Wednesday Morning Sessions 1

2. Fostering a Sense of Belonging and Connection Among Honors Students in a Research University 

Amy Atkisson, University of Alabama at Birmingham Across higher education, we know success is tied to student wellbeing. Keeping students engaged and making sure they feel connected in a larger Honors College can be particularly challenging.

1. Foundations of Scholar Success: A Peer-Led Course for Building Belonging and Academic Excellence

Lynette Yarger, Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusion, Penn State University Schreyer Honors College In 2023, the Schreyer Foundation designated $2.3 million to establish the Schreyer Family New Scholar Experience Endowment. The New Scholar Experience links the SHO TIME orientation with a dynamic new course, Foundations of Scholar Success, that provides a one-credit, semester-long curriculum to build awareness of the tools, resources, and strategies of learning and self-care and put first-year students on the path to flourishing across their Penn State experience.

“Knowledge and Society”: Reflecting on an Interdisciplinary First-Year Honors Seminar

Daniel Kircher: Lewis Honors College, University of KentuckyZada Komara: Lewis Honors College, University of KentuckySherelle Roberts: Lewis Honors College, University of Kentucky Kenton Sena: Lewis Honors College, University of Kentucky 

Fostering Important Conversations Through Community Engaged Learning

Lindy Davidson, PhD, Associate Dean, University of South Florida Judy Genshaft Honors CollegeAndrew Hargrove, PhD, Assistant Professor of Instruction, University of South Florida Judy Genshaft Honors College

2. Difficult Conversations, Honors Education, and the Public Sphere

Tara Williams, Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University As educators, we are working within a highly polarized political context and an increasingly complicated global environment. The public is expressing decreasing confidence in the value of higher education, and alumni, donors, legislators, and others are looking closely at—and sometimes seeking to influence or regulate in new ways—what universities teach and how they operate.

1. Food for Thought: Expanding Perspective

Adam Williamson

Retention & Resilience Advising in Honors? A Choose-Your-Own Adventure Through a New Model for Reaching High Need, High Achieving Students