The 2023-24 academic year found the Honors College in several unique places, including triumphs in nationally competitive awards, a midday extravaganza of solar gazing and a pilgrimage through Japan’s diverse landscapes. I do hope you enjoy this edition of our A+ magazine as much as we have taken pleasure in recounting the adventures of the University of Arkansas’ honors scholars.
Dean’s List
Path 10-Year
This past spring, Honors College staff, current Path scholars and alumni gathered to celebrate the first decade of this nationally significant recruitment and mentoring machine. Our Path alums are making a difference right here in Arkansas, venturing into business, health care, law and academic research. I look forward to the next decade, which promises to bring even more talented Path students who will shine both on and off campus.
Study Abroad
Honors Passport: Japan took off this past May and set a high standard for international education. Seventeen honors scholars collaborated with two outstanding faculty in architecture and history and trekked across this mountainous archipelago. The students spent the night at a Buddhist monastery situated atop craggy terrain, e-biked around an island featuring numerous art installations and visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. Passport scholars flew home with a multidimensional understanding of Japan, both past and present.
Solar Eclipse
On the afternoon of April 8th, honors students, faculty and staff gathered in the Gearhart Courtyard to witness 98.5% of a total eclipse of the sun. Donning protective eye gear and enjoying Sunkist and chocolate MoonPies, the crowd observed the celestial event to the tune of classics like The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun.”
Curriculum
In the spring 2024 Honors College Forum: Presidential Primaries, former Governor of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson offered honors students his unique insights into the presidential campaign process, the primary system and his thoughts on how the fall presidential race would play out. The conversation was wide-ranging, covering Gov. Hutchinson’s legal and political career, his experience in Congress, and his dedication to the state of Arkansas.
Research
Research is at center stage here in the Honors College, and 2024 represents a banner year. Four students won the Goldwater Scholarship, this nation’s top undergraduate prize for STEM research. Every university in the U.S. may nominate up to four Goldwater finalists, but only 13 institutions garnered four winners. The list of these universities is impressive, including Harvard, Duke and Georgetown. Moreover, many honors scholars publish significant articles as first authors, highlighting the seriousness of their research endeavors. Finally, this year’s Undergraduate Research Symposium set a record for the number of entries. It was an exceptional year for honors research.
Graduation
Honors students excel at research, service, global engagement and entrepreneurship. They hone their skills in these endeavors while on campus only to employ them out in the real world. Fifty percent of our honors graduates have chosen to stay in Arkansas, where they perfect their professional acumen while serving our state. Honors graduates run farms, start companies, become professors, revolutionize K-12 education, staff emergency medical services, run for political office and advocate for local communities. We are producing the next generation of leaders, and it is a real joy to see them graduate and move on to greatness.
Fellowship
This past March, the Honors College brought in a record number of fellowship finalists, who spent the day interviewing with faculty and staff committees. The halls of Gearhart buzzed with candidates clutching their recruitment folders. As always, our volunteer interviewers performed their duties brilliantly, making this experience memorable—and pleasant—for the high school seniors we were recruiting. I am happy to report that the Honors College is bringing in a record number of fellows this year, stellar scholars poised to take on this campus and the world.