Dean’s List: Living Through History

 By Lynda Coon

We are living in historic times — and like all good historians, we take the long view. We must study the past and apply the lessons learned as we move forward to a better, hopefully healthier, future. Specifically, we have focused on the following:

1. Teach
In the May intersession, our Pandemic forum was one of the first in the nation to focus specifically on COVID-19. We brought together scholars from a range of disciplines, public health leaders from Arkansas and abroad, and Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Honors students from across Arkansas participated thanks to Honors Arkansas, an alliance of honors colleges and programs. We are already planning future collaborations through this group, in courses, research and service learning. Read more about Pandemic in Samantha Kirby’s feature article.

This fall, Provost Charles Robinson is teaching the Honors College Forum Bad Times. Long planned, the course is taking a close look at Black Americans for Democracy (BAD), a student-run organization at the University of Arkansas in the late ’60s and early ’70s that increased Black awareness and protested the lack of inclusion and support on campus. In the wake of #BlackLivesMatter and #BlackatUARK, Dr. Robinson’s course is especially timely now, and we are welcoming both former and current student leaders in online lectures open to all.

2. Innovate
There’s a silver lining in our pivot to virtual events — and that is the fact that going online allows us to rethink our recruitment efforts. Led by Noah Pittman, associate dean of enrollment, our recruitment team is redoubling efforts to recruit high-achieving students from every corner of the state and beyond. Nothing can replace the experience of stepping foot on campus when Fayetteville is in full fall glory — but Zoom presentations, video tours, and one-on-one online meetings will help us extend our reach.

We also realize these have been tough times for high school students and their families. In response, we are implementing temporary admissions requirements for seniors applying for fall 2021 admission that look beyond test scores. For more information visit admissions requirements page on our website.

3. Listen, Plan & Act
Although COVID-19 dispersed all on campus to lockdown at home in the spring, our honors community continued to thrive thanks to virtual events that ranged from book groups to my weekly online dean’s chat to Honors Unmuted, launched in June as a space where students and staff could read about and respond to civic unrest.

Efforts to create a more inclusive Honors College date back to my predecessor, dean emeritus Bob McMath, and assistant dean emerita Maribeth Lynes, who worked with faculty and staff to launch our Path Program in 2014. Today Path is thriving under the leadership of Xochitl Delgado Solorzano. We are proud of these exceptional students, who have achieved an impressive 91% four-year graduation rate, with alumni pursuing graduate studies and professional careers. Significant support from the National Science Foundation and private donors has allowed us to offer more Path Scholarships, but we recognize there’s more work to be done.

Last spring, upon completion of our strategic plan, we began working on a new one, where diversity, equity and inclusion are woven into every aspect of what we do. We’re excited to continue these conversations, make plans and take action to shape a better, brighter future for our college and students.