LSA Honors Forum 2012

F

Honors UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

orum Fall 2012

Vol. 17

Honors Students Excel in Nationally Competitive Scholarship Competitions

by Elleanor H. Crown

This has been a banner year for the University of Michigan, the College of LSA, and the Honors Program in prestigious scholarship competitions. Honors students include a Marshall Scholar, two Truman Scholars, two Goldwater Scholars and an Honorable Mention, an Astronaut Scholar, two Gates-Cambridge Scholars, and a number of Fulbright winners.

You may recognize some of the names and faces from previous years as we describe them.

Alexander Carney is a Mathematics graduate from Midland, MI. He is a 2011 Goldwater and Astronaut Scholar, and now is the recipient of the coveted Marshall Scholarship for two years of graduate study in Great Britain. In continuing gratitude for the postwar Marshall Plan, the British government funds this program to enable intellectually distinguished young Americans to study in the UK. As well as providing a top-notch graduate education in some of the most prestigious schools in the world, this mutually beneficial effort instills an understanding of contemporary Britain in future American leaders and strengthens ties between the two countries. Up to forty Marshall Scholars are chosen each year. Alex Carney has shown extraordinary promise as a mathematician and he will spend the first of his two Tyler Jones in Morocco. years in Great Britain in Part Three of the Mathematics Tripos at the University of Cambridge, a master’s program that provides an exceptionally strong foundation for advanced graduate study in pure or applied mathematics. While there, Alex will decide how to spend his second year, perhaps investigating the philosophy of math and science at Cambridge or Oxford. In addition to his academic success, Alex is a skilled violinist and a distance runner. In 2010, he placed seventh in the Detroit Marathon.

It has been seven years since our last successful Truman Scholarship candidate and twelve years since we could claim two Truman winners. We celebrate the achievement of Noël Gordon and Tyler Jones, chosen as two of only fifty-four Truman Scholars nationwide this year.

Noël Gordon

Alex Carney teaches violin in Nazaré Orphanage in Poconé, Brazil. See Pantanal Update on page 14.

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LSA Honors Director Timothy A. McKay Associate Director Donna Wessel Walker Assistant Director Gayle D. Green Scholarship Coordinator Elleanor H. Crown Senior Advisor Henry Dyson Academic Advisor John C. Cantú Office Manager Vicki Davinich Academic Auditor Jacquelyn M. Turkovich Communications Assistant Jeri Preston Program Assistant Karen Wagner Faculty Advisor Margaret Lourie Honors Preceptors Helen Dixon Mary Shelly Mageski Jamie Small Adam J. Sypniewski Elizabeth Young 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, Bloomfield Hills 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 481091432, 734-763-0235, TTY 734-647-1388. For other University of Michigan information call 734-764-1817.

Honors Students Excel in Nationally Competitive Scholarship Competitions Continued from page 1

Noël and his mother lived in New York until 9/11 when she had to make her way home from Manhattan on foot over the Brooklyn Bridge. That was when she decided to relocate to a less intense environment; eventually she and Noël settled in Las Vegas. Noël’s awareness of public service careers began when he was one of two Nevada representatives to the U.S. Senate Youth Program. It was a heady experience, meeting the new president early in his first term, talking with senators, congressmen, and Supreme Court justices. Some students might have just reveled in the glitz of political celebrity, but Noël began to realize that these people actually made tremendous accomplishments in the areas that he felt needed reform and that they made a living doing it. After just one week he was hooked on public service and he has not looked back since.

Noël is a Political Science major whose interests include moral and political philosophy and gender and sexuality studies. His goal is to provide a voice for groups of people who find it difficult to express themselves to the establishment.

He is not only amazingly articulate; he thinks nimbly on his feet and backs up his points with knowledge, substance, and very good judgment.

Very few students at the University of Michigan can claim the combination of strengths that Tyler Jones brings to the table. An outstanding student from Northville, Michigan, Tyler not only excelled in a consistently rigorous curriculum but also has designed his own concentration in Asymmetric Conflict. He is dedicated to his mission and has begun the necessary work to become truly culturally competent with the Middle East. He has tackled and succeeded in Standard Modern Arabic, started on the variations of the language by learning Egyptian Arabic, and is currently embarking upon literary studies. Tyler is dedicated to his ideals and takes 100% seriously any responsibility he assumes. He sees his role in “public diplomacy,” serving to interpret the US to people in other nations. We cannot think of a better representative for his generation.

In order to ensure a continuing supply of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians and engineers, the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program awards approximately 300 scholarships a year to rising juniors and seniors. The University of Michigan has a long history of success in the competition: in the last 21 years, there have been 57 winners and 4 recipients of Honorable Mention recognition. This year that rich history continues as David Sherman and Charles Stibitz were named Goldwater Scholars and Rebecca Gleit was awarded Honorable Mention.

David Sherman is a current senior Mathematics and Physics major from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He envisions a research career in complex analysis and harmonic analysis and their applications to other fields like number theory. One of his recommenders has described David’s talent this way. “Freeman Dyson has categorized the best mathematicians as birds or frogs. Frogs are the easiest to identify as brilliant since they quickly 2

David Sherman

Charles Stibitz, from Midland, Michigan, is also a Mathematics and Physics major. With interests in algebra and geometry, he plans a research and teaching career. He has participated in research in computational cosmology, differential geomCharles Stibitz etry, and hyperbolic geometry.

When Charles was in high school, he spent a lot of time learning mathematics on his own and he credits the fact that he came to UM already thinking like a mathematician to those hours he spent learning to appreciate the language and rigor of mathematical proofs.

Sarah Fletcher Photography

pulverize one knotty mathematical problem after another; birds, who have a profound overview and unify disparate ideas into a program, can be sleepers. David Sherman is a bird.” A talented musician, David has played the violin since he was four.

in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy.

Sean is currently a resident of Bethesda, Maryland, but spent much of his childhood in Germany. Sean’s interests lie in investigating materials at the smallest scales, Sean Collins examining atomic and nanoscaled structures to overcome limitations in energy conversion and storage to allow us to begin to build a sustainable environmental future.

In her own words, our second Gates Cambridge recipient Madeline Huberth describes her eclectic academic and musical interests. “A native New Yorker, I recently graduated from the University of Michigan with degrees in cello performance Madeline Huberth and interdisciplinary physics. I have played with orchestras and with rock bands, spent time in acoustics research, and, this past summer, worked as a web app developer. I’ve taken my medley of interests to Cambridge, England, for a master’s degree in music, where, in addition to continuing my research on musical timbre, I will endeavour to adopt fancy British spelling of things.”

