Honors Spring 2017

Vol. 1, No. 7

SPRING INTO HONORS!!

Look at all the amazing offerings we have in Honors for the Spring!  See WebAdvisor for more details and remember....STAY CURIOUS.

TOPICS IN SOCIAL SCIENCE: GENDER AND WOMEN'S STUDIES

(SSC 215-01)

This course will lead students in an examination of the social forces that shape our lives by gender, with a particular emphasis on women in the contemporary United States. The course emphasizes awareness of the many forms of diversity among women, and explores issues of race, class, and sexuality, as well as gender. The course will cover areas such as "gender and the body" (including beauty, sexuality, and interpersonal violence), "gender and social institutions" (including family, economy, politics, education, and religion), and "gender and social change" (including feminist, anti-feminist, LGBTQ, and other gender-related movements).

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TOPICS IN SOCIAL SCIENCE - LOVE AND ROMANCE: SCIENCE AND PSYCHOLOGY

(SSC 215-02)

This course is an exploration of the psychology of love and romance. We will focus on romantic or love relationships with particular attention to adolescent and emerging adult romantic relationships. Students will have the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of romance/love and likely will find that the literature contains unexpected findings that can change the way they look at relationships, both from academic and applied or real-life perspectives.

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SEMINAR – ANALYZING ALICE: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY LOOK AT THE WORK OF LEWIS CARROLL

(HON 200-01)

The lasting influence and power of Carroll's Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There is undeniable - from Disney and Tim Burton to Jefferson Airplane and American McGee, Alice seems to have a firm hold on popular imaginations from all corners of the arts and beyond. The purpose of this course is to engage in traditional literary analysis and also explore a variety of disciplines such as art, psychology, math, theater, and history. Guest speakers and student presentations will foster an interdisciplinary and multi-faceted look at the power Alice has held over us ever since she first followed the White Rabbit in 1865.

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SEMINAR – PRESIDENTIAL GREATNESS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY

(HON 200-02)

In what presently would seem to be one of the most contentious Presidential elections in American History, it is very important that our students understand and participate in the political process. With that in mind, this course is based upon a study and analysis of the evolution of the office of the Presidency from George Washington to George Herbert Walker Bush. No one individual is perfect or without ever experiencing failure, frustration, tragedy, loss, and embarrassment. All whether Presidents, Senators, or everyday normal people have experienced or will experience in their lifetimes moments of victory, mediocracy, and failure. Together, we will examine the office of the Presidency of the United States and the lives and careers of those who led our country. By doing so, we will reinforce that we are all mortal and capable of experiencing in our lifetimes “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.”

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PLUS, MORE HONORS IN THE DISCIPLINES!

· ENG 101 – COMPOSITION I

· ENG 102 – INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE

· COM 115 – INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

· PSY 100 – INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

· PHL 101 – INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

· PHL 103 - ETHICS

· MUS 117 – MASTER COMPOSERS II

· SCI 137 – CHAOS THEORY

Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton asked why” – Bernard Baruch

Honors Voices

Vol.1 No. 6

This week, while I’m in Seattle and not quite ready to tell you all about what I’m learning here, I thought it might be fun to hear some other voices. So, this blog is going to introduce you to some of the faces behind Honors. The following burbs are from the five FLCC faculty and staff members who sit on the Honors Advisory Board. I rely on these folks to give advice, share ideas, explore possibilities, and work out issues of all types within Honors. I cannot express how valuable this group is to the future of Honors and to all the things that I’ve been working on since I took over the directorship. So, I thought you should get the chance to meet them. I asked each of them to share with me a little statement about why they agreed to serve on the Board. I think you will hear each of their voices coming through, and I think you will also feel their dedication and their passion for all things Honors. And I hope that in this introduction, you can hear my appreciation and gratitude for all they do. These are not the only ones who support Honors by any means, but they are the ones who’ve agreed to let me call on their expertise regularly and repeatedly. So here they are, in no particular order...

