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Honors College Winter Newsletter

Semester Wrap-up

As we draw the year 2021 to a close, we are grateful for all of our blessings this year in the Honors College. This has truly been a unique and challenging fall semester to say the least. We are so proud of our students for their continued persistence this semester. As I reflect on this semester, what I am most thankful for is our honors students, faculty and staff with their incredible adaptability and resilience. I’m also thankful for our new soon to be Honors College graduates. Finally, as we finish this calendar year, I’d like to extend my gratitude for your collective and individual contributions to JMU and the Honors College. Your generosity and leadership has been key to our success this year. We continue to build and grow the legacy of an amazing Honors College, thanks in part to your support and dedication. I am excited to see what the future holds.

In closing, the Honors College faculty and staff wish you and your family all the best as we close out 2021 and look forward to brighter days ahead in 2022.

Best, Bradley Newcomer, Dean

Honors College Administrative Team Updates

We are writing today to inform you of some administrative team updates for the Honors College. Dr. Brad Newcomer who has served as the inaugural dean of the Honors College, will be leaving his position to join The Honors Society of Phi Kappa Phi as Executive Director and CEO, effective Spring 2022. We are excited for this amazing opportunity for Dr. Newcomer and know he will continue to be a champion for the JMU Honors College. Dr. Fletcher Linder will serve as Interim Dean for the Honors College, and the search for a dean will begin in Spring 2022.

Dr. Fletcher Linder is currently the Dean of University Studies and Associate Provost for Online Strategy. Dr. Linder holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Asheville and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Linder is a well-respected scholar and advocate for Honors education.

Additionally, Dr. Felix Wang will be joining the Honors team as an Assistant Dean in January 2022. Dr. Wang was the former Senior Associate Executive Director of the Center for Global Engagement. He earned his B.B.A. and M.B.A from Campbell University in North Carolina and M.Ed. in College Student Personnel Administration from James Madison University. He earned his Ph.D. at the Center for Higher Education Internationalisation (CHEI), Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy. Felix has over 20 years of experience in the field of global education. In addition, he has taught for the JMU Honors College in the area of Global Studies. We are excited to have Dr. Wang’s expertise in international education, global engagement and study abroad.

Finally, we are excited to welcome a new Administrative Assistant, Hanley Carpenter to the Honors Team in January 2022. Hanley is a recent graduate of Bridgewater College with a degree in Communication Studies. She is eager to meet all the students and help the Honors team through any and all administrative tasks.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Linder, Interim Dean and Dr. Wang, Assistant Dean, and Administrative Assistant Hanley Carpenter to the Honors College Team.

Lynn Lang, a beloved member of the Honors Advisory Council and JMU community, passed away Thursday, November 18 following a prolonged health battle.

Lynn Z. Lang graduated from JMU in 1964, when the school was known as Madison College and was primarily composed of women students. Returning to her home in Arlington, Virginia shortly after graduation, she joined the teaching staff of the Arlington Virginia Public Schools and remained there in a variety of professional positions until her retirement in 1998. During the period from graduation to retirement, she obtained a Master’s Degree and Doctorate in Language Development and Reading/Writing Curriculum and Instruction from UVA and Virginia Tech respectively.

Lynn was an avid supporter of Honors students, especially those in the Education field and gave much of her time and talent to the Honors College. We are forever grateful for the impact she made on our college, our students and ourselves. She will truly be missed.

Fall Symposium

On Friday, December 3, the Honors College hosted its fall symposium. Forty-four students presented posters related to work they completed in Honors classes and/or in fulfillment of Honors capstone requirements. The symposium included eight capstone thesis and two senior portfolio project presentations. We would like to highlight our graduating seniors who presented this fall: Adam Chutuape, Amanda Arrain, Beryl Ignacio, Grace Bailey, Kyrie A. Bassett, Phoebe Brueger, Rachel Stegmeier, Sophia Waugh, and Sydney Inger. Click here to read about their presentations in the Symposium Program.

Student posters on display for the Fall Honors Symposium.

Hillcrest Scholarship Winners Announced

The Honors College is pleased to announce this year’s Hillcrest Scholarship recipients. Each award provides up to $5,000 to support transformative summer experiences for Honors students.

Each recipient designed a unique project that incorporates their academic, professional, and personal interests. These projects reflect the purposeful and rigorous scholarship undertaken by students in the Honors College.

