A Message from the Director
To our Honors alumni,
It is with mixed emotions that I write this Director’s Note, having just celebrated my last Medals Ceremony with Honors students and their families in the role of Director. We graduated more than 300 students, our largest number of Honors Scholars in the history of the program.
This year has brought many exciting changes, and some sad ones, as Honors said goodbye to its great friend and one of Honors’ first directors, Dr. John Tanaka, who passed away this April. But as we marked the loss of this important educator, we also paused to realize the advancements of this program under the leadership of its various directors. I am proud that I was able to contribute to its development and participate in the education and success of so many outstanding students.
The search for a new director was conducted this summer, and I am pleased to announce the position was recently accepted by Dr. Jennifer Lease Butts. Dr. Lease Butts brings not only a wealth of knowledge in education and leadership but she is already familiar with the core values of the Honors Program, having served on our team in previous roles. She has also been a member of the UConn family for nearly a decade. I am confident the future of this program has been placed in capable hands. A year from now I will sit proudly in the audience at Jorgensen while the 2013 Honors Scholars cross the stage to receive their medals.
Though my tenure as Director of the Honors Program comes to its end on August 22, I hope this will not be the end of my connection to you. I will always consider this program, and its graduates, part of my life and an important part of my life’s work. Please keep in touch. Let me know how you are doing. Send in your Class Notes so I can follow the triumphs of your lives.
Thank you for 10 wonderful years directing some of the brightest young minds of this country and connecting with important leaders of this current generation and Honors’ past. It has been a great privilege to have known you.
Sincerely,
Lynne Goodstein
Associate Vice Provost for Enrichment Programs
Director of the Honors Program
Honors celebrates scholars, faculty, and alumni at the 2012 Medals Ceremony
The Honors Medals Ceremony is a time for the Honors Program to individually recognize each graduating Honors Scholar before family, friends, and the university community. Seniors are presented with commemorative medallions to wear at Commencement and keep as a reminder of their successful completion of a rigorous Honors curriculum. The event also celebrates the contributions of Honors faculty members and marks the accomplishments of Honors alumni, highlighting the circular relationship of educators, students, and graduates. This year, three members of the extended Honors community were recognized. Read More.
Top U.K. grad programs have Honors Scholars within their ranks
By Cheryl Cranick, Honors Program
Nestled in the quiet country town of Storrs, accomplished students are hard at work preparing for what waits after graduation. These Honors Scholars eventually disperse across the country and beyond; some settle close to home, while others cross an ocean. Two alumni—one an economist, the other a molecular biologist—graduated from the Honors Program just two years apart. They both pursued competitive funding for graduate schools in the United Kingdom—programs with only a handful of slots—and both were successful. They now reside relatively close to each other, though they’ve never met. What they have in common is the firm foundation they gained here at UConn Honors. Read More.
Understanding culture makes Honors alum a musical visionary
By Cheryl Cranick, Honors Program
In the desert of Phoenix, Arizona is a sprawling, $250 million, 200,000 square-foot facility that blends into the arid background. But inside the walls is a collection of instruments that brings to life the world’s music. The Musical Instrument Museum (MIM), led by UConn Honors alumnus Dr. Bill DeWalt ’69, ’76, is not just a museum that displays devices for sound. MIM has a deeper mission: to create an all-encompassing sensory journey around the globe. It promises to be “the most extraordinary museum you’ll ever hear.” Read more.
Twins run in the Honors family
By Cheryl Cranick, Honors Program
Currently in the UConn Honors Program, of the roughly 1,600 students enrolled or who have just graduated, 22 do not just have a sibling on campus; they have a physical double. In 2011-2012, the Honors Program included eleven sets of identical twins. The presence of identical twins is not unusual for the Honors Program, which has had twins in previous graduating years. Read more.
Class Notes
Find out what your former classmates are doing now. Check out the Honors Class Notes!
Keep in Touch
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