Dear University Honors Program students,
Welcome to the start of the 2018-19 academic year! I speak for the entire UHP faculty and staff in saying that we are delighted to have you, whether you are joining us as first-year students or are returning, and we are looking forward to a terrific year together. Saying goodbye to the summer isn’t easy, but the energy you bring with you to campus helps quite a bit!
We have much news on the faculty front. A new faculty member joins us this year: Professor Maria Restrepo, housed in ESIA, will regularly offer courses on peace-building, human rights, and criminology to UHP students. President-emeritus Stephen Knapp, housed in English, will regularly offer humanities courses, beginning with one on metaphor this fall and another on the Bible as literature in the spring. We are excited to welcome back UHP regular full-time faculty member Professor LaTisha Hammond, who returns to the classroom this year after her parental leave. Professor Theo Christov will be on sabbatical this fall, and his courses will be covered by Professor Craig French and Professor Summer Renault-Steele. In addition, we welcome three new faculty fellows to the program this year: Professors Kerric Harvey (SMPA), David Rain (Geography), and Mary Beth Stein (German). Last but definitely not least, we are super excited to host Thomas Keegan, a talented local actor, who will teach a course on theatre in DC this fall. Please do your best to make all of these faculty welcome and to show them what Honors students are made of!
I very much hope the academic year is rewarding for all of you. If you didn’t yet see the excellent opinion piece by Frank Bruni of the New York Times that we posted on the UHP Facebook page, have a look (and a read, of course). My favorite lines were these: “The wisest students…move into a peer relationship with the institution rather than a consumer relationship with it. They seize leadership roles. They serve as research assistants. And they build social capital, realizing that above all else, they’re in college ‘to widen the circle of human beings who know you and care about you.” The remarks capture what I love best about the University Honors Program: the people (faculty, staff, and students) who form a community of learning and caring together. We’ll provide abundant opportunities for all of you – first-year students through seniors – to spend time together outside of the classroom. Be on the lookout for a wide range of activities this year, everything from our annual fall hike to Harper’s Ferry to a night out with the Nationals to a Library of Congress trip for a reader’s card. I hope all of our huge in-coming class of first-year students will join us for our Welcome Dinner on Tuesday, August 28th (5:00 to 7:00 in the Marvin Center Continental Ballroom). Many of the faculty and the incredible team of peer advisors will be there, and it’s a great opportunity to begin getting to know one another.
My door (and inbox) is always open, should you desire to talk with me about any aspect of the Honors Program. If you’d like to talk, please just email me to make an appointment. All the very best to each and every one of you,
Maria Frawley
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University Honors Program Blog
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