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Honors UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
orum Fall 2011
Vol. 16
New Sculpture in Honors Office Celebrates Historic Undergraduate Research Achievement
In celebration of the achievement of Lawrence Curtiss and the many UM undergraduate researchers who came before and after his impressive achievement, the Honors Program is delighted to put on permanent display the sculpture, Coherent Fiber Optics, by Jens Zorn, Professor Emeritus of Physics. Professor Zorn is well-known for his work in experimental atomic, molecular and optical physics, but is possibly better known for his sculpture installations at UM and elsewhere that commemorate discoveries in physical science. We invite you to drop by our office any time to view this impressive piece of art.
JACQUELYN TURKOVICH
In 1956, University of Michigan physics junior Lawrence Curtiss was an undergraduate member of a research team attempting to construct a functional, flexible gastroscope. Physicists knew that fibers of glass, quartz, or other similar substances could transmit light, and therefore images, and that bundled fibers could produce more complete images with each fiber transferring a small part of a big picture. The tricky part was that, when the fibers came in contact with each other, light could leak from one to another. Further difficulties arose from handling the fibers, which left fingerprints and other contamination that degraded, or completely destroyed, the quality of the images. Since it was probable that the fibers could be clad in some way with a substance with a lower refractive index than the glass itself to prevent image degradation, researchers had experimented with cladding materials from balsam oil to margarine. Working with primitive equipment including cardboard cylinders from two-pound boxes of Mother’s Oats onto which to wind the fibers, Curtiss discovered a way to clad the fibers by melting a tube of lower-index glass onto a higher-index rod and stretching it into a fiber.
Coherent Fiber Optics by Jens Zorn.
MARY BURDGICK
Honors Kickoff 2011 Honors Kickoff marks the beginning of the school year for our new class of first-year students. Held each year on the Friday before Labor Day, it is the culmination of the University’s “Welcome Week.” On September 2, we began with a breakfast in the Perlman Honors Commons, spreading into surrounding classrooms to accommodate the crowd. Everyone enjoyed some wake-up coffee, juice, pastries, and bagels while chatting with friends, advisors, faculty and staff. After breakfast, a mass migration filled the walkways to a large auditorium in the Chemistry Building where Tim McKay welcomed the class and gave them a glance at the year ahead. Three distinguished professors, Elizabeth Anderson (Philosophy and Women’s Studies), James Hines (Economics, Law and Business), and William Miller (Law) then shared their views on the issues raised by the freshman book, Cunning by Law professor Don Herzog. Their three animated talks raised a variety of questions and provided a perfect segue into
Group cheer after successful backward rendition of The Victors.
Continued on back cover
LSA Honors Director Timothy A. McKay Associate Director Donna Wessel Walker Assistant Director Gayle D. Green Scholarship Coordinator Elleanor H. Crown Housing Coordinator John C. Cantú Office Manager Vicki Davinich Academic Auditor Jacquelyn M. Turkovich Communications Assistant Daniel Kim Program Assistant Mary Shelly Mageski Application Developer/ Programmer Zachary Nichol Faculty Advisor Margaret Lourie Honors Preceptors Kelly A. Kirby Kendal Kloostra Sarah Na Ethan D. Schoolman Adam J. Sypniewski Keith C. Veal Contact Information LSA Honors Program 1330 Mason Hall 419 S. State St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1027 Phone: 734-764-6274 Fax: 734-763-6553 Email: honors.alums@umich.edu http://www.lsa.umich.edu/honors/ Regents of the University Julia Donovan Darlow, Ann Arbor Laurence B. Deitch, Bingham Farms Denise Ilitch, Bingham Farms Olivia P. Maynard, Goodrich Andrea Fischer Newman, Ann Arbor Andrew C. Richner, Grosse Pointe Park S. Martin Taylor, Grosse Pointe Farms Katherine E. White, Ann Arbor Mary Sue Coleman, President (ex officio) The University of Michigan, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University of Michigan is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, height, weight, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions. Inquiries or complaints may be addressed to the Senior Director for Institutional Equity, and Title IX/Section 504/ADA Coordinator, Office of Institutional Equity, 2072 Administrative Services Building, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1432, 734763-0235, TTY 734-647-1388. For other University of Michigan information call 734-764-1817.
Kudos
by Elleanor H. Crown
Honors Program Awards Thanks to the generosity of Honors alumni and friends, we are able to support and reward some of our outstanding students for their accomplishments. Special awards to Honors seniors are part of our graduation events each year. This spring, we held an awards ceremony the evening before the Honors graduation ceremony. This new format, begun last year, allows us to focus more on the accomplishments of our award winners and to share this experience with their families and friends. In addition to the Goldstein Prizes, Virginia Voss Memorial Scholarships, Patricia Kennedy Memorial Awards, and Honors Alumni Prizes, students who have been awarded honors cords for their service work by the Ginsberg Center are also recognized. Those included the Resident Advisors in Honors housing who have served our first- and second-year students with dedication, energy, imagination, and sound judgment. In April 2003 we initiated a group of awards made possible by the Goldstein family, Ellen, Joseph, Laura, and Paul, all of whom attended our ceremony and assisted in the presentation that year. Named for distinguished UM alumni and associates, the Goldstein Prizes reward excellence in humanities, arts, natural sciences and mathematics, social sciences, public service, humanitarianism and teaching. Students are nominated by their departments for these awards. Christopher DeCou, Medieval and Early Modern Studies and Asian Studies major, was chosen as the recipient of the Robert Hayden Humanities Award. Christopher transferred to UM and, in only two years here, he cemented his command of Greek, Latin, Chinese, and Egyptian Coptic and produced a highly original and profound thesis on Manichaeism in both Western and Eastern philosophical systems. Readers commented that his work opens up some new and productive avenues of research. The Arthur Miller Arts Award in the creative arts was won by Kristen Williams, Creative Writing-Literature concentrator in the Residential College. For her Honors Creative Writing thesis, Kristen wrote a highly praised collection of poems, Techno Girl, which she presented in an innovative hand-made book illustrated with her own photographs. Her work was presented at a gallery show and reading in April. She was commended for her artistic courage and her creativity. The Jerome and Isabella Karle Award for Natural Sciences and Mathematics was awarded to mathematics major David Montague about whom you will read in the National Scholarship section of this newsletter. One recommender wrote, “What sets David apart . . . is his vivid, unquenchable interest in research.” Another remarked “Right now he is acquiring knowledge like a vacuum cleaner.” The University, the Honors Program, and the Mathematics Department are all exceptionally proud of David’s accomplishments. Sara Burke, an exceptional Psychology concentrator, was named the Marshall Sahlins Social Science Award recipient. Her Honors thesis, Stigmatized Sources and Stigmatized Content, uses sophisticated analyses to test hypotheses concerning the perception of bias in writers of persuasive pieces. Sara has a command of statistics and programming that has allowed her to make significant and long-lasting contributions in two UM research labs. Her research director wrote that she is “the most outstanding undergraduate student I have ever encountered.” The Gerald Ford Public Service Award was presented to Cynthia Yoon, a Political 2
Science and Asian Languages and Cultures major. For her research on Vietnamese brides in Korea, Cynthia travelled to Korea where she conducted interviews and combed through counseling center papers, legal documents, and public records. Her thesis breaks new analytical and descriptive ground and has enabled her to make recommendations to the Korean government that may result in more respect and independence for the Vietnamese women. She has also been very active on the UM campus serving in leadership roles in the undergraduate Political Science Association, the KoreaAmerica Student Conference, and other organizations.
sense of difficult texts as if she were a teaching assistant. It will be a fortunate high school that can count her among its educators. Honors alumnus John P. Kennedy has provided a generous grant to fund the annual Patricia Kennedy Memorial Award to a student who has demonstrated outstanding scholarship in women’s issues or English literature. This year’s prize was won by Jennifer McCoy, a double concentrator in Anthropology and Spanish who has also completed premedical requirements. Jenny’s Honors thesis in medical anthropology examined the use of electronic fetal monitors and childbirth medication practices during the last fifty years. She begins medical school at the University of Chicago this fall.