Rebecca Gleit, whose home is in Troy, Michigan, is a Mathematics major whose interests are in computational biology. She has been working to develop a mathematical model of the neuronal control of human sleepwake regulation. Her interest in quality of life issues has also led Rebecca Gleit (l.) shows off “Women in her to several projMathematics” T-shirt. ects investigating the long-term medical and psychosocial outcomes among pediatric liver transplant recipients. Rebecca co-founded the Women in Mathematics club and she has played the bassoon for eleven years.

You can check out her presentation on her research into musicians’ timbre adjustments here: http:// w w w. y o u t u b e . c o m / watch?v=fOBXEC1YDkA.

Chemist, pianist, and Goldwater Scholar (2011), Sean Collins is one of two recipients of the Gates Cambridge Scholarship this year. Established in 2000 through a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, these awards provide full funding to 40 Americans annually to pursue any graduate degree at the University of Cambridge. As a Gates Cambridge Scholar, Sean will pursue his Ph.D. at Cambridge

Nicholas Triantafillou 3

Goldwater Scholar (2011) Nicholas Triantafillou has been named Astronaut Scholar, a distinction that comes with a $10,000 award provided by a group of more than 80 astronauts to help the United States retain its Continued on page 4

Honors Students Excel in Nationally Competitive Scholarship Competitions Continued from page 3

world leadership in science and technology. Nicholas is also a UM nominee for the Marshall Scholarship.

Although the Fulbright Foundation has not completed its announcements of 2012 grants, we are pleased to know that four former Honors Resident Advisors and a number of our other students will be abroad this year as Fulbright Scholars or English Teaching Assistants.

I would like to end this report with a personal note. At the end of October, I will retire from my regular position at the university, although I will continue to provide some support through the scholarship season this year. It has been a joy to work with students like these who have made the very best use of their undergraduate years. I will miss the students and my colleagues greatly, but it is time to discover new things. Dr. Henry Dyson will be stepping into this position and I am confident that he will offer wise guidance to our scholarship candidates and that he will find great satisfaction and pleasure in this important work.

Honors students take credit for crucial Detroit Tigers’ win on September 26.

Mr. Gordon Goes to Number One Observatory Circle “You are liberating the soul of this nation.” Those words didn’t come from one of my fellow LGBT rights activists. No; they came directly from the Vice President of the United States. In September, I had the honor and the privilege of dining with Vice President Biden and his wife at their home in Washington D.C. In fact, one-hundred LGBT activists from across the country were invited to join the Second Family for a dinner honoring the “next generation of LGBT leaders.” Now, I have to admit, going into the event I had hoped to see Vice President Biden grilling up hamburgers and hot dogs while wearing a “Kiss the Chef” apron. That didn’t happen. Instead, the Vice President gave an incredibly moving speech in which he praised each and every one of us for what he called our “physical and emotional courage.” He reminded us that the arc of justice is in our favor, and to never give up, even when all hope seems lost. Standing just mere feet away from the Vice President was an unreal experience. But it is one that I will never forget.

Vice President Biden welcomes future LGBT leaders to his residence.

Noël Gordon http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/09/21/celebrating-next-generation-lgbt-leaders 4

nors!

Greetings from Ho

gin our from now, we will be ars ye e fiv t jus ary annivers st, learning ture as well as the pa n is approaching a big fu e iga th ch t Mi ou of ab ty ing rsi ive ink The Un has me th headed. pending celebration ng where we might be eri third century. The im nd wo d an m fro ’ve come more about where we iad, the University of as the Catholepistem 17 18 e in it tro De in d Founde arts at its core from th d study in the liberal enue in oa Av br d ard ha dw s oo ha W n iga ink ch Mi oodward (th W s stu gu Au vering ce co sti ips Ju sh professor beginning. Chief ic system” of thirteen d its tem me pis “e lco an we ty ed rsi nn Detroit) pla bor, the Unive Ar n An in rn bo Re , . ing Tappan our all the ways of know essors in 1841. Henry of pr o tw d an s nt de German model of a first class of seven stu future, adopting the e th w r fo se ur co a set and including the ne first President, teaching with research ng ini . dy mb co stu of ty, rsi se ur ive student’s co research un ssical subjects in every sciences along with cla including ‘mechanics’ d a fixed curriculum, die stu s nt de stu e, tim It was not a popular During this cs) in their junior year. ysi ph ll ca his History of the uld wo we (what rd Peckham notes in wa Ho r so fes Pro ry sto subject. As UM Hi Tim McKay at Honors n: y ekl University of Michiga we s Summer Fellow the end of ed as enemies and at nifi rso pe re we meeting. ses ur chanics” and Certain difficult co be the “burning of Me to me th ca ere th So . e custom continued wi be disposed of d probably earlier, th an the semester had to e th 60 s, 18 sse in g cla l nin era gin sev cs”. Be olved a procession of the “hanging of Physi e on a bier to a place 00. The ceremony inv rn 19 bo til ry un ns ato or tio lab ria va al d dic me e th lapses an m s Pro and fro d s a skull borrowe us, with an Advocatu “corpse” with perhap victim was tried before a Pontifex Maxim es the tim me So bonfire. the id cheering around a am of judgment. There ion ut ec ex e th en came an Advocatus Con. Th e night…. th o int far ran s festivitie y help to explain why ent for all students ma em uir rned my req n tio ua ad ) has ever publically bu no longer a gr 00 is 50 cs s ysi ap rh ph pe at t th gh t fac tau The have ry physics students (I none of my introducto course in effigy. later. Two important rience only emerged pe ex nt of distribution de stu rn de of the mo ee, combining a core gr de A LS an of re tu Many familiar features d of uc 1912. The modern str lar field, was adopted, ending a brief perio fore 1912, changes happened in cu Be rti . rhetoric concentration in a pa ement was a course in uir req n perts, this tio requirements with a ex y ua nc ad gr cie ly an era of effi when the on In om d. ed sse fre pa t ary no din or or d, extra itione ed with honor ed were passed, cond letter grades associat the only grades award the faculty decided to adopt the familiar ntury. and served us well for a ce seemed inadequate, practices which have ing lish ab est d, ee ind points. Big changes of these threats eral directions. Many responding to the sev m fro e ur ess pr r de come. A century ago, its current form is un dit hours, Higher education in ability of changes to vit ine d an e nc ution requirements, cre rta trib po dis im , e ns th tio of tra ns en sig nc t co comparable opting are in fac e, LSA remade itself, ad that in coming years we will respond with ag l tria us ind an of ts effec look like in I hope at liberal arts education des for the first time. and awarding letter gra a new information age. What should a gre to dents do and how l of What will we ask our stu ? on ati uc ed d courage to the arriva an rch n we integrate resea 2030? How deeply ca they accomplish? at will we represent wh es at the heart of the estions, sitting as it do qu ese th ls for core re plo ex to will explore new mode ys to is a great place we am ars gr ye Pro ng rs mi no co e Ho th A The LS During d new wa c liberal arts college. earch and service, an nation’s greatest publi to recognize extracurricular work like res exciting time in higher education, ches e globe. It’s an st and courses, new approa communities across th opportunity for both reflection on the pa th wi s nt de stu t ec nn nt lle ce ex officially co an s ide anniversary prov and UM’s approaching re. tu planning for the fu st for the coming year, Wishing you all the be Tim McKay

