A Publicatioii 0f tile University Honors College
Oregon State University - Summer, 1997
Universi1y
onors
First Cohort Receives Honors Baccalaureate Degrees
"I am fortunate to be graduating
from OSU with its most prestigious
degree, the Honors Baccalaureate,"
stated Matt Anderson (Tigard, OR).
He was not alone in identifying the importance of the day.
It was with considerable pomp and
circumstance that the first cohort of fif-
Robby Robson (Mathematics; UHC
Visiting Faculty). The fair, open to the
public, allows students to present a
poster synopsis of their thesis. This year,
fair participants were experts in a variety of topics, including: nutritional analysis of Brazilian street children, creative
writing, light transmittance properties
teen students from the UHC passed of different tissue types, depression
through commencement ceremonies in models, and capsular polysaccharide
June. Those earning the Honors Baccalaureate were easy to spot in their
genes. Each UHC thesis will be catalogued in the Valley Library and avail-
soft mortar boards, burgundy stoles and
able in the UHC office.
bronze UHC pins. An article by the
Corvallis Gazette limes, featuring the
UHC as a human interest angle in its
coverage of OSU's 128th Commencement, made the students even more visible.
"This has been a great experience,
and I highly recommend it."
-Eric Bixby, HBS in Biology
The Valley Library has also granted
UHC students borrowing privileges
equal to those of graduate students, in
To graduate with the Honors Bac- order to facilitate their research needs.
Once a 'steady state' is attained, the
calaureate degree, students must take
courses, write and defend an honors UHC expects to graduate up to 100
thesis. Each student then displays his! students annually, fortunate to have had
her work during the UHC Student Fair, a part in the educational development
coordinated this year by Professor of each.
The Meaning of the University Honors College
In this issue:
The UHC is intended to provide an enriched educational environment for
highly motivated and high achieving students drawn from the entire
panoply 0f OSU majors. UHC students are expected to be active parficipants in their own learning and to participate in the community 0f scholars
that is the U HC. T0 the extent possible, UHC classes are intended to be
interactive, intercultural, and interdisciplinary and support an experience
that is cumulative and cooperative. The goal of the UHC is to provide a
model instructional/learning agenda while respecting the diversity of
student characteristics in all their guises, andthe UHC recognizes that
personal initiative is an essential ingredient of a meaningful education.
High Tech and High Touch
Student Steering Comm thee
Drives the UHC
"SLUG em" in Honors
McNary Hall, Honors
Residence
Learn & Serve
Applications Skyrocket
Word travels fast. In just two years,
the number of UHC applications has
skyrocketed. We received twice as many
applications this year as the year before,
and three times the number we could
accommodate.
Admission is contingent on scores
earned on our flexible criteria of high
school grades, SAT or ACT test scores,
and essay responses. The UHC is able
to consider students who might not fit
traditional profiles, yet demonstrate a
commitment to their own learning. Re-
viewers comprised of UHC Council
members (including student representatives) read and rate each application, and
offers of admission were extended to the
top 50 percent of this years' applicants.
Invitations to enroll in the UHC
(complete with a certificate signed by
President Risser) were extended to 200
students with 115 ultimately registering
and expected this fall.
Majors are drawn from across the
university with the greatest number falling within the rubric of Science, Engineering, Liberal Arts and Business, in that
order. Agriculture, Forestry, Health and
Human Performance plus Pharmacy are
also represented. Many of OSU's Presidential and Oregon Laurels scholarship
winners also join the UHC, and beginnmg with the next round, application procedures will be streamlined to make jomt
applications easier.
UHC student Rummy Makmur (Indonesia) and Carole Crateau (UHC Instructor) talk over coffee.
Multifaceted Recruitment Efforts
Working in tandem with Admissions,
schools and to the principal feeder
the UHC engages in a wide array of recruitment activities. Together with some
talented students--our best representatives--the UHC participates in receptions
schools from which OSU draws its students. The same group of high schools
also received invitations to participate in
each of the two keynote presentations
held thus far, and will be again when Dr.
Sally Ride visits the UHC next spring.
in-state and around the region. Over
12,000 application brochures were distributed to students through direct mail-
ings, high school presentations and as
part of Admissions visitations. Individually tailored posters, listing students en-
rolled in the UHC, together with a new
supply of application forms, are sent to
all high schools from which the UHC
draws students. In addition, special invi-
tations are sent to Portland-area high
What is the University honors College?