The winner of the Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Award was Roberto Saldaña, a Sociology and Psychology concentrator. The theme running through his many nomination letters was Roberto’s commitment to social justice and to constructive dialogue between members of different groups to combat racism, misunderstanding, and mistrust.
Virginia Voss Memorial Scholarships pay tribute to the memory of the late Virginia Voss, who graduated from Michigan in the 1950s and became College Editor of Mademoiselle magazine. After her untimely death, the Voss family provided funds for these awards, which celebrate excellence in writing by senior Honors women. As they have for several years, Virginia Voss’s twin sisters, June Everett and Jo Van Boven and Jo’s husband Sam were gracious enough to travel to Ann Arbor for the ceremony and to host a lovely dinner for the award recipients and their families.
JACQUELYN TURKOVICH
Reading the large number of submissions shortly before the end of the semester is always a daunting task but that is balanced by the pleasure we get from reading a rich variety of accomplished writings and knowing that these sophisticated and graceful works are the products of our own undergraduates. There were six awards for academic writing and one for creative writing this year. Megan Berkobien’s Comparative Literature thesis, The Imperceptibility of Desire: Translating gender and exile in Cristina Peri Rossi’s Cosmoagonias, provided expert translations of Peri Rossi’s stories written after her political exile from Uruguay to Spain in 1972, as well as a thoughtful essay that illuminates Meg’s approach to these translations and to translation in general.
Goldstein Award Winners and Presenter: l. to r. Donna Wessel Walker, Erika Valdivieso, David Montague, Kristen Williams, Sara Burke, Roberto Saldaña, Christopher DeCou, Cynthia Yoon.
He has been a leader in the Intergroup Relations Program as a facilitator, trainer, program developer, and consultant. His impressive Honors thesis is a nuanced analysis of the ways in which “colorblind racism” enables whites to ignore their own privilege and to construct a deracialized identity in a racialized society. Roberto is one of those rare individuals who are able to integrate impressive scholarship with personal convictions in a way that serves the greater good.
Linguistics major Bryn Hauk traveled to northwest Russia to observe first-hand the artifacts of Vespian culture and to administer a survey to assess the current status and prospects for the survival of its endangered language. Her thesis, The Vitality of Veps: Preserving a Language Across Provincial Borders, paints a compelling picture of the deceptively abstract concept of loss and threat of loss of human linguistic diversity.
The Sidney Fine Teaching Award was presented to Erika Valdivieso, a talented classicist who has chosen to enter a Master’s Program in Education to prepare herself for a career as a high school Latin teacher. Erika’s exceptional work in Latin would easily qualify her for a Ph.D. program in Classics; however she recognizes the need for capable and inspiring teachers and she wants to share her love of Latin, and Greek if the opportunity presents itself, with the next generation. Her nominators all praised her ability to help her classmates make
Katelin Krieg presented her English Honors thesis, The Work of Beauty: Aesthetic Discourse in the Victorian Novel. She has shown how the usually distinct fields of art and criticism come together in several important Victorian novels by examining the works in conjunction with the established aesthetic criticism of the period and the Darwinian theory of sexual selection and 19th century physiognomy. Interdisciplinary Physics major and future high school physics Continued on page 4 3
teacher Kate Miller chose an educational theme for her Honors thesis. Gender Matters: Assessing and Addressing the Persistent Gender Gap in Introductory Physics Courses at the University of Michigan examines the performance discrepancy between male and female performance and the variables that could be responsible.
distinguished by their academic excellence and commitment. The work of Jack Meiland, Philosophy professor and Honors Director, was noted for its interdisciplinarity. The Meiland Award is made annually to the student whose studies best reflect Jack’s ideals of quality and breadth. This year, the Jack Meiland Prize was given to Alexander Brown, a rising senior from Belleville, MI, majoring in German and Comparative Literature. Otto Graf Scholarships went to Andrew Brown of Canton, MI, pursuing an Honors Individual Concentration in Studies in Religious Worldview and Sexuality, Eileen Divringi from Bellevue, WA, concentrating in Political Science and Environment, and Seth Soderborg from Ann Arbor, who is studying Political Science. All of these outstanding students presented impeccable academic records, convincing personal statements about their intellectual journeys and their plans, and held their own in challenging interviews with our committee. We are justly proud of them all.
Jillian Rothman’s Political Science thesis, Intentional Walk: The Black Sox and Steroids: Major League Baseball’s Response to Scandal and What it Reveals about the American Ethos, was a page-turner, even for readers with absolutely no interest in baseball. Her narration of the events of the two scandals and her analysis of their significance is compelling. Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Drug Advertising: a Case Study of Cardiac Drugs, written by Sociology major Adi Wollstein, analyses advertisements for five cardiac drugs in four popular publications between 1995 and 2000. Her work is highly readable, methodologically strong, and impeccably organized. One social scientist reader exclaimed, “This is the way social science should be done!”
Through a generous gift from Honors alumnus Kenneth Buckfire, Co-Founder and Managing Director of the Wall Street consulting firm, Miller Buckfire, Honors was able to provide scholarship support to an exceptional student whose ambitious program requires a fifth undergraduate year at Michigan. The recipient of the Buckfire Scholarship for Fifth Year Studies for 2011-2012 is Perry Janes, a prizewinning fiction writer and cinematographer who is committed to improving the image of Detroit in film.
Amanda Rutishauser, Creative Writing and Microbiology concentrator, graced us with a novella and a suite of poems. The Boys of Salfydd Bower tells the tale of a group of doomed coal miners in South Wales in 1982 and their individual and collective secrets kept and revealed. Her poems weave together to form a narrative of Creole culture, love, hurt, and music in early 20th century New Orleans on the eve of the jazz age.
Bruce Wasserstein, investment banker and Honors alum and scholarship donor, passed away suddenly in October, 2009. For many years, Honor students who write and edit for the Michigan Daily have benefitted from the scholarship endowment established 1992 by Mr. Wasserstein to honor his late father Morris. In 2008, Bruce supplemented his gift with a generous fund in honor of his mother Lola. Mr. Wasserstein was known world-wide for his savvy financial strategies, but, among UM students of his generation, he is remembered for his perceptive and intelligent reporting for the Daily during a turbulent time in American history. The 2011-2012 Morris and Lola Wasserstein Scholars are Leah Burgin, Benjamin Estes, Claire Hall, Erika Mayer, Brittany Smith, Seth Soderborg, and Jennifer Xu.
Otto Graf Scholarships and Prizes and the Jack Meiland Prize are funded by endowments that honor two former Honors Directors and reward the most outstanding third-year students in the program. Because we conduct challenging interviews of the candidates, the selection process often serves as the initial step toward prestigious graduate awards such as the Rhodes, Marshall, or Churchill Scholarships. Otto Graf, German scholar and humanist, was Director of Honors for eighteen years. The awards given in his honor are made to students
JACQUELYN TURKOVICH
Many of our students received funds from the Honors Program to help with the costs of their thesis research, to enable them to attend and present results at conferences, and to assist with the cost of special study abroad programs. We congratulate all of them for their excellent work.
Virginia Voss Award Winners and Presenters: l. to r. June Everett, Amanda Rutishauser, Jo Van Boven, Kate Miller, Bryn Hauk, Elleanor Crown, Megan Berkobien, Katelin Krieg, Jillian Rothman, Adi Wollstein.