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tor to present at a professional conference and to be a guest lecturer in his Microbiology class. In addition, Eileen was cocaptain of the women’s field hockey team, ranked in the top ten nationally all during her final season. She earned the team’s Player’s Player award, which is given to the single player who best represents what it means to be a UM field hockey player.

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.

Another prize new this year is the Stephen Smale Mathematical Sciences Award. It was no surprise that the recipient was mathematician Alexander Carney, Goldwater Scholar, Astronaut Scholar, and now Marshall Scholar. You can find more information about Alex in the cover story of the Forum.

Every year, on the evening before our graduation event, we hold a ceremony to present prizes to a group of exceptional graduates whose performance has exceeded all expectations.

The Honors Program is fortunate to have alumni and friends who contribute so generously to reward our most successful graduates and to help outstanding students pursue programs of study that might not be possible otherwise. These awards include the Goldstein Prizes, Virginia Voss Memorial Scholarships, Patricia Kennedy Memorial Awards, and Ginsberg Center service cords.

Given the level of achievement of so many of our students, it is not surprising that we sometimes cannot pick a clear winner. The Marshall Sahlins Social Science Award this year was given to two outstanding young scholars, anthropologist Mary Birkett and political scientist Seth Soderborg. Mary carried off with distinction the unlikely study of kawaii, (cuteness) in Japanese culture from ethnographic, social, political and pragmatic perspectives. What she discovered is that “cute” town mascots are part of a movement to rejuvenate depopulated rural towns by giving them personalities. According to his thesis advisor, Seth Soderborg brought his considerable talents, and his command of Portuguese, to his study of the Bolsa Familia program in Brazil. Seth’s project got to the question at the heart of political science and political economy: “what shapes the incentives of governments to provide needed public goods?” Seth independently formulated his research design, which included fieldwork in Brazil interviewing party leaders, voters, journalists and academics. This fall, Seth begins a oneyear assignment teaching English in Indonesia on a Fulbright Fellowship.

Named for distinguished UM alumni and associates and made possible by Ellen, Joseph, Laura, and Paul Goldstein, the Goldstein Prizes reward excellence in humanities, arts, physical sciences, life sciences, mathematical sciences, social sciences, public service, humanitarianism, and teaching. Students are nominated by their departments for these awards. Listed below are the 2012 Goldstein recipients.

The Robert Hayden Humanities Award was presented to Douglas Rottmann, an extraordinary young scholar who has mastered Classical Greek, Latin, Japanese, and mathematics, presented a top-notch thesis analyzing pre-Euclidean mathematics and logic, and completed the requirements for admission to medical school. To put the icing on the cake, he did a reading of Galen in the Greek!

Robin Czerwinski, Program in the Environment major, took home the Gerald Ford Public Service Award. Robin not only researched and wrote a rigorous thesis in glaciology on ice sheet rift propagation that her mentors refer to as a “dissertation,” she also participated in a wide range of activities that serve the public good and have policy implications. Robin’s accomplishments include health education work in South Africa, the development of new field teaching instruments for Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and other national parks, and a Udall Scholarship awarded to students who have demonstrated a commitment to careers related to the environment. Robin’s next step is a two-year assignment as an Environmental Education Peace Corps Volunteer in Latin America after which she plans graduate work in Public Policy and Environmental Science.

Perry Janes was the winner of this year’s Arthur Miller Arts Award. Perry is an accomplished writer of both fiction and poetry, Hopwood Award winner, Kenneth Buckfire Fifth-year Honors Scholar, and emerging cinematographer. One of his goals is to break through the many myths and urban legends surrounding Detroit and portray the city on film as it really is. You can listen here to a WDET radio interview with Craig Fahle about his short film Zug: http://wdet.org/shows/craigfahle-show/episode/writer-director-perry-janes-zug/.

The Jerome and Isabella Karle Award for Physical Sciences was given to Sean Collins, Chemistry and Piano Performance graduate who has excelled in both pursuits. You can read more about Sean in the cover story of this edition of the Forum.

The previous two issues of the Forum have featured the Pantanal Project, an effort by UM students to build a school and research station in the remote Pantanal region of Brazil. Julie Bateman, who with fellow Honors student Ethan Shirley spearheaded this project, received the Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Award. Julie and Ethan have been working on the project for three years and have not only invested sweat equity but also have assembled a team of faculty, staff, and students across the university to take on this challenge. They have raised

Eileen Brandes was presented with the new Marshall Nirenberg Life Sciences Award. Eileen is a Biology graduate whose research has been hailed as “nothing short of exceptional” by her thesis mentor, who goes on to say that “her work will make a major contribution to the field after it is published.” She was the only undergraduate invited to accompany her men6

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Virginia Voss graduated from Michigan in the 1950s and was appointed College Editor of Mademoiselle magazine. In 1967, she died suddenly from a heart condition while walking on the beach at Fire Island. Her memory and her love of writing are preserved by the Virginia Voss Memorial Scholarships, endowed by her parents to reward senior Honors women for excellence in writing. Her twin sisters, June Everett and Jo Van Boven, and Jo’s husband Sam, graced us again with their presence at the awards ceremony. In addition, they generously invited the Voss Scholarship winners and their families for a lovely dinner at Victors Restaurant.

It is always a great pleasure to see the quality of scholarship exhibited by our students even though it means many hours of reading just before the end of the semester. We assemble a team of faculty, graduate students, and academic staff, who relish the opportunity to select the very best representatives from the large number of theses presented to us each year.

Virginia Voss Passport Photo 1957.

funds to support their work. You will find a project update in this issue. Julie graduated with a joint degree in LSA with an Individualized Concentration in International Natural Resource Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering.

This year, there were five Voss awards for academic writing, one for creative writing, and one for creative non-fiction this year.