The University Honors College strives to facilitate an innovative,
cooperative learning community. Motivated students and faculty
aspire to create unique opportunities in the classroom, in the
laboratory, and outside the traditional university setting We
service UHC
encourage leadership, creativzy, communication
graduates leave the university th the insight and ability to explore
and realize their 'visions for a positive future.
-UHC Student Steering Committee
Created May 29, 1997
Page 2
Also through work with Admissions,
a special community college transfer
agreement has been created. Students
who are considering OSU as the next
step in their education may want to make
the UHC part of their experience.
Students who are in good standing
at any other honors program are guaranteed a spot in the UHC if they transfer to OSU.
Visitors seem to flock to the UHC
offices, and staff host a large number of
students and their families who are exploring their options. We welcome the
opportunity to arrange tours, classroom
visits or a peek at McNary Hall.
Universiiy H008 College
Oregon State University
229 Strand
Corvallis, OR 9733 1-2221
(541)737-6400
fax (541)737-640 1
<honors@ccmail.orst.edu>
<http://www.orst.edu/Deptlhonors>
Maintaining a "High Tech" Connection
C
There's so much to
do and so little time.
Problem sets.
Papers.
Proj ects.
Majors.
Minors.
Options.
Who actually
graduates
in four years?
Why don't you
do something
different while
you're here?
Explore the physics
of time.
Recite Shakespeare
in Ashland.
Engage yourself.
You've got nothing
to lose.
And everything
Everything
Everything
to gain.
The Web rules the waves these days
and of course the UHC has a Web page
(thanks to UHC student Jeff Ronne Eugene] and Robby Robson). We have already had students submit electronic applications and even those who follow traditional procedures are pleasantly surprised to find the TJHC is on their screens
every week via e-mail messages sent to
the UHC student body. As a matter of
fact, when students are accepted, they
are informed that regular e-mail communication is an expected part of their
participation and that they should check
UHC-ers after "battle" with Clark Honors
But we are "high touch," too. All
incoming students have a peer mentor
who's job is to help them get acclimated.
They also have regularly scheduled visits to the UHC advisor to help maintain
a clear sense of academic purpose. Office staff take photos of all new students
and seemingly are able to call the majority of them by name within a matter
of weeks. Soon, students find themselves
stopping by on a regular basis to say "hi"
and "visit" the candy jar.
Picnics and barbecues are a mainstay of the new UHC tradition. For two
years running, we have held both a fall
barbecue for new students and a spring
picnic, with cooking done by Lani Roberts (Philosophy and Visiting UHC Fac-
ulty) and other UHC staff. This fall's
event will be held on October 2nd in conjunction with a new UHC student orientation in McNary yard.
We move a bit further afield in the
Spring, all the way to Avery Park, where
Dr. Jim Krueger (Chemistry) was hon-
ored this past spring for his service to
frequently to see late-breaking opportu-
UHC students. Students from the Black
Cultural Center also joined us this year
for food, fun, and conversation. Squirt
guns and chess boards materialized along
with the customary array of park games.
nities for fun as well as academic en-
richment. OSU provides e-mail ad-
JoinUs.
taken from The Chronicle,
Vol. II, No. 3, Friday June 6, 1997.
dresses to incoming students and, as part
of its Alumni College operations, the university will help its graduates stay connected long after they leave campus.
One day it may be possible to take
advantage of OSU's promise of lifelong
connectivity by sending electronic ver-
sions of newsletters such as this to all
Dr Jim Krueger and Kelly Helms at UHC BBQ
UHC alumni.
Page 3
Student Steering Committee Drives the University Honors College
Good things happen at the weekly
Before long you will recognize OSU's
Chronicle. This past year, with the as-
UHC Steering Committee meetings.
UHC students wherever fine T- shirts are
worn.
The Steering Committee also organized a series of all-campus forums (fire-
sistance of UHC GTA Winston
There is no telling how many innovative
ideas will come from students and staff
when they get together to design the
UHC learning community. From special
events, to trips and all-campus forums,
they continue to look for new ways to
enrich their educational experience.
"They (UHC forums) are
practical extensions of the
intensity of the Honors College.