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Honors Students Win Prestigious National Scholarships
JACQUELYN TURKOVICH
David Montague, a 2011 graduate from Brighton, MI, is UM’s most recent recipient of the prestigious Churchill Scholarship, which funds a year of graduate study in mathematics, biological and physical sciences, and engineering at the University of Cambridge. Montague is a mathematics student who will enroll in the competitive program known as Part III of the Mathematical Tripos, a taught master’s degree that provides in-depth exposure to a wide variety of fields in both pure and applied mathematics. The Churchill Scholarship is one of the most prestigious and academically competitive opportunities of its kind. There are only 14 scholarships awarded each year nationwide among applicants from 103 American colleges and universities. Montague is UM’s 11th Churchill Scholar since the program was begun in 1959, at the recommendation of Sir Winston Churchill, who wished there always be graduate students from the United States attending the college that bears his name. Montague began his UM career in the College of Engineering, but exposure to proof-based mathematics during a summer research program sponsored David Montague by the National Science Foundation changed his course. The summer program gave him the same sense of pleasure that he had found in puzzle games as a child and he began to view math not just as a tool to unravel some of the mysteries of science, but as an end in itself. After a year, he transferred to LSA to devote himself to the study of mathematics. One of the realities of his move to LSA was the requirement that he reach second-year proficiency in a second language. Because it sounded interesting to him, Montague opted to study Japanese and became interested enough that he spent the summer of 2010 studying at Kyushu University. He is now proficient in Japanese and has begun studying Chinese. In addition to the Churchill, David has been named an Astronaut Scholar, a Goldwater Scholar, a National Science Foundation fellow, a Phi Beta Kappa member, and has received a number of Mathematics Department awards. After his year at Cambridge and the completion of a doctorate in mathematics, Montague says he sees himself in the role of professor, continuing to untangle the interesting problems posed in analytic and algebraic number theory, passing on his love and excitement about mathematics to the next generation, and enjoying his hobbies of table tennis and puzzle-solving. He also plans to spend time in the Far East and to expand his international adventures to other parts of the world. Approximately 300 rising juniors and seniors who show exceptional promise receive awards from the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program, which seeks to provide a continuing source of highly qualified individuals to the fields of mathematics, engineering, and the sciences. The University of Michigan may nominate up to four students each year. In the spring, we were informed that three of our nominees had been named Goldwater Scholars. Alexander Carney is a Mathematics major from Midland, MI, who, like Albert Einstein, derives great pleasure from playing the violin. Sean Alexander Carney Collins is pursuing a joint degree in Chemistry and Piano Performance. Currently a resident of Bethesda, MD, Sean spent ten years of his childhood in Germany. Nicholas Triantafillou hails from Saginaw, MI. He is a Mathematics major who played football in high school and had to overcome the stereotype held by many of Sean Collins his peers that math is “uncool.” Continued on page 6 5
Honors Students Win Prestigious National Scholarships continued In addition to the Goldwater Scholarship, Alex Carney was also the recipient of one of the 25 prestigious Astronaut Scholarships supported by a group of astronauts and awarded to “college students who exhibit motivation, imagination, and exceptional performance in the science or engineering field of their major.” Honors graduates receiving National Science Foundation awards this year include Timothy Blasius (Physics and Mathematics, 2010), Anthony Grillo (Chemistry, 2011), Matthew Koski (Environment, 2009), David Montague (Mathematics, 2011), Amanda Paulson (Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2009), Michael-Paul Schallmo (Brain, Behavior, and Cognitive Science, 2009), and Alexander Wiltschko (Neuroscience, 2009). The results for the Fulbright Program for 2011-2012 have not yet been published. We are happy to report that five Honors students and alums have been nominated by the university for the celebrated Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships. They are Alexander Carney (mathematics), Sean Collins (chemistry and piano performance), Hajin Jun (history), Anna Mickols (anthropology), and Spencer Smith (economics). We wish them the very best in the national competitions.
Honors Graduation
Nicholas Triantafillou
Portrait of Incoming Honors Students
Honors Graduation grows larger and larger each year. Held on the Friday morning prior to the graduation in the Big House, our students and their proud families and friends packed the Michigan Union Rogel Ballroom. This year we arranged a video feed into the Pendleton Room for the overflow crowd. The audience was entertained by Celtic and jazz improvisation provided by three of our talented students, Alex Carney, Alistair Hayden, and Seth Buchsbaum. Greetings were extended by Director Tim McKay who introduced our speakers, Associate Professor of English Language and Literature, Susan Scott Parrish, and 2011 graduates Samantha Greenberg, Elizabeth Carter, and Kareem Alazem. They all shared a personal view of what the intellectual exchange and the academic opportunities at UM have meant in their lives. Following the ceremony, a reception gave everyone the opportunity to mingle with old and new friends, to bid fond farewell to those they may not see again soon, and to send our graduates on to the next phase of their lives with the best wishes of everyone in the Honors circle.
It is the time of year when we are welcoming in a new incoming class and as in previous years, this group of students is exceptional. We are welcoming 484 students into the Program this year and are eager to share the class profile with you. This year, there are more women (53%) than men in this class and 55% of this year’s class are residents of the state of Michigan, which is a noticeable decrease from last year’s 61% in-state percentage. Among out-of-state students, 2.8% are international students. The class median ACT range is 32-34 and for the SAT, the median range is 1380-1490. As we all know, however, test scores and grades are only part of what goes into our admissions decision-making. That’s why we require all students admitted to LSA who believe that Honors could be a good fit with their interests to apply to the Program by writing an essay as part of their application to Honors. The Honors essay is an invaluable part of our holistic evaluation methodology. It’s a time- and labor-intensive process, but each year, we are rewarded through our interactions with such a gifted and passionate group of young people who bring their considerable talents to the University of Michigan community. 6
Greetings from Honors,
MARY BURDGICK
p the trains year in Honors. Just to kee sy bu er oth an d ha ve ha , we for them t of this edition of the Forum candidates, run orientation 00 40 ong am m fro ts den As you can see from the res oming stu s of sophomores, provide m staff must select 500 inc for all freshmen and hundred y nit mu running, the Honors progra com ng rni lea ing Fellows program, the fall, oversee a liv ts, run the Honors Summer den stu 00 all summer and Kickoff in 18 to ing vis ad ge of scholarship, personal academic courses, oversee a wide ran s nor Ho 0 10 n tha re mo on with Honors coordinate an array of thesis process and graduati ior sen the ge na ma s, itie Library. award, and grant opportun archive all their theses in the d an A, LS in ns tio tra cen con nt team, but they could for students across all of the permanent staff is an excelle all sm r Ou e? don get s thi work by the kind of rich How does all they are supported in their ly, ate tun For ne. alo s thi The Honors team never accomplish gan is so good at assembling. chi Mi of y rsit ive Un the nt assistants, and capable network office, orientation, and reside ate du gra der un s, tor cep pre culty Council, includes graduate student pment staff, the Honors Fa elo dev d an on, ati ent ori o meet annually to provide college technical, admissions, up of dedicated alumni wh gro a cil, un Co ory vis Ad s and the Honor n Arbor. t with the world beyond An me with