A few of them have been deposited in the Deep Blue electronic archive of the UM Library (http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/).

We expect the remainder to be available there by early 2013.

Feel free to browse the archive and read any that interest you.

Anniejae Fischburg, a Mathematics major who is dedicated to a career in math education, was the recipient of the Sidney Fine Teaching Award. Most students who are successful in the most rigorous math courses at UM do not choose careers in secondary education; however, that is the path Anniejae has set for herself. She has already demonstrated her mathematical knowledge and her ability to teach by serving as course assistant for several math classes and teaching for the Michigan Math Circle, which invites high school and middle school students to campus for lectures and discussion about mathematics. One of her recommenders has said, “Anniejae is very good at mathematics. She is also very good at teaching. More importantly, she is deeply passionate about both.”

The Voss winners for 2012 are: Katherine Bies, Communication Studies. Katherine’s thesis, Negotiating Online Privacy Boundaries: Self-Revelation in the Facebook Generation, explores the evolution of privacy rights in the American judicial system. She discovered some fascinating differences in the way younger and older Americans approach the issue of privacy online.

The Patricia Kennedy Memorial Award for a student who has demonstrated outstanding scholarship in women’s issues or English literature was endowed by Honors alumnus John P. Kennedy to honor his mother. History student Belle Cheves was this year’s winner. Belle’s thesis, “Breaking Chains of Oppression: The Voice of Ashraf Dehghani in 1970s Iran” is a splendid analysis of the life and writings of one of the major radical figures in the Iranian opposition to the Pahlavi regime.

Her thesis addresses the issue that Dehghani has failed to receive the recognition she deserves in previous scholarship, as well as providing a new reading for Dehghani’s work that attends to the way she used her own brutalization as a symbol for the violations of the Pahlavi regime. Finding that it is impossible to study in Iran, Belle has accepted a fellowship to learn Persian in Tajikistan this year.

Honors Resident Advisors provide guidance, mentoring, and a wide range of program options for the residents of Honors Housing. They bear a large amount of responsibility for the success and satisfaction that our students experience in their first and second years at UM. Recognizing their contributions, the Ginsberg Center awards service cords to the graduating senior RAs. This year, the group consisted of Alexander Brown, Kevin Carney, Margaret Cease, Rachna Goswami, Chelsea Hunersen, James Leonard, Paul Rink, Sharvil Shah, and Elizabeth Shea.

Jo Van Boven and June Everett congratuate Emma Lawton on her Voss award.

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Kudos

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Emma Lawton, History. “No Nature so Wild” The Ursuline Nuns and Female Community in Native Conversion to Christianity, 1639-1655 weaves an intriguing story of the interconnections between the Ursuline school for native women in the colony of New France and the collapse of the Huron Confederacy. Emma has brought to light the lost voices of Native American and religious women.

the third day

Erika Mayer, Political Science. In her thesis, The Exception: An Alternative Explanation of the American Outlier Effect in Treaty Ratification, Erika makes an eloquent and convincing argument that America’s failure to ratify treaties supported by many of our allies should not be explained merely in terms of American arrogance but can be viewed through the lens of American exceptionalism.

reasonably,

Victoria Moses, Anthropology. In Status and Meat Consumption in Pompeii: Diet and its Social Implications through Ancient Primary Sources and Zooarchaeological Analysis, Vicki compared information on faunal remains from a working-class restaurant district of Pompeii with a variety of other sources of data about meat preferences of upper and lower classes.

Addie Shrodes, English. Addie received raves from her department about her thesis, The ‘Race Riot’ Within and Without ‘The Grrrl One’: Ethnoracial Grrrl Zines’ Tactical Construction of Space. In her research, she combined meticulous archival research with sophisticated critical theory to explore and address racial binaries and stereotypes in the Riot Grrrl movement of the 1990s.

Beth Jakubowski, Anthropology. We decided to call Beth’s award “Creative Non-fiction” because she has employed techniques from open-ended interviews to biographical anthropology to storytelling to explore the profound philosophical question, “What is a life, and what keeps people going when things become difficult?” Like Beth, her informants are older adults returning to college, each with a unique and poignant narrative to offer.

Sarah Kunjummen, English, Creative Writing. Sarah’s award-winning thesis, Traces, is a collection of poems organized around the story of creation. You will find her charming “the third day” on this page.

Alums and friends of Honors, many of whom knew Otto Graf and Jack Meiland themselves, have provided the funds for the scholarships that honor these two intellectual giants. Otto Graf, German scholar and humanist, was Director of Honors for eighteen years. The awards given in his honor are made to Honors juniors distinguished by their academic excellence and commitment. Jack Meiland, Philosophy professor and Honors Director, was a champion of interdisciplinary studies and the scholarship that bears his name goes to an Honors junior or senior whose work reflects that ideal. We conduct challenging interviews to ensure that the recipients of the awards can articulate their intellectual experience.

This year, the Otto Graf Scholarship was awarded to Nicholas Triantafillou. Otto Graf Prizes were won by Rebecca Gleit and Tyler Jones.

The Jack Meiland Prize was presented to Connie Shi. Nicholas is a Mathematics and Computer Science major from Saginaw, Michigan. He is a Goldwater Scholar, Astronaut Scholar, and a UM nominee for the Marshall Scholarship. Rebecca Gleit, from Troy, Michigan, is a MathContinued on page 13

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When God brought in his preliminary drawings for vegetation, The office felt it was time to speak to him

Baffled by the relentless push that forced the sap upward, by the fragility Of the young shoots, pale-green fretted lace. They worried about the tomato vine, Too thin, they thought to bear the fruit’s pulpy weight, they compared the beech Unfavorably to the fir. It loses its leaves each year, they murmured, think of the expense.

Never one to balk at resistance, God took their incredulity as a challenge.

He dashed off sketch after sketch, each more outlandish than the last.

After the pomegranate, though, and the coconut, even he admitted that His projects were getting a little inaccessible, a little high-brow.

The committee huddled under the ribbed vaults of God’s birch avenues, Cowed by the hot-house lamps and the extensive labeling on each specimen.

When they asked him the length of their flowering seasons, Pens upraised over their notebooks, God rattled off the figures: Two weeks for the crab-apple trees, the daylilies, May to September, Two days for each flower on the gladiola stem, nine for the stalk, The chrysanthemums until frost.

The cactus flower for a single night.

– Sarah Kunjummen

Lunch with Honors 2011-12

by Donna Wessel Walker “Lunch with Honors” continues to be a success, both with student audiences and guest speakers. We hosted fifteen events last year, with topics ranging from literature to climate change and spanning the entire political spectrum.