They show our presence in the
OSU community and our attention to important political and
local issues."
-Anonymous response to a 1997
UHC student survey
No sooner did the UHC open the
doors in 1995 than the Steering Committee members coalesced and began to
seek ways to communicate with one
another and to make their time at OSU
fun as well as educational. Right off the
bat, they organized a football game with
the U of 0's Clark Honors College, held
there, and a return match in the form of
a Winter Brain Bowl held in Corvallis.
Both events were lively competitions
brain and brawnand primed us for future forays. If any U of 0 alunmi happen to see this newsletter, we are ready
side chats) in the MU Lounge. Twice
now the IJHC has hosted "An Evening
with the President," giving OSU President Risser an opportunity to address the
entire student body. They, in turn, may
ask him questions. Other forums focused
on "World Religions," "The Corporate
Campus," and "Responsibilities and Con-
tributions of the Greek System."
Steering Committee members also
crafted the students' own mission statement. Remarkably congruent with the
overall goal of the UHC (see inserts), it
is a freestanding document expressing
"...the most important thing was
how personal of an experience
the UHC was for me."
-Cary Sullivan, HBS in Psychology
the students' point of view.
In the first year, the Steering Com-
mittee sponsored its own newsletter,
originally titled The Ecclesia, edited by
Bryce Payne (West Linn) and Kevin
Cornwall, the students developed a new
layout and expanded coverage. Meghna
Chakrabarti and Elissa Easley (Corvallis)
took the lead as coeditors. A final triumph, four pages of their eight-page
spring issue were reprinted as an insert
in the Barometer during the final week
of classes and disseminated as part of
the Baro 's 10,000 copy distribution. UHC
student Chris Petersen (Pendleton), organized a retrospective view of the AllOSU student boycott as seen by various
campus representatives one year later.
Governance
Student participation is essential to
the success of the UHC. Students
organize their own Steering
Committee and that body names
three students to serve on the
Faculty Senate's UHC Council.
Bryce Payne, Eileen Wilbur
(Medford) and Kelly Helms
(Anchorage) have served during
the first two years. Faculty chairs
have been Ken Krane (Physics),
Jim Krueger and Mary Alice
Seville (Business).
Stoller (West Linn) and now called The
to meet Clarke Honors students anytime:
your turf or ours!
The Steering Committee also over-
saw the selection of the UHC graduation regalia, by helping to count the votes
and make the choices. As another aspect of their community building, they
commissioned one of their own to design a UHC T-shirt (special thanks to
Meghna Chakrabarti [Corvallis], The
Chronicle coeditor), to be offered for
sale. To date, sales are impressive and
the shirts will be gladly offered to alumni
of the old Honors Program. Incoming
students and many parents are also
sporting the UHC "Use your head" T's.
UHC Students Jenny Mayo, Nikia Brwion, Aaron Fry, Damon Doelger and Frank Con discuss a
project in the UHC Conference Room.
Page 4
"SLUG em" in Honors
The UHC's Student Learning Center opened last September in the basement of Strand Hall. Renamed by one
student wag as the SLUG (for Students
Learning UnderGround), the center has
become a much valued resource. Staffed
over fifty hours a week, the SLUG provides access to PCs, links to the university mainframe, and study areas com-
plete with a microwave for study
munchies and furniture donated by other
units on campus. This past year Bill Win-
ner (Botony and Plant Patholgy; UHC
Visiting Faculty) held two graduate
school workshops in the SLUG.
Initial funding for the SLUG came
via intramural grants and a computer
donation from the College of Business.
Depending on future development efforts, a student goal is to have another
computer facility in McNary Hall and to
expand the SLUG itself.
McNary Hall,
Honors Residence
Excerpted from a story by Kelly Helms,
Senior Staff Writer of The Chronicle,
Volume II, No. 1, Wednesday, November
13, 1996.
With the lingering scent of brand new
carpet, it was obvious that this wasn't
any ordinary residence hall on the Oregon State University campus. Missing
(were) the turquoise-puke green, plaid
The UHC Student Steering Commi tee meets regularly in the SLUG.
scribe McNary was "convenient," with
the attached McNary Dining Hall, Cafe
Latte, larger-than-average parking lot,
ter being "restored" this past year,
McNary is the newest home of some of
the University's Honors College students.