advice and contac effort to been pursuing a coordinated ve ha we , ago rs ff yea cko ee Ki thr at y Tim McKa duating with Honors. We Since I began as Director pleting senior theses and gra com ts den stu session, of er mb nu sporting his “Greek Life” the increase campus. At each orientation on y da t firs ir the m fro h s pat T-shirt. learning and where I encourage students down thi discuss what they dream of We e. tur pic big the out ab er Fellows - students th incoming students several current Honors Summ to m the uce I spend an hour talking wi rod int I s. nor ly original rs: graduating with Ho make creating their own tru p hel d an s ces pro expect them to be in four yea the on e fac thesis projects – who put a hard at work on their own le. rs seem possib s - holding sessions each scholarship in just a few yea did not enter through Honor o wh s ces pro sis the the to and making it clear recruiting students rsue Honors concentrations pu to m the We have also begun actively ng agi our enc – has also allowed us their first year strongly ing sophomores in this way inn beg g tin rui fall for students who finish Rec . all m graduates have s community are open to the plish. Numbers of Honors om acc to ed ggl stru that the doors to the Honor g lon ve ha s, but I won’t our students – something we mber ever. This is great new nu t ges lar the d an se, to increase the diversity of rea % inc 2008 to 388 in 2011, a 40 h the last decade. begun to grow, from 282 in n the typical number throug bee d ha at wh ng bli dou 0, 60 s began with efforts to be satisfied until we surpas erience at Michigan. This exp ic dem aca the tify an on supported involved in efforts to qu to include a Gates Foundati wn gro s ha d an s, For some years, I have been rse cou s rses each term. If you’re ns in our introductory physic students who take these cou 00 measure student learning gai 19 the of h eac to ack db that site you can read about advice and fee aker.umich.edu/ecoach. At em /sit project to provide tailored p:/ htt at ine onl t jec is project is a unique re about that pro ently gave on the topic. Th rec I r interested, you can learn mo ina sem a tch wa n makes possible. t describing it, or eve t the sort of thing Michigan jus – on ati the system, listen to a podcas nic mu com lth d experts in public hea Comprehensive collaboration of physicists an ing, we joined forces with the spr st La s. nor Ho on ent rem Committee ed this penchant for measu A Instructional Technology LS the m fro nt gra re More recently, I have impos ctu Infrastru we have hired a new staff ed a New Initiatives/New iversity. Using these funds, Un Studies Program and receiv the h oug thr ss gre pro ing tools that allow us dy of our student’s ve on students. He is build ha P CS d to pursue a quantitative stu an s nor Ho t pac ny aspects of their d on measuring the im . We’ll use these to explore ma not do o wh ts member, Zac Nichol, focuse den stu r ila uirements, what er through Honors to sim y choose to meet college req the how , nce ma for to compare students who ent per om ssro p to move rsity: their course choices, cla ng analytics project will hel rni lea s thi e hop We . ate progress through the Unive du they gra and what they’re like when concentrations they choose, happening on campus. at’s wh of understanding ter bet a ard this vitality, the tow e leg col ole the wh students provide the seeds of eat Gr ng. ivi thr is m gra i gives us the show, the LSA Honors Pro support of our loyal alumn ued tin con the d As I hope this Forum will an it, re rtu University of Michigan nu intellectual resources of the ward. flexibility to keep moving for
st Many thanks, and all the be Cheers, Tim McKay
for the coming year.
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Report on the Honors Summer Fellows Program for 2011 Last year in Honors we started a new Honors Summer Fellows program. This program grew out of our Director’s experience overseeing senior thesis students in physics and astronomy. Science students usually receive financial support to work on their theses during the summer between their junior and senior years. This time has always been essential: enabling them to attempt a thesis when it might otherwise be impossible and allowing them to take their thesis projects much further. The HSF program is intended to provide this kind of opportunity to students across LSA. This year, our second summer, it provided financial support to 44 students from every division of the college. On the suggestion of the Honors Faculty Council, we structured HSF like other academic fellowship programs, providing both the freedom to work and a scholarly community on which to draw. Through the summer, HSF participants spend most of their time working independently on their theses. Once a week, all the fellows gathered for a two hour session in which we talked about research, their projects, and academic life. The wildly interdisciplinary nature of this group made this unusually effective. It gave them a rare opportunity to explore the nature of research and scholarly work across all three divisions of the college. Thanks to a few generous donors, we have the resources to continue the HSF program for at least the next several years. In our effort to increase the number of students graduating with Honors, the HSF program plays an outsize role. Its presence raises the profile of thesis research, and its members provide us with a strong corps of advocates. With the support of alumni and friends, we are working to build an endowment for HSF, so that we might make it a permanent part of the Honors Program. If you would like to help, please contact Honors Director, Tim McKay.
Hear from Two 2011 Honors Summer Fellows mobility, it has never been addressed so directly. Because this type of analysis has never been conducted on an archaeological sample at the University of Michigan and required extensive forays into civil and biomechanical engineering, I have relied heavily upon faculty members and graduate students throughout the university.
As a concentrator in anthropology, I never imagined being left alone for hours on end with a multi-million dollar CT scanner or poring over civil engineering textbooks – but that’s how I’ve spent a substantial amount of time. By analyzing the cross-sectional properties of 13 human femora, I’m investigating the spatial mobility of a community outside Roswell, New Mexico, and I’ve followed my data from excavation to possible publication.
ELLEANOR CROWN
The Honors Program’s Summer Fellowship provided me with invaluable financial and personal support that allowed me After being inspired by an to complete my thesis. Honors mini-course taught The interdisciplinary naby an archaeology student, ture of the program fit my I spent the next summer at Anna Mickols outside the Exhibit Museum where needs perfectly - by cona University of Michigan her laboratory is housed. necting me with students field school in New Mexico. across LSA, it lent me conThere, I developed a taste fidence in the structure of my research, and my for sandy PB&Js and had my first surprise encounthesis was greatly improved by incorporating the ters with scorpions and tarantulas the size of my standards of other fields into my own project. I hand, and couldn’t get enough. During the folalso used this summer spent in Ann Arbor to enlowing year, I developed a research goal with my gage with the ethics of archaeological research advisor, filling a gap in our understanding of the on human remains by becoming the first of many lives of those living near Roswell – while previous research at this site has investigated issues of Continued on page 9 8
Hear from Two 2011 Honors Summer Fellows continued More importantly, both the Roman statesmansoldier and the undergraduate thesis writer understand the importance of collaboration. Each of the three men I study was irrelevant in isolation. As members of a broader class of junior politicians, my research indicates that they shook the Roman Republic to its very foundations, that from their ruthless thirst for power sprung the fault lines that would see the Roman Republic topple and the Roman Empire rise in its stead.
future NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) interns at the Museum of Anthropology, and I hope to inspire freshmen Honors students to think critically about the role of museums on campus through my own honors mini-course this fall. I’ve experienced invaluable support throughout my time in the Honors Program through its freshman mini-courses, senior research grants, independent study and now its Honors Summer Fellows program; it has allowed me to engage with all aspects of my research and become an active part of a vibrant academic community.