The author of our first-year book, law professor Don Herzog, held a conversation about his book Cunning both at Lunch with Honors and at an afternoon talk for Parents’ Weekend in September. Books and writing were features of several other Lunches through the year: alumna Sara Fitzgerald came to present her biography of Elly Peterson, a leader in the Michigan GOP in the mid-20th century; Sara Paretsky, the creator of the V. I. Warshawski detective novels, discussed “Crime, Women, and Wrong”; and James Fenton, poet, journalist and public intellectual came in conjunction with the Royal Shakespeare Company’s creative residency in March to talk about the writing life. We had two Lunch with Honors events while the RSC were here: producer Jeremy Adams described the Company’s outreach efforts and other behind-the-scenes work; we are delighted to be able to host members of the RSC every time they come to campus.

UAW President Bob King talks with Honors students.

gave a ringing “yes” to the question, “Are Unions Necessary for Social Justice and Democracy?” The Honorable David McKeague, a federal judge on the United States Court Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, described the implications of potential and actual government surveillance and data mining in response to the question, “Is Big Brother Watching You?” History Professor Juan Cole addressed a question that remains unanswered: “Can Obama Avoid War in Iran?”

Scientific endeavors were the focus of five Lunches: Perry Samson, a professor here in Earth science, gave an overview of current research on climate change, including some riveting video footage from last summer of himself and his graduate students pursuing a tornado that was bearing down upon them. Nilton Renno from the College of Engineering described his excitement in finding the first evidence of liquid water on Mars; John Broome, this year’s Tanner lecturer in Philosophy asked questions about the human perspective in facing the various challenges of climate change. Albert Ammerman, an Honors alumnus who has been called “the Renaissance man of classical archaeology,” discussed his ground-breaking methodologies in research into the lives of ancient Mediterranean fishing communities. Howard Markel, UM professor of medicine and the history of medicine, described the work that led to his most recent book on the drug addiction of William Halsted and Sigmund Freud.

Judge David McKeague answers questions following his presentation.

We look forward to hosting a similar array of speakers and topics this coming year. Already we have plans for visits from writers, activists, scientists and entrepreneurs, as well as an Inauguration-watching party in January.

Three speakers addressed political questions from widely disparate perspectives. Bob King, president of the UAW,

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Honors Housing Report

by John C. Cantú 2011-12 was another active year in Honors Housing in South Quad.

Led by a team of 14 Honors Resident Advisors, students did projects in the residence hall and with Honors Peer Mentors, attended events on campus and explored opportunities off-campus.

MLK Day, HRAs led an intracampus dialogue at the Michigan League called “Your Role in Social Change.” This event featured guided discussions in small groups consisting of students, administrators and faculty, townspeople and high school students.

Among HRA South Quad-based projects last year were our now-annual “Bush House Welcome” and “Honors Tee-Shirt Design Night,” which produced this year’s “Fun with Words” design. Other activities included a “Great Books Mid-Term Jeopardy!” contest, ses‌sions on “How to Succeed Academically,” and “How to Pick a Concentration,” an “Honors Quiz Bowl,” and an “Iron Chef ” contest. Other projects specifically structured for second-year students included upperclass student panels in which second-year students were given the opportunity to discuss topics such as choosing a major and preparing for a career after graduation.

Residents explored Ann Arbor by going to a concert at The Ark, Ann Arbor’s nonprofit home for acoustic music, by award-winning musician and Honors DeRoy visiting professor Dick Siegel; canoe-

HRAs led students around U-M’s campus: a September visit to the campus residence of U-M President Mary Sue Coleman; rock climbing at the U-M Intramural Athletics Building; ice skating at Yost Arena; and our now annual climb up Burton Tower to watch the carilloneur play the bells. On

“Iron Chef ” competition in South Quad.

ing on the Huron River; watching film screenings at the 50th Ann Arbor Film Festival; and visiting the Ann Arbor Farmers Market. They expanded their cultural horizons through attendance at University Musical Society performances of John Adams’ “Einstein on the Beach,” a performance by the Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, and pianist Denis Matsuev.

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The HRAs took students further afield in several trips to Detroit: groups of students attended a Detroit Tigers baseball game and a Detroit Red Wings hockey game, and in the spring participated in the “Detroit Project,” a university-wide service day. Honors Housing 2011-2012 was a year of popular social, cultural, academic, and athletic activities planned by Honors students for Honors students throughout the entire academic year. The Honors RAs have partnered with various University programs to find support for these efforts: SQ Hall Council, Arts at Michigan, and UMS. Most of the support for these community-building programs comes from gifts from generous alumni/ae and friends.

We could not do everything we do without your help. Thank you.

We are looking ahead to next year when Honors Housing will temporarily move to West Quad while South Quad is being renovated. Honors students and staff have participated in architectural focus sessions to help plan SQ’s renovation. We are collaborating with the Residential College, which is in West Quad this year, both to help enhance their experience and to learn from them what works in that space.

RADIOACTIVE

Inspired by Radioactive, students try their hand at the creation of graphic non-fiction in a Kick Off discussion group.

For more information and pictures from Honors Kick Off, see the back cover of the Forum.

Students discuss Radioactive by Ingalls Mall fountain.

Mary Walle

Mary Walle

“[Radioactive] is a deeply unusual and forceful thing to have in your hands,” so said the New York Times, speaking of Lauren Redniss’ book, this year’s Honors Summer Read. We were mesmerized, during the frosh book selection process this spring, with Redniss’ beautiful, almost lyrical, work detailing the relationship of Marie and Pierre Curie. Radioactive is not just a story, however, it is a visually stunning book, filled with drawings and illustrations depicting not only the story of the Curies, but also the story of the rise of the Nuclear Age. Redniss juxtaposes the Curies’ story with a story illustrating both the promise and danger of scientific discovery. We were fortunate to bring in two faculty speakers to discuss this book for our Honors Kick-Off event, Eileen Pollack, Professor of English Language and Literature, and Joel Howell, Professor of the History of Medicine, who brought wonderfully diverse insights into our reading of this luminous text. We received overwhelmingly positive feedback on the book, not only for the themes and ideas it brought forth, but also for the pure artistic value of such a beautifully illustrated text.

Mary Walle

Radioactive: A Tale of Love and Fallout is the Honors Summer Read for 2012

Professor Eileen Pollack shares her views of Radioactive with an enthusiastic group of first-year students.