McNary is comprised of 30% UHC
students. The sixth floor is the only floor
that is coed by neighbor while the others
are divided by wing. With occupants
ranging from sorority sisters to rugby
players, the diversity brings well-roundedness to the hail. Residents mentioned
several of McNary's positive qualities.
Each room's furniture is very versatile
and can be moved easily. They are
equipped with two phone jacks, two
ethernet jacks and a television plug-in.
The most frequently used word to de-
Reaching out to the community is a
vital part of the educational process.
UHC
students can be found immersed
and near-campus location. There are
the two conference rooms located in
in Good Samaritan Hospital; Sunflower
House; CARDV (Center Against Rape
and Domestic Violence), Project Vote
McNary.
Diana Buccafurni (West Linn), had
agencies.
plans in the future to host lectures, semi-
nars and classes for honors students in
nothing but great things to say about
McNary Residence Hall. She liked the
versatility of the furniture and all the
friends that she has made. Diana com-
Smart and other community service
we are focused on more
than just grades."
-Anonymous student survey response
mented, "It is easy to fmd people to study
Anne Marie Vassallo (Wilhingboro,
with because it is guaranteed that others in the hail are in your classes."
New Jersey), Captain of the Women's
Gymnastics Team, was a Habitat for
Humanity campus chapter founder. She
curtains that hang in Finley Hall, and the
rusted orange carpet of Buxton.... Af-
Learn & Serve
Cooperative Learning
We will not claim any cause and
effect relationship but in addition
to the UHC, a number of other
cooperative degree programs
are now available and many are
drawing U}TC students into
various forms of cooperative
learning. The International
degree and the Bioresource
Research degree permit UHC
students to combine requirements to gain maximum benefit
for their thesis writing efforts and
time spent studying abroad.
Page 5
notes
that building houses for
marginalized families also builds society.
Eric North (Roseberg) was chapter
president this past year and reelected to
the same position for the upcoming year.
Serving as secretary will be Srey Ram
Kuy (Corvallis).
Local "at risk" high school students
participating in CHS's Fresh Start program have benefited from their interac-
tion with the UHC. For the past year,
they have exchanged letters, met in per-
son and shared perspectives with the
UHC in a series of interactions held in
McNary Hall. With UHC students serv-
ingas hosts, the Fresh Start students
expanded their horizons and their academic goais during their campus visits.
UHC Scholars Recognized
UHC students explore Shakespeare in Ashland, OR
Out of Class Experience
It is the kind of repetition we love.
At awards ceremony after awards ceremony this spring, the names of UHC
students flowed across the microphone.
We undoubtedly missed a few functions
but as a rough count--at the All-University Recognition and Awards Program,
the UHC was represented by three Agricultural Sciences students; one each
from Business and CLA; four Engineering students; two each from Health and
Human Performance and Home Economics and Education; and thirteen Science students. At the Waldo Cummings
Outstanding Student Awards ceremony,
twenty-five UHC students were recognized, twelve received Smith Scholastic
Awards and another five received special recognition awards.
Interactive, innovative courses are next fall. Many students are anxiously
a goal of the UHC. Reaching for that awaiting its debut.
The UHC is proud of its proactive
goal, the UHC offers successful, enrichapproach
to students' learning by offering experiences inside as well as outside
ing
classes
of nontraditional length and
the classroom.
One of the more interactive courses at a variety of times. Seminars on
UHC students accounted for five
EOP awards.
lunch hour. Other courses run for 5
Kappa Phi banquet, twenty-nine UHC
In addition, at the College of Science
Award Luncheon, twenty-six UHC students were recognized, and at the CLA
Outstanding Seniors recognition another
included a visit to Ashland to see playreading meet once a week during the UHC student was honored. At the Phi
Shakespearean plays. During this up-
weeks (on a double time schedule) as
meet with actors and participate in a well as all term, with start times from
"hands-on" workshop. They will also 8:00 am to 7:00 pm. Students make sughave discussions before each play with gestions on courses they would like to
some of the actors involved. Other op- see offered, such as a cooperative readportunities included attending two of the ing class on current literature. On the
coming fall's Ashland visit, students will
students were initiated while at the
Golden Key Chartering Reception
twenty-two UHC students were part of
the first group initiated into that honorary society.