JACQUELYN TURKOVICH
I admittedly had some initial difficulty learning the true importance of collaboration and camaraderie to my research. Historians tend to work Anna Mickols alone, many spurning the “research group” as a tool whose utility is restricted to the natural sciences. This perception was entirely reversed for me by my participation in the LSA Honors Summer Fellowship Program. To be a member of such a Thanks to the exceptionally generous support of diverse and talented cohort of students was a truthe LSA Honors Program’s Summer Fellowship, I ly humbling experience. And I learned from my am currently the world’s foremost expert on my interactions with my fellow researchers the vast thesis topic. To be fair, my work in ancient hiscontribution that interdiscitory focuses on the lives plinary dialogue can make of three relatively junior to scholarship in any field. politicians and soldiers of My accounts of Roman polithe Roman Republic, men ticians have been shaped minor enough to cling to and inspired by conversaobscurity as generations tions on political theory, of scholars scoured records molecular genetics, creative of the ancient world. Still, writing—their subjects I like to believe that my would surely appreciate hard-won expertise in my this collaborative genesis of narrowly defined field is their own biographies. meaningful, even valuable. Gabe Moss reading in the Classical Studies Such is the greatest reIn the process of my work, library. source of the Honors SumI’ve noticed startling simimer Fellowship. The prolarities between the lives of gram’s financial support was, of course, invaluan undergraduate researcher and a minor Roman able; soldiery and scholarship both require timepolitician. Both spend considerable time laboring intensive labor. But it was the Fellows themselves for the approval of a higher power. The imperiwho were the program’s most valuable asset, an ous faculty advisor plays the part of a Trajan or endless source of support and inspiration. And Augustus for fortunate students, a tenured Nero like the Roman politicians who once struggled or Caligula for those less lucky. Both researcher for power and profit, perhaps through collaboraand Roman face sleepless nights and questionable tion a cohort of undergraduates can shake their cuisine (microwaved Ramen being the undeniable world. Or at least learn to cook something better modern equivalent of garum, the fermented fish than Ramen. sauce omnipresent in the diet of Rome’s lesser politicos). Both face fierce combat, be it against Gabriel Moss terrifying Visigoths or, worse, a thesis review committee. 9
Our very popular “Lunch with Honors” series of conversations with distinguished faculty, alumni and visitors continued last year with a varied group of speakers. Thirteen guests came to discuss topics ranging from whale fossils in Egypt and a well-preserved baby mammoth in Siberia to climate change and green technology and Michigan’s economic forecast. Honors alumni started the year: Tom Bombelles came from Switzerland to share his experience with intellectual property issues in the development of green technologies dealing with climate change; in October, Aaron Boyle helped us celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Peace Corps with slides and stories of his PC stint in Kenya. UM faculty members spoke on topical matters: Arlene Saxonhouse discussed how Plato might answer the LSA theme semester’s question, “What Makes Life Worth Living?”; Ralph Williams demonstrated the interaction of Shakespeare and the King James Version of the Bible for the 400th anniversary of that translation; and two paleontologists brought news from the distant past when Dan Fisher shared new findings of mammoths in Siberia and southwestern Michigan and Philip Gingerich talked us through the new exhibit of large whale skeletons he has found in Egypt; Economics professor George Fulton gave us the
JACQUELYN TURKOVICH
Lunch with Honors 2010 - 2011
Professor Dan Fisher shows photos of Lyuba, a baby mammoth he studied in Siberia. National Geographic ran a cover story about Lyuba in May, 2009.
latest economic forecast for the state of Michigan. We also hosted distinguished visitors to campus. Stephen Prothero, a noted expert on comparative religion who has appeared on the “Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report,” addressed the political problems that arise from religious illiteracy; documentary filmmaker and environmentalist Stephen Most gave an insider’s view of the making of his film about the Klamath River. Ari Weinzweig, co-founder of Zingerman’s delicatessen, challenged a
large group of students to pursue their dreams by discussing the anarchist heroes of his student days, describing the hard work it took to launch his business, and demonstrating how those seemingly disparate endeavors combined in his life and work. We’re planning another exciting line-up of guests for Lunch with Honors this year, including authors, scientists, and political figures.
Honors Summer Read, Cunning by Don Herzog One factor that insured the success of the Kickoff was the choice of Cunning as our freshman summer reading book. Drawing from classical to contemporary sources, UM Law Professor Don Herzog explores a topic as old and complex as human culture: “How should you go about your life, and why?” Professor Herzog holds an A.B. from Cornell University and both an A.M. and a Ph.D. from Harvard University. He is also the first law professor to receive the Golden Apple Award, the only U-M teaching award given by students themselves. The book inspired lively reactions both from our faculty
respondents and among our groups of first-year students at Kickoff. On Friday, September 23, Professor Herzog joined us for Parents Weekend events including a “Lunch with Honors” and a public lecture to which students, visiting parents, and the community at large were invited. This was a special opportunity for our students to share a part of their intellectual adventure with their parents. Be sure to visit our website to see a video of Professor Herzog’s lecture as well as the faculty reactions to the book that were part of our Kickoff events. 10
Honors Housing and the “Second-year Experience” By John Cantú
The 2010-11 academic year has been one of the more dramatic transitions in the long tradition of LSA Honors Housing. Following our previous three-year housing expansion in Couzens Hall (“Honors on the Hill”) to fulfill increased student demand, last year we added South Quad’s Bush House to create the “Honors Second-Year Experience.” One of the active issues in higher education—and the focus of a College-wide academic conference last Spring featuring Honors Director, Tim McKay—is the issue of second-year study. This middle year of study has long been the subject of heightened concern as the first year of a typical student career is centered around the adjustment to campus and to college-level academics. Year three usually sees students identifying their majors and concentrating on the areas that they most enjoy, and, of course, in year four they are writing Honors theses and thinking ahead to graduate or professional school or entry into the marketplace. One of Honors’ solutions to ease this so-called second year “gap” has been to create a residential component of 150 second-year students to give them the opportunity to bond as a distinct community. Perhaps the most significant project our four Bush House Honors Residential Advisors (Kevin Carney, Margaret Cease, Elizabeth Shea, and Spencer Smith) crafted during our first year of this “Second-Year Experience” has been the hosting of three student panels of four upperclassmen in humanities, social sciences and natural sciences to share information with Honors students about what to anticipate when choosing a concentration. The topics of these two-hour panels, attended by more than 50 students per session, included practical tips about areas of study; which professors to contact; and how to find information about Honors research. This expansion and integration of our Honors community in South Quad also means our resident advisors have been able to increase their previous years’ activities. Among other projects last year were a one night “What Makes Life Worth Living” open house based on last year’s LSA theme semester; Rock Climbing at the U-M Intramural Athletics Building; an Honors “Internship/Summer Opportunities” student panel; and a visit to Detroit’s Fisher Theater to take in a performance of the Tony Award-winning musical, “In the Heights.” Add other Honors Housing projects like a “Greening of Detroit” field trip; our annual “MLK Day: Your Role in Social Change” which features small group discussions held in conjunction with other LSA College activities on this national holiday; a Harry Potter-themed semi-formal “Yule Ball”; a South Quad “It’s a Disaster” evening activity focusing on recent worldwide natural disasters (as well as social service responses), and Honors Housing 2010-2011 has hosted a successful series of activities planned by Honors students for Honors students throughout the academic year.
Quick Notes You can now visit Honors on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, join us on LinkedIn, keep track of our activities on our webpage, www.lsa.umich.edu/honors, and email us any time at honors. alums@umich.edu. If you would like to know what is happening in Honors programming during the academic year, we will be happy to add you to the distribution list of our weekly email, “This Week in Honors.” Our nearby alums and friends are always welcome to join us for our special programs. You can find many Honors theses in the Deep Blue Thesis Archive online. You’ll find a link on our gateway page. We have received interesting reports from several of our alums over the past year. We hope to include more alumni updates in future editions of the Honors Forum so please keep us informed.