Michigan Honors Ranked Number One! tors such as success in prestigious scholarship competitions. In the ranking that includes only “Honors Factors,” our program was rated second only to the University of South Carolina. We are happy to see that our efforts to provide an across-theboard quality experience for our students have been recognized in this way.

“Public University Honors” (http://publicuniversityhonors.com/2012/03/23/top-honors-programs/) is a website devoted to the evaluation and discussion of public university Honors Programs and Honors Colleges. In March 2012, the site ranked the UM Honors Program at the top of their “Overall Excellence” category that takes into account both program features and university-wide fac11

Honors Graduation It would be a repeat of last year’s report to say that Honors Graduation continues to grow, but it is a fact. This year for the first time we had to issue tickets to ensure that all our graduates could bring at least some of their family members to the event. The ceremony was held on Friday morning, April 27th, the day before graduation in the Big House on Saturday, April 28th. Not only did the crowd pack the Michigan Union Rogel Ballroom but the Pendleton Room also held an overflow crowd watching a live video feed. The audience was treated to a musical prelude by Honors graduates Kevin Carney, Alexander Carney, and Emily Graber. Our speakers were Stephen W. Ragsdale, Professor of Biological Chemistry in the Medical School who teaches an Honors seminar on creativity in the sciences and arts, and Honors graduates Sherry Shen, Seth Soderborg, and Belle Cheves. Each of the speakers brought an interesting view of the significance of an Honors education for their lives.

After the talks, the names of all the students were called and each was presented with a certificate and Honors cords. This year, the reception occupied the entire University Club and spilled out onto the patio where guests enjoyed refreshments and sunshine.

Seth Soderborg addresses his fellow graduates.

Staff changes in Honors!

by Donna Wessel Walker 2012 has brought an unprecedented amount of change to the Honors team. In the spring, our Communications Assistant, Daniel Kim, left to travel before beginning UM’s medical school this fall; luckily for us, he was again able to bring his band, the Blueberry Incident, to entertain at Kick Off. In June, we welcomed Jeri Preston as our new Communications Assistant; Jeri is new to UM, having been at Bank of Ann Arbor: welcome, Jeri! In August, Mary Shelly Mageski crossed campus to begin at UM Law School. Mary has a long history with Honors, as an undergraduate student, peer advisor, and office temp; in 2008 she came to work full time as our Program Assistant, providing support for our admissions, donor relations, and event planning efforts; we are very pleased that she will continue her involvement with Honors as a Preceptor while she is in Law School. Karen Wagner, who most recently worked at the Ross School of Business, has joined our staff as our

new Program Assistant. At the end of October, Elleanor Crown will retire after a distinguished career of service, mostly in the Honors Program: we will miss her, and her wisdom, wit, and expertise! Henry Dyson, an academic advisor in the Newnan Center and Lecturer in Philosophy and Classics, became our new Senior Advisor at the beginning of October; we are grateful for the overlap that will allow a smooth transition in this important position.

Two Honors babies joined our family this year, too. On May 29th Assistant Director Gayle Green and her husband Dave Crumrine welcomed Adam Christopher to the clan: he joins brothers Ethan and Andrew. On August 6th Jacquelyn and Bob Turkovich rejoiced at the arrival of Zachary Robert, their first. We are all celebrating with these two newest Honors kids, and looking forward to the day when they’ll be in the in-coming class!

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Report on the Honors Summer Fellows Program for 2012

by Timothy McKay Writing an honors senior thesis is the capstone experience for ative Literature Chair Yopie Prins, Complex Systems Director many of Michigan’s top young academics. To complete it, a Scott Page, and Linguist Anne Curzan. student must select a topic beyond the boundaries of what’s HSF students act as advocates for the senior thesis process, known; asking questions which no one has answered. They speaking to every group of incoming Honors students during must learn what others have already learned in their area, and orientation and providing personal then apply the skills they have detestimonials at a series of recruitveloped at Michigan to provide ing events we run each fall. For truly new insights, the first answers the Fellows themselves, participato the questions they raise. The tion is a unique opportunity. One Honors Summer Fellows program writes “People always talk about supports a small interdisciplininterdisciplinarity but never really ary cohort of committed students act on it.

HSF is an excellent modwho benefit greatly from their inel of how to do it right. The conteractions with each other and, in nections were never really forced their contacts with younger stubut by sheer nature of bringing dents, serve as examples that illusthese people with diverse interests trate the importance of thesis work. together, I found echoes of my reThis year’s HSF program included search in history, in psychology, in twenty-five students, each receiving science.” financial support to work full-time on their thesis project through the The HSF program, with an annual summer of 2012. Thesis topics for cost of about $100,000, is entirely Prof.

Alford Young talks with Summer Fellow Lyndsey this group are extremely diverse, inTwining. funded by donors. We are eager to cluding a history of the pink ribbon establish the Fellows as a permacampaign, green golf course design, nent part of the Honors Program. the human gut microbiome, an exploration of the lunar travGenerous support from our Honors Advisory Council and el narrative, and the network structure of galaxy clusters. All other long-term friends has begun to build an endowment for summer, HSF students met weekly with Honors Director Tim this, but we have a long way to go.

If you can help in any way, McKay, along with an impressive list of faculty guests includplease contact Honors Director Tim McKay. ing Sociology Chair Alford Young, Chemist and MacArthur Fellow Melanie Sanford, Physicist Henriette Elvang, Compar-

Kudos

Continued from page 8

ematics major interested in computational biology. She received a Goldwater Scholarship Honorable Mention. Tyler Jones, from Northville, Michigan, is a Truman Scholar who has created his own major in Asymmetric Conflict. Connie Shi, from Okemos, Michigan, is a Cellular and Molecular Biology major who is interested in medicine. You may have seen her on the 2012 “Jeopardy!” College Championship (http:// www.jeopardy.com/minisites/collegechamps-s28/).

This year we have two students studying at the London School of Economics supported by the Peter Benedek Scholarship for Study in London. Mr. Benedek, co-founder and CEO of United Talent Agency, found his own study abroad at LSE so rewarding that he wanted to share that experience with current Honors students. Our Benedek Scholars are Rebecca Bonner of Federal Way, Washington, and Katherine Sommer of Oakland, California. We are sure that they are having a very productive and enjoyable time in London.

The late Bruce Wasserstein, investment banker and Honors alum and scholarship donor, has graciously supported Honors students who share his love of the Michigan Daily and the Honors Program since 1992. The funds he established for this purpose honor the memory of his parents. The 2012-2013 Morris and Lola Wasserstein Scholars are Jacob Axelrad, Leah Burgin, Daniel Chardell, Austen Hufford, Jeffrey Waraniak, Kaitlin Williams, Taylor Wizner, and Jennifer Xu.

