An Edifying Honors Collaboration

Authors

Rebecca C. Bott-Knutson, South Dakota State UniversityFollow
Jonathan D. Kotinek, Texas A & M University - College StationFollow
Hedi M. Appel, University of HoustonFollow
Joy L. Hart, University of LouisvilleFollow
Paul Knox, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Andrea Radasanu, Northern Illinois UniversityFollow
Daniel M. Roberts, Virginia State UniversityFollow
Timothy J. Nichols, University of Montana, MissoulaFollow
Leigh E. Fine, California Lutheran UniversityFollow
William L. Ziegler, Binghamton University--SUNYFollow
Mary Bryk, Texas A & M University - College Station
Susan Sumner, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Rachael Budowle, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Kaetlyn Cordingly, University of Montana
Graham E. Bastian, South Dakota State University
Noah Roerig, South Dakota State University
Adam Stroud, Oklahoma State University
Keith Garbutt, Oklahoma State UniversityFollow

Date of this Version

2025

Document Type

Book Chapter

Citation

Where Honors Education and Faculty Development Meet [NCHC Monograph Series], John Zubizarreta and Victoria M. Bryan, editors, chapter 4, pages 57-82

Lincoln, Nebraska, United States: National Collegiate Honors Council, 2025

Comments

Copyright 2025, National Collegiate Honors Council. Used by permission

Abstract

In this chapter, we describe how one honors collaborative was formed, how it functions, and how it continues to evolve. For members of this collaborative, it has been an extraordinary professional journey with edifying impacts as we have been instructed, improved, and enlightened by our involvement.

Our collaborative emerged as a space to engage with colleagues across the nation with the common goal of better preparing honors students to tackle the grand challenges we face as a society (Appel et al., 2023). It comprises a network of honors leaders from 14 universities representing a variety of land-grant, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI), and public four-year institutions with membership in NCHC and/or CoHE; the institutions extend across nine dispersed and geographically diverse states. Because of our wide-ranging geography and institutional structures, we maintain an implicit focus on the role of honors education in community well-being and, by extension, a goal to prepare honors students to work collaboratively across multiple disciplines to understand and address the wicked problems confronting society. Members share a commitment to action to elicit powerful change. Our impact is amplified exponentially when individuals offer their time and talent because these diverse assets, especially when paired with familiarity established through regular contact, have created strong professional bonds and positive outcomes.