One of two OSU statewide Rhodes
Scholarship contenders was UHC student Anne Marie Vassallo. The 1997
Fullbright Scholar from OSU is UHC
student Gary Vaughn (Philomath).
Heartfelt congratulation to all who
were recognized, and apologies to anyone we missed.
schedule this fall, students will take the
series, a week-long float trip down the lead, discusing selections of their collecWillamette River, investigations of the tive choice.
The UHC has implemented the mabiology of old growth forests and the
jority
of student suggestions and where
coast range, and explorations of the sewe are not able to do so at first, staff
cret life of bugs via "Farside Entomolcontinue to comb the ranks of OSU's
ogy."
"The Physics and Philosophy of excellent educators to find volunteers.
Time," team taught by a Physicist and a
Philosopher, was a major draw this past
Oregon Stater Features University
Science, Technology and Society lecture
spring. The UHC offers many unique
classes, and students seem to welcome
the innovative opportunity to study some-
thing out of the ordinary. Bringing together various disciplines provides an enriching, lively experience.
Another course, team taught by a
Historian and a Chemist, will look at the
work and life of Linus Pauling in "Linus
Pauling: Science, History, Politics" this
Honors College
Many of you may have seen the cover story on OSU's newest college that
was part of The Oregon Stater in December. Along with Joe Hendricks
(UHC Director) the cover photo featured Kelly Helms, Nikia Braxton
(Portland) and Mark Muktoyuk (Portland) and the story inside had additional photos of faculty and students. One of the points that came through
was that UHC students are intent on learning, and appreciative of the
UHC. With the UHC as part of its array of offerings, OSU is better positioned to keep Oregon's best and brightest students in state.
Page 6
Keynoters
Professor Anita Hill, Mr. Julian
Bond and Dr. Sally Ride top the list of
keynote speakers invited by the UHC.
Each year a speaker is brought to
campus for a public presentation as well
as a seminar/question and answer session for students. OSU students, as well
as local area high schoolers, are invited
to attend all functions and their reactions
have been most gratifying.
The UHC inaugural keynote address was given by Professor Anita Hill
on Creating Awareness on Campus:
Sexual Harassment & Social Change,
aters, lunch counters and parks." Mr.
Cornwall also wrote, "In 1968, Bond's
second mission was in 1984, again aboard
the Challenger, and was also monumen-
name was presented as a vice-presidential candidate by a Georgian delegation
tal. It was the first mission to carry two
female astronauts, and the first to carry
at the Democratic Convention. How- a Canadian. Touchdown was only the
ever, he withdrew his name because, at second landing at the Kennedy Space
age 28, he would have been too young Center in Florida. Currently, Dr. Ride is
to serve."
a Professor of Physics at the University
of California, San Diego.UHC students
will host Dr. Ride's visit and look forward to welcoming the general public to
her presentation. For more information
contact the UHC office.
in March 1996. Dr. Hill focused on race
and sexual harassment issues on and off
campuses. She spoke of learning to recognize racism and what can be done to
correct it. UHC students, plus area high
school students, were treated to a special chance to have a dialogue with Professor Hill. The IJHC joined forces with
LBCC and OSU's Convocations & Lecture series to make possible the two day
visit.
Mr. Julian Bond's presentation, in
March 1997, was titled Civil Rights:
Now and Then. As Winston Cornwall,
(GTA, UHC) noted in an article for The
Chronicle, "Julian Bond has been a pro-
ponent of social change from his days
as a student at Morehouse College in
Atlanta. Bond was a founder, in 1960,
of the Conmiittee on Appeal for Human
Rights (COAHR), the Atlanta University Center student civil rights organiza-
tion. COAHR directed three years of
nonviolent, antisegregation protests that
won integration of Atlanta's movie the-
UHC in Peterson's Guide
The Peterson's Guide to
Honors Programs (1997) has
just been published for the first
time, and OSU is included.
Approximately 350 honors
programs, from the nation's
3600 colleges and universities,
are enumerated and
summarized.