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, or to assist with the cost of special study abroad programs. We congratulate all of them for their excellent work.

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Pantanal Update

by Ethan Shirley Three years ago, Honors alumni Ethan Shirley and Julie Bateman founded Pantanal Partnership, a student organization dedicated to building a school and research station in the remote Brazilian Pantanal. The facility was finished in July 2011, complete with chalkboards, a solar power system, and a slow-sand water filter designed and built by U-M students. The Pantanal Partnership has initiated negotiations with the local government, which is to open the space as a public school. Teams of U-M students have led research and sustainability projects, including a biodigester that harvests cooking gas from cow manure.

Additionally, the Pantanal Partnership has widened its scope to include public health and healthcare, and is working to utilize Brazil’s telemedicine network to extend health coverage into the Pantanal. In May and June 2012, a team of students and volunteers constructed a water tower with a solar-powered pumping and filtration system. Meanwhile, at an orphanage in the region, another group of students and volunteers taught slow-sand water filter technology, CPR, and violin. Honors alumni Alex Carney and Alistair Hayden taught the inaugural violin class, and “Hail to the Victors” rang in the halls after just a week of practice! The wheels are set in motion for the Pantanal Orchestra to perform to raise funds for both the orphanage and for future sustainable development and education projects in the area.

You can read more about these efforts at http://www.pantanalcer.org/

Portrait of Incoming Honors Students

by Gayle D. Green It is the time of year when we are again welcoming a new class of 499 exceptional students into the Honors Program and we are eager to share the class profile with you. There are more women (54.7%) than men in this year’s class and 53% of these first-year students are residents of the state of Michigan, which is similar to last year’s 55% in-state percentage. Among out-of-state students, the top sending states are Illinois and New York (with 32 students each); Ohio (20 students); New Jersey (18 students), Maryland (17 students); and tied for fifth place are Massachusetts and California (with 12 students each). This year’s freshman class has 27 states represented and five foreign countries. The class median ACT range is 32-34 and for the SAT, the median range is 1400-1490, which is an increase over last year’s SAT median range of 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 who apply to the Program to write an essay as part of their application to Honors. The Honors essay is a critical part of our holistic evaluation methodology. It’s a time- and

Incoming freshmen discuss “Big Ideas” with Tim McKay (r.). labor-intensive process, but each year, we are fortunate enough to welcome an extraordinary group of young people who bring their considerable talents to the University of Michigan community.

As always, it was a pleasure to meet with each of our new students as they attended orientation throughout the summer in small groups of about sixteen. The Honors component of the program consisted of a lunch with advisors and staff, a discussion of “Big Ideas” with Tim McKay, an information fair, individual sessions with Honors Academic Advisors to discuss their overall educational goals and their first semester courses, and evening meetings with peer advisors to discuss individual classes and learn to navigate the online scheduling and registration systems. The following morning, they met a second time with their advisors, finalized their schedules and registered for fall classes.

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So many of the progams and activities you have read about in the Forum depend on the generosity of our alums and friends. The Honors experience would be seriously limited were it not for each of you. We send our sincere thanks to those who have donated to the Honors effort this year.

Michael Adelman, Keith and Deborah Agism, Julie Allen and Stephan Doll, Justin and Kara Amash, Mr. and Mrs. Albert J. Ammerman, James Angell, Kurt Frederick Anschuetz, Jill Antonides, Ellen Aprill, Laura Athens, Jessica C. Baker, Sudhir B. Baliga, Dorothy E. Bambach, Shoko Tsuji Barnes and Terry Barnes, Miriam E. Bar-on, Charles and Janis Barquist, John and Barbara Barron, Bob Bartels, Nancy Bartlett, Richard K. Bauman, Suresh and Akla Bazaj, Julie H. Becker, Michael Beckman, John and Maryanne Bednarski, Sanford Bell, Benedek Family Foundation, Guy Martin Benian, Susan G. Berkowitz, Daniel W. Berland, Marc and Danya Berman, Eric Berman, Robert Berry, Douglas R. Bertz, Nikhil M. Bhatt, Russell Bikoff, Jodi Bilinkoff, David L. Birch, Elizabeth S. Bishop, Scott Bjerke, Joseph G. Block, Barry Bluestone and Mary Ellen Colten, The Fred and Cynthia Bodker Charitable Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City, Patricia and Louis Bodnar, Willard L. Boyd III, Samara H. Braunstein, Thomas and Mary Brink, Thomas Brocher and Anne Okubo, Willa Bruckner, James and Kathleen Bruinsma, Bruce Brumberg and Karen Axelrod, Timothy and Teri Buchowski, Mr. and Mrs. Ethan Budin, Peter Burian, P. D. Burstein, David and Linda Calzone, Richard L. Carter, Christopher Case, Diana Derby Chapin, Paul and Constance Chardoul, Mr. and Mrs. Stuart M. Chemtob, Nancy H. Chen, Shawn J. Chen, The Ciullo Family Endowment, Deborah L. Clarke, Thomas Cody, Patricia L. Cohen, Alfred and Roma Connable, Kent Cprek, Marion Crumplar, Barbara L. Cullen, Dan L. Curtis, Foster Dale and Janet Silverberg, Sandra H. Davis, Nikki and Albert Descoteaux, Frank Detterbeck and Judit Farkas, Michael J. Diamond, Lisa and Steven Diamond, Robert and Cynthia Domine, Ronald and Patricia Dubowy, Alan and Janet Dunker, Eve Eden, Stephen and Alice Edwards, Rebecca Epstein, Richard Feferman, John and Elizabeth Feighan, Mark I. Feng, Jonathan and Kathryn Ferrando, Lawrence J. Field, Robert S. Fink, Courtney Finlayson, Sara Fitzgerald and Walter Wurfel, Mary Foster, Bryant and Mary Frank, Dorothy Fraquelli, C. Kent and Linda Frederick, Marty Friedman, Richard J. Gagnon, Jr., Thomas and Denise Gallagher, Betsy Gard, David A. Gass, Andrew Gaudin, David and Tanner Gay, Betsy Geise, Peter Gerber and Julia Miller, Grant P. Gilezan, Brian Gill and Jennifer