Dr. Linda Ross

Faculty Member

My name is Dr. Linda Ross and I am an Associate Professor of Psychology in the Social Sciences Department. My specialty in psychology is clinical psychology and I have many years of treatment and teaching experience. I have always been extremely curious about how and why people become who they are as an adult. I have wondered again and again why does a given individual do the things that they do and how did they become a person who thinks and feels and behaves that way? Honors Studies courses provide me with a venue for sharing with interested students some of the research that has resulted from this burning curiosity, exploring such topics as: How does a person become gay, straight, asexual or bisexual; what kind of person kills their own children; what is the impact on a person of killing another human being?

I am serving on the Honors Advisory Board because, quite simply, Honors Studies provides students with learning experiences that are not typically available to them through standard curriculum. Between the small class size, the emphasis on student-driven discussion and self-reflection and, the wide range of highly focused subject matter from many disciplines, students have the opportunity to indulge their curiosities. Honors Studies provide students and the faculty who teach them with intellectually rich learning opportunities to explore specific topics of interest in greater depth and detail than might otherwise be available. It is this combination of focus on a specific topic in greater depth and the opportunity for students to stretch both their thinking, their academic skill set and to have the opportunity to indulge their curiosity that makes Honors Studies experiences so important to support and develop.

Johnathan Murray

One Stop

Hi, curious ones. I am Johnathan Murray, the Assistant Director of the One Stop Center. I am an FLCC alum, RIT alum, and current Keuka College student (2017). I am an educator, student, bird watcher, gamer, amateur photographer, baker, and Tolkien fan. Why am I interested in Honors? I am proud of the Honors Program at FLCC, of its uniqueness, its mission, and the opportunities it provides to our students. I think the course offerings are cool! I am appreciative of our engaged and enthusiastic faculty involved in the program.

I was asked to be part of the Honors Group for my expertise in enrollment services, I stay involved because of my excitement for the program.

Vera Whisman

Faculty Member and Assessment Coach

Who am I? My name is Vera Whisman. I’m a sociologist, with a Ph.D. from New York University. I have taught, researched, and published in gender studies and social movements. I grew up in Oklahoma, but I’ve also lived in St. Louis, New York City, Provincetown, and until recently, Ithaca. My partner Shari and I have been together for 29 years, and married for two. Our son is a college junior.

What have I done in Honors Studies? I’ve been teaching in HS since I arrived at FLCC as an adjunct instructor. My first course was Green Grrrls and Earth Mothers, an interdisciplinary course in feminist and environmentalist movements. Since then, I’ve taught the interdisciplinary social science course, “Women in Society” as an Honors course. (That course will continue under the broader name, “Gender and Women’s Studies.”) I also offer an Honors section of Introduction to Sociology.

I sit on the Honors Studies Advisory Board, and I helped in the review of the curriculum for the Honors Studies Certificate.

What draws me to teaching in Honors Studies at FLCC? First, the students: HS courses draw students who are curious and interested, who want to learn--and to think, talk, and write about what they’re learning. Second, the structure: HS courses work for my students and work for me because they offer small classes in a seminar setting, encourage exploration of unusual topics and methods, and are supported by a pedagogy of reflective learning.

What are my hopes for the future of Honors Studies at FLCC? I’d like to see HS continue to lead the way in nurturing an intellectual campus culture. For example: at my son’s high school, students were encouraged to understand that “Everyone is an Athlete.” The idea was that athleticism is not for just a small number of gifted people, but rather something that everyone can and should participate in. I’d like to see HS communicating that “Everyone is an Intellectual,” that the life of the mind is something we all can participate in, that it’s not something to be left to only a small number of gifted people.

Jennie M. Erdle

Student Life

Some may think that a Student Life and Honors Studies pairing might not make much sense, but I hope the following may shed light on how this truly has been a relationship built long ago, and how this collaboration only enhances the holistic student experience for our students.

As a Higher Education practitioner, it is important to be mindful of the principles of good practice for Student Life. It is also important to be consistent with core values which have been documented throughout the literature of the profession to enrich each of our institutions mission. Since 1937 when the American Council on Education published the first Student Personnel Point of View, the field has produced many documents about student life work. These works span seven decades, examining student life from different perspectives and for different purposes. They demonstrate the long-standing belief that higher education has a responsibility to develop citizens capable of contributing to the betterment of society. These documents affirm the conviction that higher education professionals have a duty to help students reach their full potential.