May 2011 Graduation Snapshot • 333 Honors graduates (11.6% of entire LSA graduating class); 20 also with the Residential College • 125 double concentrators (7 of which were double Honors) • 3 triple concentrators • Average GPA = 3.750 • 2 graduated with a perfect 4.0 GPA
Top Five Honors Concentrations: 5. Tie: Economics (13); Political Science (13) 4. Tie: Mathematics (18); History (18) 3. Tie: Neuroscience (23); Brain, Behavior, & Cognitive Science (23) 2. English (including Creative Writing sub-concentrators) (25) 1. Psychology (57)
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Honors Preceptors: a new approach to academic advising The Honors Program has a new category of academic advisor: the Honors Preceptor. The title comes from the Latin praeceptor, meaning teacher or tutor; our Preceptors are graduate student advisors for our students. Preceptors serve as academic advisors for basic advising issues: orientation, course selection, area distribution and other general degree requirements, and helping students find interesting, unusual courses. Because they are young themselves, Preceptors can assist in more important ways, too: to serve as role models in graduate and professional schools, to help our students imagine themselves there, and to guide them in the changing requirements and practicalities of the application processes involved. For the Preceptors, we provide future faculty education: not only do we train the Preceptors in the academic requirements of the undergraduate degree at Michigan, but we have monthly meetings where we discuss the broad liberal arts education that those requirements are designed to create. We choose Preceptors in an application process from the ranks of candidates for the Ph.D.: these are graduate students who have passed their prelims and begun their dissertations; most of them have taught several undergraduate courses as well, and a few have done concentration advising in their departments. So these are graduate students who are experienced with undergraduates and on the cusp of their own careers. Because we expect them to be launched soon, and in order not to stand in the way of their progress to their degrees, we have limited the Preceptorship to two years. We have had seven very strong Preceptors serving with us this past year. Five are graduate students in academic fields in the College; two are Honors alumnae who are in UM’s Law School or Medical School. Kendal Kloostra is beginning her third year in the Law School; she graduated with Honors in English in 2006, taught high school English for a while, and then worked for a year in our office before starting her legal studies. Sarah Na, a 2008 Honors grad, had worked as an academic peer advisor while she was studying Classical Languages and Neuroscience. On leave from med school right now, Sarah takes a reflective approach to questions so many of our students bring about medical school and the study and practice of medicine. She writes, I was thrilled to have the chance to be a preceptor during the year I decided to take away from medical school. I felt that I received much from the encouraging atmosphere in Honors when I was a student here, and I am happy to be in the position to contribute now to that environment. I do pre-health related advising in addition to general advising, so I can draw upon my own experience of applying to medical schools as well as the experience of having taken the same courses
my students are taking. I find that the students appreciate the ease with which I can relate to them, as one who has just recently traveled the path they are embarking on, and yet, as a Preceptor, I can speak with more reliability than their peers. I am glad to help foster enthusiasm for discovery and innate curiosity just as I was encouraged when I was a student here.
The five other Preceptors, in liberal arts fields, also bring a mix of practical and scholarly expertise to their advising. Keith Veal, in Political Science, worked at a public opinion polling firm for a number of years between undergrad and grad school; he has also been involved in political activism in a variety of ways. Kelly Kirby is an anthropologist working on the social interconnections between aesthetics and economics in cloth production in Senegal; she also has experience in museum work. Ethan Schoolman is a candidate in Sociology who is also a fellow in the Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute and a member of the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at UM; before that he worked for a variety of non-profit organizations, including the Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America. He expressed the feelings of all of the Preceptors when he wrote, Being a preceptor has been a remarkable experience that I know will make me a much better teacher. As a GSI, you tend to hear from students mostly about things that are directly relevant to the class that you’re teaching. Advising in the Honors Program puts everything into context: you realize how much students have on their plate, from weighing what language to take to choosing a major to planning summer internships to navigating relationships with family and friends. It’s been very gratifying to feel like I’ve helped students that I see to make good decisions in these areas. At the same time, the community of advisors, preceptors, and mentors of all ages in Honors reminds me every week why working in higher education is where I belong. For me, there’s no better career than contributing to the development of new generations of smart, able, socially-conscious citizens. And beyond that, it’s just a lot of fun.
Two of this year’s cohort have already moved on to jobs in academia. Jeff Kaja finished his degree in March and took a tenure-track position in History at California State U at Northridge. He expressed many of the same sentiments as Ethan described, but Jeff also commented about the value of being a preceptor for his preparation as a future faculty member:
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Honors Orientation 2011
In addition to being a thoroughly enjoyable experience, this position was invaluable in preparing me for the job market. University service has become an increasingly important component of a successful application. Numerous search committees remarked upon the value of this experience in particular. The topic of advising came up in multiple interviews, and I strongly believe that being able to discuss personal experiences gave me a competitive edge, especially at teaching-focused schools. This experience was also incredibly helpful in understanding how a university works: from broad policy to day-to-day management. In the course of pursuing a dissertation, graduate students easily forget that they will one day become not just scholars and teachers but also members of an academic unit with responsibilities ranging from showing up to meetings to running committees and departments. Seeing firsthand how a successful program works and how it fits into the larger university system was a great preparation for those duties.
Craig Tyson defended his dissertation in Ancient Civilizations and Biblical Studies early in the summer, and by July he was headed with his family to a job at the University of Mississippi.
Every summer, Honors hosts our incoming freshman students for Summer Orientation. From the beginning of June until early August, Honors is a beehive of activity, buzzing with the commotion of incoming students popping popcorn and asking questions. This is our first opportunity to sit down with each and every student who is entering Honors and to really get to know the individual personalities of the students we’ve ‘met’ during the application process. Students come to Honors midway through the second day of their 3-day Orientation session. Of course we begin with lunch: it has become a tradition in Honors to ground our work with students in a convivial atmosphere created by some wonderful food from one of Ann Arbor’s local businesses. Lunch together also gives students the chance to talk in an informal setting with some of our Honors Peer Advisors and staff. On our evaluation survey students gave all kinds of reactions, ranging from “I felt smarter for eating it” to “the four cheese pizza was mind-blowing.” Students also said, “I enjoyed the more personal and quiet atmosphere to socialize with other Honors students” and “’Twas a riveting discussion” when commenting on the lunch. After lunch, students have the chance to meet with Tim McKay to discuss their very own ”Big Ideas,“ explaining some of the ideas that they would like to explore during their time here. This conversation is always an overwhelming success—89% of this year’s Orientation attendees had positive things to say about it. One student praised this session by saying “... [Prof McKay] made me really think about what I want to accomplish in the next four years.” During this discussion the students also hear from two of the Honors Summer Fellows about their research and experiences in the Program, and they receive a copy of the Honors Summer Read (more about Cunning in another article). After meeting with Tim, students then move to our “Information Fair,” where they have the opportunity to examine many different aspects of the College curriculum, Honors opportunities, and how it all fits together in a comprehensive course of study. Moving from station to station in the fair, students can ask their own questions, pursue issues in the depth they want, and move at their own pace. They talk with Honors peer advisors, preceptors, and an Honors math professor to get expert information at each booth in the fair. They also hear each other’s questions and get to know each other in this more academic context. During the fair, students also meet one-on-one with their advisors, during which time they can have their individual questions answered, talk about their thoughts regarding future plans, concentrations, interests, and discuss courses that may be of interest to them. For many students, their orientation advisor ends up being someone with whom they build a long-term advising relationship. Students overwhelmingly reported being satisfied with their advising experience: 81% felt that their advisor met their emotional and academic needs. In the evening, students return to the Perlman Honors Commons to work with our Honors Academic Peer Advisors choosing courses and lining up sections to build a schedule: the process known on campus as “course backpacking.” Our Peers do a wonderful job with the incoming students, giving them the benefit of their experiences and knowledge. Students said the following about our Peer Advisors: “Fantastic. They even recommended specific courses and instructors they thought I would like and connect with.” “I appreciated their kindness and patience.” “The peers were extremely accessible, approachable, and attentive.” Early the next morning, the students meet with their advisors again, where they go over the courses they’ve selected and then proceed to register for them with the help of the Peer Advisors. After the registration process is finished, students have a third and final meeting with their advisors to demonstrate how the courses they’ve chosen work toward general degree requirements and to answer any remaining questions or concerns they might have. It is because of the hard work of the Honors staff, advisors, and Peers that our Orientation process is so successful. As one student this year commented, “It was really nice to feel that our registration was personalized and we weren’t lost in a sea of other people.” In Honors we strive to create a friendly atmosphere where students feel they belong. 13
The Pantanal Project Continues: School Built and Ready to Open Last year, the Honors Forum featured a story about an ambitious project Honors students had created to build a school and research station in the remote Pantanal region of Brazil. This visionary effort, spear-headed by Ethan Shirley and Julie Bateman, began with a student group sponsored by the Honors Program but ranging across the entire University, drawing undergrads and graduate students from Honors, LSA, Engineering, Architecture and Urban Planning, and the School of Natural Resources and the Environment. The group raised money from foundations and individual donors through grant applications and local fundraising events such as a 5K walk/run in the Arb. By the end of last summer, the group had organized several team visits to the Pantanal, and had built the school, conducted a count of the numbers and locations of students who would attend the school, researched transportation Pantanal Schoolroom options for those far-flung children, and started the process to affiliate the school with the local school board so that a teacher could be hired and the school opened. That’s quite a lot to achieve in a little over a calendar year!