Each recipient designed a unique project that incorporates their academic, professional, and personal interests. These projects reflect the purposeful and rigorous scholarship undertaken by students in the Honors College.

Hillcrest Scholarships are made possible through the generous financial support of the Honors Advisory Council.

Darby Henn '23-Elementary Education (front row, right) “Telling Their Story: Nasaruni and the Power of Multicultural Literature” Faculty mentor: Dr. Michelle Cude, Professor, College of Education Fredric I. McGhee Hillcrest Scholarship for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Grace Templeton, '23-Music Education (back row, left) “Creative Futures and the University College London Experience” Faculty mentor: Dr. Lisa Maynard, Associate Professor, School of Music

Kaitlyn Gentille '22-Sociology and Independent Scholars (back row, right) “Quality and Class: The Effects of Lower Socioeconomic Status on Individual’s Perception of Healthcare” Faculty mentor: Dr. Matthew Ezzell, Professor of Sociology

Victoria Tartivita, '23-Biology (front row, left) “American Sign Language and the Dynamics between ASL Interpreters and Deaf Patients in Medicine” Faculty mentor: Dr. Tobias Reynolds-Tylus, Assistant Professor, Communication Studies

Xaiver Williams '23-Music Education (back row, middle) “The Role of Black Male Educators in the Lives of Black Male Students: Identifying Best Strategies for Decreasing the School-to-Prison Pipeline in the Commonwealth of Virginia” Faculty mentor: Dr. Timothy Thomas, Associate Professor, Educational Foundations and Exceptionalities Hinshaw-Daniels Hillcrest Scholarship

Medallion Ceremony

Friday, December 17, 2021

The Honors College will hold an in-person Medallion Ceremony followed by a buffet lunch for graduates and family members. The program will include student speaker, Marina George, '22, and conferring of medallions. A formal invitation has been sent to all Honors College graduates. Click to view the full event program.

NCHC

In October, members of the Honors College team traveled to Orlando, Florida to attend the National Collegiate Honors Council conference. It was a remarkable opportunity to reimagine honors for professional development, networking and mentoring, student engagement, and so much more. We met and learned from other Honors College faculty and students from around the world. As a bonus, the conference was held adjacent to Walt Disney World - we were able to enjoy a complimentary night at Epcot thanks to NCHC! Our faculty led multiple conference sessions. Kenya Balser, '23 – a Management and Honors student – was also able to attend the conference and led a session with Executive Administrative Assistant, Tammy Steele and Director of Student Engagement, Alysia Davis. They presented their work on best practices for utilizing social media in higher education. All conference attendees returned to Harrisonburg teeming with inspiration and excitement to implement new ideas for the JMU Honors College.

Honors Vibrancy In and Outside of the Classroom

Honors College students are part of an amazing community of scholars, but learning does not stop at the classroom door. Honors activities – book club, panel discussions, field trips, creative programs, and more – continue to engage our students in new and innovative ways. Highlights of the fall semester included a guided tour of James Madison’s Montpelier, a book club excursion to the Edgar Allen Poe Museum in Richmond, a field trip to Smith Island, a great student-led Adulting 101 session focusing on sustainable fashion and how to stretch the life of our clothes (thanks for sharing your wisdom, Anna Lee!), terrific pop-up events at Hillcrest House, and enriching campus collaborations such as student Sydney Inger’s hard work to bring A Conversation with the Queens to fruition in partnership with the University Programming Board (UPB) and SOGIE (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression).

Spring semester promises to be stellar as well!

Amy Millesen, '22 joins the Honors team as the new Student Engagement Specialist.

We are excited to bring on Amy Millesen, '22 (Trumpet Performance major) as our Student Engagement Specialist. Her student perspective in planning Honors events is much appreciated. Below are a few programs and activities all of us can look forward to in the coming months:

  • New-to-Me Swap event in January – Students can bring in unwanted clothing, household, and school supply items to rehome in January. This is a great opportunity to refresh without spending a dime.
  • Game Night in February – We are excited to host Kevin Bertram, founder of Fort Circle Games, to learn about board game design and production prior to an epic evening of board and card game play!
  • Open Mic Night in March – We will transform Hillcrest to your favorite coffee house, and Honors students will bring the entertainment.
  • Team Trivia in April – This team trivia night will feature food, competition, and a competitively-selected trivia master. Details on all these events and many more opportunities will be shared in the coming weeks!
The Honors Team wants to wish you all a wonderful holiday season!

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