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
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.
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
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.
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