Welcome Letter Spring 2015

Dear University Honors Program students,
 
I am writing to welcome you back to GWU for the spring semester.  Much as we all enjoy the down time that comes with breaks between semesters, it is heartening to watch the campus come alive again when students return.
 
Over the holiday break I had a chance to work with staff on a few programming initiatives that I wanted to bring to your attention. As some of you may have noticed on the blog or on twitter, we are partnering with folks at Mount Vernon to launch a classic film series this semester, one that we hope will continue next year. This Sunday (the 18^th) at 2:00 pm in Eckles Library Auditorium we will screen “In the Heat of the Night,” a truly wonderful film from 1967 starring Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger.  Snacks will be served. I hope to see many of you there and at other films this semester (“The Graduate” and “Vertigo” are on the docket!).
 
The break offered our new program officer, Mary Rothemich, a chance to get even more settled in with Honors and with GWU. I can’t emphasize how delighted I am to have her on the Honors staff, and I feel sure you, too, will feel like she is a perfect fit. Please drop by to introduce yourselves to her, if you haven’t already.
 
The UHP staff and I are also working to develop a new “Student Programming Board” initiative. We need a bit more time to figure out the logistics, but the goal is to create more effective mechanisms for honors students to be able to initiate and plan events and activities that will appeal to them.  Stay tuned for more on that as we mull over what will work best.
 
One additional programming note: I decided that, much as I love to meet with small groups of students over lunch or breakfast, these gatherings are too few and far between and afford me too little time to get to know you. So, I am going to start holding regular, weekly “Office Hours with the Director” as a way to make good on my promise to be available to all students. I will plan to be in my MVC office (101D) every Thursday from 11 to noon and in my FB office (2^nd floor, Townhouse) every Friday from 11 to noon. Please feel free to stop by at any of these open times whenever you’d like to chat, without worrying about an appointment. I’m (obviously) always keen to talk with students about their ideas for programming or their concerns about the program, but I also love to talk about books, travel, university life in general, career paths, anything and everything. If my established office hours don’t work for you, set up an appointment with me. I will continue to schedule Lunches with the Director and those gatherings also offer opportunities to talk about the program – your program.
 
All the very best for a terrific Spring 2015 semester. Maria Frawley