Our beliefs about higher education serve as the foundation for our commitment to the development of "the whole person"; our collective professional values are derived from that commitment. Values evident across the history of student life work include an acceptance and appreciation of individual differences; lifelong learning; education for effective citizenship; student responsibility; ongoing assessment of learning and performance (students' and our own); pluralism and multiculturalism; ethical and reflective student affairs practice; supporting and meeting the needs of students as individuals and in groups; and freedom of expression with civility. Any statement of principles of good practice for student affairs must be consistent with our profession's values and must help us meet our founding commitments.

Do this beliefs and principles sound familiar? They should, because much of what is at the heart Honors Studies program fall within these same learning outcomes. With these thoughts in mind, to take part in the Honors Studies transition has been a blessing and an honor. I have enjoyed working with the academic side of Finger Lakes Community College from the inception of a new mission and vision, to the development of learning outcomes. It has been truly a joy to celebrate all that honors studies has to offer the “whole student”.

FLCC Marketing Office

The main function of the Marketing Office is to share FLCC’s unique features and benefits with future students and their families because we know that this information is critical during college selection. We also know that FLCC offers various opportunities that people expect to only find at a large college or university. One of these unique and interesting options is the Honors Studies Program, which marries creativity with intellect, features active group discussion, and is centered on personal reflection and reflective writing. As experts on the market and our audience, we know that a substantial segment of the population is seeking this type of college experience because it is challenging, dynamic, insightful, and unlike any other learning method they’ve ever experienced. Plus, the faculty and students in the Honors Studies Program are passionate about their in-class and out-of-class learning experiences, and their enthusiasm is contagious. For these reasons, the Marketing Office is thrilled to serve on the Honors Program Board and participate as an active supporter of this successful and expanding effort.

 “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” - Helen Keller

Honors Event!

Vol. 1. No. 5

TO:  FLCC STUDENTS

RE:  HONORS DINNER, Sponsored by the FLCC Student Corps.

DAY:  October 18th, 2016

TIME:  5:00 - 7:00

WHERE:  Stage 14

WHAT:

I have wanted, since mid-summer, to have an event that was open to both Honors students and students CURIOUS about Honors.  In my mind, I was thinking a room, some pizza, and a lot of mingling.  I didn't have a lot of ideas as to how to go about planning such an event, however, so I set up a meeting with Jennie Erdle, Director of Student Life and Dreamer of Big Dreams.  That was when everything exploded into this event to which I am now inviting FLCC students.

By the time our meeting ended, my pizza mixer was wholly and truly transformed and I couldn't be happier.  The precision and grace with which Jennie took my idea from me and rewrote gives me the feeling that this is how Jennie always looks at the world.  So, if you are imagining sitting in a classroom eating pizza, think again.  Replace the classroom with Stage 14 and replace the desks in a circle with round tables with real linens and tableware.  No more pizza -- instead, think pasta (gluten free) and sauce (meatless red and alfredo) with breadsticks, salad, and cake.  Instead of awkward conversations and small pockets of people that you know from class, think instead of speakers who will share with you their stories about Honors. Instead of posters leaned up against the white boards, we will have real people talking about the courses they plan to teach in Honors in the spring.  And instead of badly drawn pictures with dry erase markers, we will have Honors T-shirts for the first 50 students who come.

I am lining up some folks to talk to us -- not about numbers and requirements or credits and schedules, but instead about passion and curiosity, about intellectual adventures and the value of real learning.  You'll see faculty who are excited about teaching, enthusiastic about subject areas, and excited to learn from their students just as their students learn from them.  You'll hear about the fascinating courses we have up and coming in Honors in the Spring.  You'll read the words of Honors students who came before you and listen to college administrators as they talk about what makes Honors special and important to them beyond just enrollment and educational mandates.  You'll hear from people who very much care about students in general and about Honors in particular.  And, of course, you'll have time to talk with the people at your table about your own experiences in Honors.

All in all, I'm grateful that Jennie took my small idea and exploded it into something about which we can really get excited.  I've already invited all the students in Honors courses to come and I hope that this will act to reinforce that.  I hope also that this blog will find its way to those who might be curious about Honors and they will find their way to us that evening as well.  Whether already enrolled or just curious about it, this is a great way to learn about Honors and to celebrate the amazing things that faculty and students alike are coming together to do.