Lerner, Jack K. Gillard, Michael and Robin Glenn, Albert and Mimi Golbert, Larry Goldin and Ruthellen Weaver, Mark and Annie Goldsmith, Marcia E. Goodman, Bonnie Gottlieb, Shoshanna Gottlieb and Ronen Marmorstein, Steven Graines, Ann and Donald Gralnek, Patricia and Stanley Grayson, David Greenblatt, Dr. and Mrs. James W. Greene, Lisa and Steve Gretchko, Andrew Grove, N. Guenther Discenza and J. Discenza, Aaron Hamburger, Joshua Hammond, Steven P. Handler, Christopher and Tara Hayward, Caryn L. Hebets, Ron Heller, Joan Hellmann, Karen Herman, Stephen Heyman and Susan Steinman, Robert Hill, David Andrew Hindin, Steven M. Horwitz, Robert and Mary Hutchens, Dr. Linda Imboden, Mori and Angela Insinger, Mr. and Mrs. William A. Irwin, Laurence and Diane Istvan, Christopher J. Jaksa, Jennifer Jaruzelski, Nicholas Kabcenell and Orsolya Gudor, Emily B. Kalanithi, Frank R. Kane, Kathleen Keeler, John P. Kennedy, Dona Kercher, Judith G. Kleinberg, Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Kopcke, Sanford and Ellen Kossek, Jon Henry Kouba, Alisa M. Koval, Mr. and Mrs. Mark L. Kowalsky, Kenneth Kraemer, Barbara and Kevan Kreitman, Claudia and William Kretzschmar, Ronald and Ann Krone, Jonathan Kuhn, Richard and Marie Kussman, Ted and Elizabeth Lambert, David Lane, Gordon and Debra Lang, Warren C. Laski, Gail Lauzzana, Charles and Barbara Lawrence, John K. Lawrence, Jerold Lax, Edward LeBaron and Nancy Moncrieff, Steven Leber, Sander Lehrer, Daniel M. Lenardon, Arthur Lerner and Linda Dreeben, Lynne Levenbach, David Levine, David Levinson, Gloria Liatsos, John A. Libbe, Gail H. Lift, Miriam Light, Jennifer Linde, James M. Lindsay, Richard Longnecker, Avram H. Mack, Evan Makela, Roslyn Malmaud, Susan Mann, Patricia Maran, Deborah Markiewicz, Gregory A. Marks, Marjorie and David Mastie, BeLinda Mathie and Brian Haag, Jeffrey R. May, Amy Mazur, Derek McCalmont, Susan McCarthy, Donna and Thomas McClish, Klint McKay, Laura Ariane Miller, Kate Miller, Simon A. Miller, Ross Miller, Martha Minow, Bert and Kathy Moberg, Leslie Molder, Brenda L. Moskovitz, Richard Moulton, Patricia J. Murphy, Ann Nachbar, Mitri and Carmine Najjar, June Namias, Daniel O. Nathan, Deborah Nemesi, Sharon F. Nemser, Christian C. and Nedra Noordhoorn, Mary Beth Norton, Carol and Seamus O’Cleireacain, Richard N. Ostling,

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Gary Pacernick, B.A. Page, Sondra Panico and Stuart Levin, Ben Peng, Cary R. Perlman, John and Terry Pfefferle, Judith R. Phillips, Sue N. Pick, Lisa Plantefaber, Michael and Penelope Pollard, Lawrence and Ann L. Price, Barbara L. Quint, Linda L. Randell, Sangita K. Rao, Maxwell O. Reade, Dr. and Mrs. Robert W. Rebar, Lawrence Reinish, Paul A. Renard, James T. Renfrow, Mark J. Riedy, Michael Ries and Elaine Leboff-Ries, Kenneth and Julie Riff, Lawrence P. Riff, Deric Righter, Liana Rinzler, Kenneth H. Rosen, Rochelle and Richard Rosenberg, Carolyn Rosenberg, Patricia H. Rosenberger, Jeffrey S. Ross, Thomas M. Rosseel, Stephen and Ellen Roth, Randall S. Rothschild, Patrick N. Rothwell, Prof. and Mrs. Daniel I. Rubenstein, Rubenstein Family Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Fed. of Met. Chicago, Adam and Patricia Rubinstein, Bernard Salzman, Eric and Michelle Salzman, Etta G. Saxe, Julie and Stephen Schaffner, Sylvia Schatz, Jonathan Schmerling, Linda Schwarzberg, Thomas and Maryellen Scott, Suzanne Koprince Sebert, Kristina M. Seher, Cynthia Selin Russo and Louis Russo, Raffie Shahrigian, Ann and Stephen Shapiro, Mary B. Shapiro, Dan Share, William L. Sharfman, John Sharp, Michael and Sara Sher, Susan Shippey, Scott H. Shore, Jasvinder S. Sidhu, Matthew J. Sikora, Susan Silagi, Barbara and Michael Sitrin, Steven Smith, Daniel Solomon, Douglas C. Sprigg, James and Jean Spurrier, Joseph and Ellen Starr, Terry S. Stein, Mr. and Mrs. Howard S. Stein, Judith Zee Steinberg, Gabriel N. Steinberg, Dr. and Mrs. Mitchell Stengel, Susan K. Stevens, Max A. Strasburg, Lynn Streeter, Robert Suggs, Stephen and Kathleen Tatter, Craig Thornton, Michelle Tilley, Michael P. Toomey, Robert Trakimas, Elizabeth and Mark Turner, Stephen G. Van Meter, Bruce S. Vanderporten, Andrew J. Varner, Nina Vinik, Marie and Robert Vogt, Dietmar Wagner and Mimi Chapman, Mr. and Dr. Robert Walker, Lisa Walker and Philip Sanderson, Charles A. Weibel, Jerome Weinstein, Matt Welch, Karen Wigen and Martin Lewis, Timothy E. Wilens, Carol and David Willen, Joseph H. Wimsatt, Harriet Z. Winkelman, Ken Wirt, Paul Wolber, Teri Wolf-Kostin, Charles Yang and Peggy Tong, Mr. and Mrs. Jay H. Zimbler, Jeffrey and Elizabeth Zucker, Christine Ann Zurawski

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Breakfast under the big tent.

Students gather on Ingalls Mall.

karen wagner

karen wagner

Honors freshmen got off to a great start with our annual Kick Off this fall, under a tent at Ingalls Mall. We opened with breakfast for approximately 400 students, who then travelled into the Modern Languages Building for a presentation on the Summer Reading, Radioactive, followed by small group discussions.

After lunch, they headed out for a Campus Quest (an Olympicthemed scavenger hunt). The event closed with ice cream, music, and prizes. Best of luck, Class of 2016!

Mary Walle

Honors Kick Off Bigger and Better than Ever

Campus Quest team at the UM Museum of Art.