Julian Bond
This next April the UHC will host
Dr. Sally Ride, the first American woman
in space. Dr. Ride will be discussing The
Dr Sally Ride
Future of the American Space Program. In The Third Planet: Exploring
the Earth from Space (Sally Ride and
Tam O'Shaughnessy), Dr. Ride shares
her view of Earth from the Space Shuttle,
"The view was spectacular. I watched
a huge hurricane swirling in the Atlantic
Ocean, and an enormous dust storm
blowing across the entire Sahara
Desert." Dr. Ride graduated from
Stanford with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Bachelor of Science in Physics in 1973, a Master of Science in 1975,
and a Ph.D. in Physics, with a focus on
free electron laser research and astrophysics, in 1978. Dr. Ride began her in-
volvement with NASA in 1978 when
she was chosen as an astronaut candidate. She completed her training in 1978
to become a mission specialist. In 1983,
aboard the space shuttle Challenger, mis-
sion STS-7, Dr. Ride became the first
American women in space. Dr. Ride's
Page 7
Women's Symposium
The second annual UHC Women's
Symposium hosted an all-women
informal dessert social this spring.
The Hawthorne Suite was filled
with students and faculty, sampling
desserts and punch, while visiting
and sharing stories of "Going
Against the Grain." The evening
provided a rewarding break from
the pressure of midterms and an
opportunity for women students to
develop closer links with women
faculty and staff. Oregon State
women, from representatives of
the 6th floor, to women who had
been on campus only a few
months, came together to support
and empower one another.
:
Aggies Receive Support for Senior Research
. Faculty Recognition
.
Faculty working with UHC students
will be more visible with the next issue
of the OSU General Catalog. Beginning with the 1998-99 edition, "Univer-
Students working on senior projects in Agricultural Sciences
will benefit from special opportunities made available through a generous
donation to the UHC via the College of Agricultural Sciences from
:
Mrs. Anita Summers (Corvallis). Betty Brose, Director of Development, College of Agricultural Sciences, worked with Mrs. Summers to
identify ways to assist AgScience students completing their UHC
requirements. This first gift to the UHC recognizes the importance of
putting students on the cutting-edge of the creation of new knowledge-we hope the future brings many more such gifts.
sity Honors College Faculty" will appear in the faculty biography section.
.
S
S
.
Such recognition will reflect the special
efforts of faculty and increase their visibility across campus.
Noblesse Oblige
Any donors out there? Wouldn't
you know it, two years old and already
r, sit ts utwm t
looking for donations and gifts. Of
tnt
course, that is the only way we are go-
ing to be able to support Honors students and you know how important it
oari iii 3liij!r buritwza, b irtu
nnb tin r rimnuthtit uf t!e acut
t. 1ia ttnifrrrt
ar
was during your days in college.
As is apparent from the other infor-
iif $cfritti
mation in this Connection, the UHC
is a model of what undergraduate education at OSU can be, it is already at-
utlnTtt ucW in it
nitl1 at! tI1
tracting Oregon's best and brightest.
We provide a home to high achieving,
highly motivated and active student
n atrturniuq.
ri
ittinu,
s:tt f reni
Hi fifjtntlb s*s ci un
t1je
at
rsUs,
ewi
learners in all majors--now we need to
move toward furnishing what it takes
to permit them to excel.
Obviously, our long-term goal is an
endowment to enable us to maximize
the educational benefits accruing to
UHC students. Meanwhile, scholarships
and support for the senior research
project would permit deserving students
to focus on their studies and the pursuit of excellence. Are you able to help?
If so, a gift to the OSU Foundation,
with "UHC unrestricted" on the note line
would be dedicated to direct student
support via:
*Scholars hips
*Senior thesis research
stipends
*Instructional technology
*speczfied giving as defined
by donors
The Universiiy Honors College welcomes your comments,
questions, and suggestions. Please contact us at:
The l.iiiversity iTtoiiors Colkge, Oregon State University
229 Strand, Corvallis, OR 9733 1-2221
(541)737-6400, (541)737-6401 fax
<honors@ccmail.orst.edu>, <http://www.orst.edu/Dept/honors>
Jon Hendricks, Director
TB A, Head Advisor/Program
Coordinator
Tammy Henderson ,Administrative
Office Manager
Jennifer Norris, Office Assistant
Carole Crateau, Writing Instructor
Winston Cornwall, GTA
Judy Ringle, GTA
Lisa Rivas, GTA
Robby Robson, Visiting Faculty
(Mathematics)
Connection Design & Layout: Jennifcr Norris
Page 8