and cooking. The team partitioned the school building into rooms for various purposes: a roomy classroom, a lab with two sinks, and a small clinic room with a sink. Plans for the future include installing a loft to serve as a residence for the teacher. The team met with several government leaders on site in early July. The municipal and state secretaries of education and the prefect of the region were impressed by the building and the potential its facilities represent for this community. The school and clinic can fit easily into existing systems for rural education and health care: the school will be a satellite classroom of a school in the nearest town, and the clinic will be an outpost of an urban hospital. So, arranging for a teacher and a visiting doctor were fairly straightforward. Transportation for the students remains an issue only partially resolved by the purchase and repair of a mini-bus for those who can come by road; the team is still seeking a boat for those students who must come to school by river. Work will continue on these remaining issues, and the education ministers expect the school to open next May.
This past year, work has continued on this project, Ethan and Julie returned both in Ann Arbor and onsite to Ann Arbor in August, at Porto Jofre, Brazil. In May, Ethan to continue working Julie and Ethan returned on this project and Julie to the Pantanal and with Ethann Shirley (l.) meeting with officials. to finish her degree. She the help of various teams has completed her thesis for put the finishing touches on her Honors Individualized Concentration Program in the building: electric lighting, plumbing, doors, concrete International Natural Resource Studies and plans to finish flooring, and paint, including a painted chalkboard and her Engineering degree this coming year. Ethan graduated in stenciled signs. The team constructed a “bio-digester� to May, so the coming year will see the transition of the Pantanal harvest methane gas from locally-available cow manure; the Project from a sponsored student group to an independent gas will be used as cooking fuel. This device is expected to be charitable organization. We are proud to have played a part in rendered fully functional by a team of engineering students in launching this fine effort in education, research, international the fall. The team also constructed a bio-sand water filter to cooperation and sustainable building. We wish Ethan, Julie, remove parasites from local water, making it safe for drinking and their team all the best as they pursue this project! 14
From scholarships to programming, from awards to research funding, alums and friends of the Honors Program make possible many of the resources that contribute to the total Honors experience for our students. Without your support, many of the activities you have read about in this newsletter would be impossible. We send a sincere “Thank you� to those below who have donated generously to the Honors effort this year. Melissa Aaberg, Lisa Adelstein, Keith Agism, Julie Allen and Stephan Doll, Joan Almon, Mr. and Mrs. Justin A. Amash, Albert Ammerman, Mr. and Mrs. Paul J. Anderer, Mark and Marlies Anderson, Richard Anfang, Sudhir Baliga, Dorothy E. Bambach, Terry Barnes and Shoko Tsuji Barnes, Miriam Bar-on, Charles S. and Janis L. Barquist, John C. Barron, Bob Bartels, Dan Bartfeld, Nancy Bartlett, Debbie Battaglia and Albert Selvin, C. Robert Beattie, Richard F. Beaubien, Julie H. Becker, Sanford A. Bell, Martin A. Bell, Richard M. Bendix, Jr., Benedek Family Foundation, Guy Martin Benian, Jill Berkeley, Dr. Susan G. Berkowitz, Marc Berman, Dr. Douglas R. Bertz, David L. Birch, Philip Blackman, Jeffrey Block and Michele Gerus, Henry Bloom, Jeffrey Bludeau, Patricia and Louis Bodnar, Maureen Bolon and Lincoln Lauhon, Fred L. Bookstein, Willard L. Boyd III, Samara H. Braunstein, Thomas W. Brink, M.D., Bruce Brumberg and Karen Axelrod, Kenneth and Noreen Buckfire, Peter Burian, Albert Cain, David and Linda Calzone, Richard L. Carter, Christopher L. Case, Steven and Margaret Cernak, Dr. Diana Derby Chapin, Stuart and Helen Chemtob, Nancy H. Chen, Shawn J. Chen, Dr. Deborah L. Clarke, Thomas E. Cody, Garry Cohen and Debra Nesselson, Willa Cohen Bruckner, Kevin Counihan and Maryanne Hertel, Lawrence R. Cronin, Karen and Timothy Dacey, Foster Dale, Sandra H. Davis, Mark DeBofsky, Nikki and Albert Descoteaux, Lisa and Steven Diamond, Michael J. Diamond, Gordon and Elaine Didier, Robert and Cynthia Domine, Craig Dorschel, Richard Douglas and Anita Kupriss, Spencer Dowdall, Dr. Ronald L. Dubowy, Stephen and Alice Edwards, Rebecca Epstein, Eucalyptus Associates, Inc., John and Elizabeth Feighan, Mark I. Feng, Peter and Shelley Fenyes, Brenda and Alan Ferber, Jonathan and Kathryn Ferrando, Lawrence J. Field, Jerome Fine and Jill Fine, Robert Fink, Ph.D., Courtney Finlayson, Sara Fitzgerald and Walter Wurfel, Jonathan Fleischmann, Bryant M. Frank, C. Kent and Lynda Frederick, Stanley A. Freeman, Marty Friedman, Darcy R. Fryer, Harriet Furst, Basya-Marie Gale, Tom and Denise Gallagher, Betsy Gard, Ph.D., David M. Gay, Alison F. Geballe, John George, Robert S. Gerber, Peter J. Gilbert, M.D., Catherine B. Glazer, Robin and Michael Glenn, Angela and Kurt Godden, Miriam Golbert, Larry Goldin and Ruthellen Weaver, Mark and Annie Goldsmith, R. Jeffrey Goldsmith, Marcia E. Goodman, Scott Gordon, Dr. Gerald A. Gornowicz, Bonnie Gottlieb,
Shoshanna Gottlieb, Donald and Ann Gralnek, David Greenblatt, Dr. and Mrs. James W. Greene, Gregory and Susan Greenfield, Bruce M. Greenwald, Donna and Robert Gregg, Lisa S. Gretchko, Andrew Grove, Charles Hadlock, Sarah Y. Haberman, Denise Hamburger, Constance and Paul Harney, Robin L. Harrison, Curt Hardin Hartog, Robert John Havlik, Tara and Christopher Hayward, Joan Hellman, Drs. Thomas and Carol Herbig, Karen Herman, Jill and Kurt Heyman, Fredrik T. Hiebert, Robert J. Hill, Dr. Elliott B. Hochman, Gary R. Hoffmann, Jackie Horn, Dr. Steven M. Horwitz, Liane Houghtalin, Linda Imboden, M.D., Mr. and Mrs. William A. Irwin, Diane and Lawrence Istvan, Suzanne Izzo, Alan D. Jacknow, MD, John and Kate Jacobs, Pamela Sue Jacobson, Christopher J. Jaksa, M.D., Joachim Janecke, Jennifer Jaruzelski, Timothy and Jo Wiese Johnson, Nicholas Kabcenell and Orsolya Gudor, Emily Costello Kalanithi, Regina Kane, Frank R. Kane, Stuart Karabenick, Randy Kashuba, Andrew A. Kasper, John P. Kennedy, Beth