Come join us for food, fellowship, and fun.  Honors - where all you have to be is curious...and hungry!

"I would like to help others rediscover....wonder -- to want to engage with it, to want to learn, to want to share what they've learned, what they've figured out to be true and what they're still figuring out." - Sarah Kay

Dinosaur Thoughts....

Vol. 1, No. 4

I hand wrote this last evening while having dinner in Syracuse following a pre-retreat gathering with six other Honors Directors from various SUNY schools...

So, I am sitting at Dinosaur BBQ with a brain very full after just two hours of meeting with a (hopefully) comparatively small group of Honors directors.  Rockland, Canton, Ulster, Delhi, Brockport, New Paltz and, later, Potsdam were all represented.  There were as many different models as there were folks in the room;  everything from 'we have 400 students' to 'we just graduated our first'.  We were both two-year schools and four-year schools (and even one that is both) and we talked about all manner of Honors.

Here are some things that I learned...

1) Four years schools expect community service as part of their Honors programs.  They do not, however, expect their community college transfers (and they DO accept transfer students!) to have done any.  They don't lower the overall requirement, but since it is only 40 hours, that doesn't seem onerous.  They really seemed to understand that acclimation to the college experience is important and often even more so for community college students who so often have much more on their plates. It was clear that while they felt that service was important, it was not and should not be more important than students doing well in their two-year college and becoming adept in the academic setting.  This aligned nicely with what I feel - which is that service is important, but it needs to find its place and trying to universally apply it to a community college setting might be difficult.  So much of our population consists of first generation students, returning students, students with full-time jobs, students with children, students with other immense challenges.  I'm not saying we can't do it or it shouldn't be part of community college at ALL, I'm just relieved that it is not an expectation.

2)  Our "program" is unique.  For one thing, it is not a program, though we are in the process of gathering data about it so we can assess it like a program.  Many of my colleagues (in fact, I think all of them) have an admissions process.  This intake involves things like high school GPA, SAT and ACT scores, applications, and interviews.  Students have to APPLY to be Honors, even at the other community colleges.  And that works for them.  But for us, you really only have to be curious and I think that works for US.  If there is even a spark of honors in you, we will find it.  Every time I go to events, I worry a bit that our Honors will be dismissed or not taken seriously because it is unique in this way.  But I'm new - and what I'm learning is that Honors people seem to embrace and supper Honors as a concept, not as a model.

3) There are as many ways to realize Honors as there are imaginations to dream them up.  I told my colleagues about a student at FLCC who discovered Honors simply because she was interested in the topic of the course.  As a result, she changed her major, declared herself an Honors Student, and began to take other Honors courses.  Prior to this, she often lacked confidence because of a learning disability and bad experiences in the past.  When I told my colleagues this story, they nodded.  They said things like 'that is cool' and expressed excitement on our behalf that our Honors model allows this sort of self-discovery to happen.  The song of the day was 'what works for your campus' and it was a refrain that I'm learning more and more as I attend events like this and talk to other Honors Directors both local to our state and across the country.

4)  Capstone is an end word.   Someday, I hope that we will have what I would have called a capstone class or project to round out the Honors experience at FLCC.  But today, I learned that some don't like that word because it implies that the top has been reached.  This is problematic when we think about how Honors is meant to encourage lifelong learning.  Why not call it a signature project?  Or a milestone course?  Whether a student is going from a two year to a four year, two year to the work force, four year to post graduate, or four year to work force, the attributes learned in Honors will go with them.  The story is not ending just because the student is leaving our institution, and it seems like even our language should reinforce that idea.  It's all about the stories.

We all have stories.  And despite the work that seems insurmountable and never-ending, it's the stories that keep the heart of Honors beating, for four hundred students or four.  I am proud to be facilitating those stories and helping to write them and I am energized by the work my colleagues are doing across SUNY, across our own campus, and, perhaps most of all, across our classrooms.

What's your Honors story?

-T

"I wonder what sort of tale we've fallen into?"

Sam to Frodo, The Two Towers, J.R.R. Tolkien