132Academics Harding University’s Honors College welcomed new students each year to their tight-knit group of students and staff. The Honors College was one of the many colleges that allowed students to pursue more rigorous course and participate in additional research about topics of their choosing. By completing some of these extra requirements, students can graduate with Honors. Over the year, the Honors College has become more prestigious, limiting their acceptance of students. Professor of communications and the Assistant Dean of the Honors College, James Miller, loves working with the honors students and seen all of their success. “We have about 400 active members of the Honors College, including 55 new incoming freshmen,” Dr. Miller said. “Students can graduate from the Honors College by taking a specified number of honors classes, maintaining a certain GPA, and completing an honors thesis or capstone project.” Being a part of the Honors College meant more academic work, but to many, it also gave a community. The Honors College hosted cookouts, dinners and other events throughout the year for their students. Senior Honors College president and student Aiden Davenport. “To me, the Honors College is more than just a building,” Davenport said. “It is a community and a place where knowledge and experiences can be shared among vibrant lifelong learners.” When Davenport became president, he had a goal in mind for the year. He wanted students to feel the community that he received when he joined the Honors College for the first time. “During my presidency, I plan to offer a wide menu of engagement - encouraging students to build themselves academically and socially,” Davenport said. “ Hopefully, in a few years - when I leave Harding - I can look back on my time at the Honors College and feel like I made a contribution to the Honors, and Harding, culture as a whole.” The Honors College provided a community for many students, but it also provided opportunities for students to grow. Walton Scholar Valentina Romero was a student of the Honors College and loved that the honors classes had a smaller environment and more in depth material. “Being in the Honors College is such a great opportunity because I have the opportunity to be in a smaller size class so that I can participate better than a bigger size class,” Romero said. “I am taking classes in the Honors College and in those, I can say what I think about certain topics.” The Honors College changed their requirement for the 20232024 school year making acceptance more difficult for students. Their new criteria allowed the college to be smaller and become a closer community. Even though its smaller, the students and staff are determined to make their experience at Harding impactful. The Honors College was a community built upon academic rigor and has continued to grow on the Harding University campus. Written by Oscar Adlana For decades the Honors College provides unique opportunities and advanced studies for students. HONORS OFFERS “It is a community and a place where knowledge and experiences can be shared among vibrant lifelong learners.” - Aiden Davenport Approximately 70 students were involved this year in the Honors program, a selective curriculum which encourages critical thinking and requires high levels of academic excellence from its members. “The Honors program is an invitational curriculum offered to freshmen who are either Trustee or National Merit Scholars,” Honors Association President VI McCracken said. “ We started five years ago and have been takin in around 20 new students a year. But we are looking to expand and double our size to 40 a year.” The program presents selected general education classes in a different way. “Honors students take extra classes that replace some of their general education classes,” McCracken said. “These classes differ from a lecture format in that they are mainly discussion-oriented. We feel that it’s important for students of this caliber to think critically. It is crucial that students learn to think on their own and are able to take what they learn and apply it to their chosen fields,” McCracken said. McCracken said that they everyone had different motives for accepting the challenge of the Honors program. For many it was to collect academic accolades or to produce an impressive transcript, but for him it was different. “My whole belief system has been changed,” McCracken said. “I really wish other classes could be like this. The program has encouraged me to think, and I’ve enjoyed that the most.” - Bart Blasengame Reprinted from Petit Jean 1993-1994
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