Kennel, Edward C. Kim, Judith G. Kleinberg, Jon Henry Kouba, Nicholas S. Kovach, Mr. and Mrs. Mark L. Kowalsky, Kenneth and Sharon Kraemer, William and Karen Krause, Barbara and Kevan Kreitman, William and Claudia Kretzschmar, Frederick J. Kuhn, Jonathan Kuhn, Dr. and Mrs. T. W. Kurczynski, David Lane, Roger A. Lane, Mr. Gordon L. Lang, Gail Lauzzana, Judie and Jerry Lax, Howard Alan Learner, Edward LeBaron and Nancy Moncrieff, Steven Leber, Sander Lehrer, Michael LeRoy, John Emmett Lesch, Linda K. Levy, Gail H. Lift, Deborah and Joel Litvin, David Lloyd and Mary Royer Lloyd, Keith Lofland, Richard Longnecker, Edwin Joseph Madaj, Jr., Dr. Jan Maisel and Mr. Douglas Currens, Pramit Malhotra, Susan Mann, Patricia Maran, William J. Marcoux, Jay Warren Margulies, Gregory A. Marks, Roy Marsten, Karen and Jonathan Martin, Elizabeth Martin, David and Marjorie Mastie, BeLinda I. Mathie and Brian R. Haag, Michele Matice, Derek and Patricia McCalmont, Thomas and Donna McClish, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence McDonagh, Gregory B. Milkins, Douglas and Marguerite Miller, Laura Ariane Miller, David N. Milobsky, Martha L. Minow, Carrie Mitnick, Bert and Kathy Moberg, Joel G. Moranz, Brenda L. Moskovitz, M.D., Richard Moulton, Jason Moy, M.D., Patricia J. Murphy, Sheila Murphy, Robert Nachman and Tobi Ehrenpreis, Mitri Joseph Najjar, June Namias, Deborah Nemesi, Timothy Noonan, Mary Beth Norton, Joan Odorowski, Richard N. Ostling, Gary
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Pacernick, Steven Paskal and Andrea S. Lederfine, Edward J. Pastucha, Gary Perlman, Mark E. Perrin, Mary Peters, John and Terry Pfefferle, Sue N. Pick, Robert Pinkel, Lawrence and Ann L. Price, Ana Progovac, Carrie and Tedmund Pryor, Jill Putterman Kronengold, Linda L. Randell, Robert Ransom, Sangita K. Rao, Paul Renard, Sandra J. Rice, Cecilia L. Ridgeway, Mark J. Riedy, Drs. Michael H. and Elaine S. Ries, Kenneth M. Riff, MD, Lawrence P. Riff and Debra K. Thompson, James V. Roelofs, Rochelle A. and Richard Rosenberg, Dr. Thomas M. Rosseel, Ellen and Stephen Roth, Mr. Patrick N. Rothwell, Prof. and Mrs. Daniel I. Rubenstein, Don and Melissa Rutishauser, Jason and Jenny Ryu, Dan Saferstein, Shira A. Scheindlin, Jonathan M. Schmerling, Kenneth Schwartz, Thomas and Maryellen Scott, Ann and Stephen Shapiro, David and Elvera Shappirio, Daniel Share, William L. Sharfman, John Sharp, Catherine and Steven Shavell, Thomas E. Shaw, Mr. Michael Shea, Daniel R. Shemke, Michael and Sara Sher, Mrs. Susan Shippey, Scott Shore, Dr. Jasvinder S. Sidhu, Barbara and Michael Sitrin, Janet Hodges Smith, Dr. Steven M. Smith, Beth Smith-Korn and Joe Korn, Ms. Elizabeth L. Somsel, Paul T. Sorensen, The Sprayregen Family, Douglas Sprigg, Robert B. and Sally T. Springstead, Jeffrey T. Sprung, Joseph and Ellen Starr, Judith Zee Steinberg, Marc Steinberg, Dr. and Mrs. Mitchell Stengel, Susan K. Stevens, M.D., Laura C. Stevenson, Max Strasburg, Lynn Streeter, Mark Sullivan, Alan and Jennifer Tannenbaum, Stephen and Kathleen Tatter, John F. Townsend Jr., Robert Troester and Joan Stepenske, Elizabeth Y. Turner, Ph.D., Stephen G. Van Meter, Nina Vinik, James Vollman, Dietmar U. Wagner, Deborah J. Walder, Alyssa and Joseph Wallen, Ed and Leigh Washabaugh, Estate of Bruce Wasserstein, Marvin Weinberger, Jill WeissbergBenchell, Brady and Laura West, Dr. Wilma E. Wetterstrom, Karen E. Wigen, Alan C. Wilde, Carol Kleiner Willen, Barbara Wilson, John H. Wilson, Joseph H. Wimsatt, Dr. Harriet Z. Winkelman, Kenneth Wirt, Patricia Yeghissian, Michael Zachareas, M.D., Mr. and Mrs. Jay H. Zimbler, Robert Zinn and Darlene Berkovitz, Jeffrey and Elizabeth Zucker, Christine Ann Zurawski, The Ciullo Family Endowment Fund within the Raymond James Char. Endowment Fund, The William Fisher Char. Fund of the Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program, John H. Lawrence Rev. Trust, Jeffrey S. Ross Fund of the Schwab Fund for Charitable Giving
LSA Honors Program The University of Michigan 1330 Mason Hall, 419 S. State St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1027
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the discussions that followed, led by Honors faculty, staff, resident advisors, student instructors and others. In small groups, the first-year students had the opportunity to discuss the faculty panel’s remarks as well as the questions they had brought with them. The idea is to replicate, on a small scale, the kind of intellectual interchange that occurs in Honors classes and sections and to show the new students how much fun these conversations can be. There is an “Honors Kickoff” link on our webpage where you can watch the lectures and soon there will be a link to Professor Herzog’s talk during Honors Parents Weekend. At noon, the entire group assembled in the Michigan Union Rogel Ballroom for an indoor picnic lunch. Then the Honors Resident Advisors (HRAs) took over the program and divided the freshmen into teams. Guided to various campus landmarks by a series of clever riddles, the students explored places they will frequent during their time in Ann Arbor and performed a series of activities designed to let students get to know each other. William Miller provides a lively interpretation of the themes in Despite blazing sun and searing heat, the students Cunning. sang “the Victors” (backwards) on the steps of Hill Auditorium, solved puzzles in the Engineering Arch, and found clues at the Art Museum, among other fun activities. At 3:00, the teams reassembled in the Union for music, ice cream and prizes for the riddle quest. Our very own Communications Assistant Daniel Kim played for the group with his band “The Blueberry Incident.” Daniel’s indie blend of styles is very popular around town and with students, so the HRAs were thrilled to have him play for the end of their afternoon. All the teams garnered cheers from the crowd, and the room was vibrant as the frosh team who had completed the riddle quest first collected their prize: passes to a future Honors arts or music adventure. This was one of the most exciting Kickoff events in years, and we’re proud of the HRAs for their imagination, organization, and enthusiasm which made the afternoon’s activities a great success.
Honors RA, Rachna Goswami (foreground right), hands out clues for the Art Museum scavenger hunt.
JACQUELYN TURKOVICH
JACQUELYN TURKOVICH
Honors Kickoff …Continued from page 1