Hall
College Park, MD 20742
301.405.8899
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