oHonors orogram ac{,iusts to college status HONORS COLLEGE FOCUSES ON CHRISTIAN EDUCATION Part of the mission ofHarding is to provide a solid education with a Christian focus. To enhance the students' education, the Honors Program was developed in 1989. That program continued to grow and, this year, it became the Honors College. Prior to becoming a college, the Honors Program was already meeting most of the 16 qualifications to be a college. "The fundamental reason [for becoming a college J was to better recognize the students for the work they were already doing," said Dr. Larry Long, dean. "We belong to the National Collegiate Honors Council andwe have tried to match up with their guidelines; we noticed that other universities were doing the same," Long said. The transition involved no drastic changes. "It is a complicated issue because lots of things changed in terminology and procedures , but the students actually do the same things, only now the college is recognized as an academic entity," Long said. "It is not so much internal changes but the way we are perceived on campus and by the administration especially," senior English, biblical languages and honors major Marty Rowe said. The number one obstacle for the Honors Program had been communication. "Now we are going to step forward pretty dramatically in terms of communication," Long said. "We will also be a clearing house for scholarships and graduatework. Our long-term goal is to become a center for faculty development; that would be a major step forward." The college is concerned about the students not only while they are here, but also what happens to them after they graduate. "We want to give the senior Honors College people a chance to enhance their prospects after Harding," Long said. "We are going to clarify a capstone experience for seniors where they make a capstone thesis ." However, the Honors College is not just about doing extra work and going above and beyond the required minimum. It is also about Honors students James Blachly andMegan Wiewora listen carefully during a Human Situations course. Many Honors College students were required to attend classes specifically designed for the Honors Program. • 278 ORGAN IZATIONS serving others, planning for the future and having fun. The Honors College has been involved with a service project at Harding Place. 'We help out with maintenance, wash cars, clean and celebrate birthdays with the residents," Long said. They also tried to involve everyone. 'We always try to do things that are open to the student body as a whole, such as speakers and workshops," Rowe said. Although emphasis is placed· on the increase of knowledge, the college is spiritually based. "I have made a lotoffriends in the college," freshman Jason Ashlock said. "We have devotionals once a month and I am excited about tha!. " The college had 552 members and was optimistic about continued growth. "Maybe by being in it myself, I can encourage others to join," Ashlock said. "We will probably attract more students now,"Rowe said. In the meantime, the Honors students continue to work at making Harding proud. - Diane Grubbs "Imagine a class period where the instructor heatedly debates the theory ofcausality with the students. Imagine a class where your papers are encouraged to be short stories. free form essays and poems. To Harding honors students, this was not a dream, but a reality. "The honors students typically sat in a circle to discuss questions posed by the teacher over the day's reading assignment. They studied essays by the great theorists in everything from economics to natural science, as well as modern social theories ranging from chaos theory to political economy." - Jonathan Picklesimer, 1992 Petit Jean \ "\ ~ ~ i\-71 -""""--~'" '\-.'-.''-."-'.' _.'_ .•::. "•-.,c.,... ... ... _•• • • \
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