ANNUAL REPORT

HONORS PROGRAM AND VISITING SCHOLARS COMMITTEE

2003-2004

 

 

The highlights of our honors year began from an outstanding Fall, 2003 Honors Colloquium coordinated by Professor Richard McIntyre (Economics), Professor John Grandin (Modern and Classical Languages and Literature) and Professor Chai Kim (Management Information Systems) on the topic of ≥The Futures of Globalization.≤ Speakers included Tina Rosenberg, Robert Reich, and many more distinguished scholars. We also brought to campus as the URI Foundation Distinguished Scholar a remarkable address by Dr. Edward S. Casey in April, 2004 on ≥Public Memory in Time and Place: Commemorating Disaster in the Wake of 9/11.≤ The highlight of the year on the honors student side was an end-of-year day-long undergraduate research conference featuring the work of a record number of senior honors projects, forty-three, and a record number of seniors completing the honors program, thirty-four, all of whom were honored at the annual Spring Honors Convocation.

 

In more routine matters, the Honors Program and Visiting Scholars Committee continued to offer a wide range of stimulating Honors courses, promote scholarship opportunities, sponsor undergraduate research projects, and provide financial support for noted scholars to come to URI for special presentations to students, faculty, and the public. A brief informational report describing specific activities of the Committee for 2003-2004 follows.

 

A. Eligibility Standards for 2003-2004

 

The standards of eligibility for students to participate in Honors Program course work continue to be the same: Freshmen must have graduated in the top 10% of their high school class or present a letter of recommendation from their principal or guidance counselor. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors must have earned a 3.2 QPA. Under special circumstances, these requirements may be modified with permission of the Director.

 

B. Courses and Enrollment

 

During the Fall, 2003 semester, the Program offered twenty-two Honors courses in addition to Senior Honors Projects and Administrative Internships: thirteen 100-level courses, the 200-level Colloquium, six 300-level tutorials, and two 400-level Senior Seminars. In the Spring, 2004 semester we offered twenty-two Honors courses in addition to Senior Honors Projects and Administrative Internships: nine 100-level courses, nine 300-level tutorials, and four 400-level Senior Seminars. Student enrollment in Honors classes was 391 during the Fall, 2003 semester and 310 students during the Spring, 2004 semester. These figures are based on post-drop mid-semester rosters. For Fall, 2004, twenty-six Honors courses in addition to Senior Projects and Administrative Internships will be offered totaling 505 seats.

 

The Honors Program office keeps a data base of students who are participating in the Honors Program during their undergraduate years, which for 2003-2004 included the classes of 2004-2007. 868 registered URI undergraduates in these class years have participated in Honors courses during their undergraduate career, bringing the program above the national norm for participation involving at least one-fourth of Honors-eligible students in Honors course offerings.

 

C. Faculty

 

During the 2003-2004 academic year, the following URI faculty members taught Honors Program courses: College of Arts & Sciences: Professor Mark August (Communication Studies), Professor Sharmon Brown (Communication Studies), Professor Charles Collyer (Psychology), Professor Nancy Cook (English), Professor Lynne Derbyshire (Communication Studies), Professor Patrick Devlin (Communication Studies), Professor Alain-Philippe Durand (Languages), Professor Victor Fay-Wolfe (Computer Science & Statistics), Professor Cheryl Foster (Philosophy), Professor David Gitlitz (Modern and Classical Languages and Literature), Professor John Grandin (Modern and Classical Languages and Literature), Professor Frank Heppner (Biological Sciences), Professor Galen Johnson (Philosophy), Professor Peniel Joseph (History), Professor Leonard Kahn (Physics), Professor Valerie Karno (English), Professor James Lewis (Mathematics), Professor Naomi Mandel (English), Professor Lisa McClure (Communications Studies), Professor Richard McIntyre (Economics), Professor Arthur Mead (Economics), Professor Elizabeth Miles (English), Professor Scott Molloy (Labor Research Center), Professor Ronald Onorato (Art), Professor Albert Silverstein (Psychology), Professor Arthur Stein (Political Science), Professor Judith Swift (Theatre), Professor Michael Tammaro (Physics), Professor Gerry Tyler (Political Science), Professor Walter Von Reinhart (Modern and Classical Languages and Literature), Professor Daphne Wales (Communication Studies), Professor Robert Weisbord (History), Professor Thomas Zorabedian (Development). College of Human Science & Services: Professor George Willis (Education). College of Nursing: Professor Carolyn Hames (Nursing). College of Business Administration: Professor Chai Kim (Management Information Systems). College of the Environment & Life Sciences: Professor Jose Amador (Natural Resources Science).

 

The following faculty have been selected to teach Honors Program courses during the 2004-2005 academic year: College of Arts & Sciences: Professor Mark August (Communication Studies), Kristine Cabral (Communication Studies), Professor Dean Clark (Mathematics), Professor Charles Collyer (Psychology), Professor Nancy Cook (English), Professor Linda Davidson (Communication Studies), Professor Lynne Derbyshire (Communication Studies), Professor Victor Fay-Wolfe (Computer Science & Statistics), Professor Cheryl Foster (Philosophy), Professor Mark Genest (Political Science), Professor David Gitlitz (Modern and Classical Languages and Literature), Professor Kathleen Gorman (Psychology), Professor Frank Heppner (Biological Sciences), Professor David Heskett (Physics), Professor Galen Johnson (Philosophy), Professor Leonard Kahn (Physics), Professor Valerie Karno (English), Professor Maury Klein (History), Professor Linda Levin (Journalism), Professor James Lewis (Mathematics), Professor Lisa McClure (Communications Studies), Professor Naomi Mandel (English), Professor Richard McIntyre (Economics), Professor Arthur Mead (Economics), Professor Elizabeth Miles (English), Professor Scott Molloy (Labor Research Center), Professor Kendall Moore (Journalism), Professor Joanne Mundorf, (Communication Studies), Professor Ronald Onorato (Art), Professor Daniel Pearlman (English), Professor Arthur Stein (Political Science), Professor Judith Swift (Theatre), Professor Michael Tammaro (Physics), Professor Gerry Tyler (Political Science), Professor Walter Von Reinhart (Modern and Classical Languages and Literature), Professor Daphne Wales (Communication Studies), Professor Robert Weisbord (History), Professor Thomas Zorabedian (Development). College of Human Science & Services: Professor Gene Knott (Human Development & Family Studies), Professor William Lynn McKinney (Education), Professor George Willis (Education). College of Nursing: Professor Carolyn Hames (Nursing), College of the Environment and Life Sciences: Professor JosÈ Amador (Natural Resources Science), Professor Roger LeBrun (Plant Science and Entomology), Professor Howard Ginsberg (Plant Sciences). Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies: Dr. Bernard Lafayette. Graduate School of Oceanography: Professor Steven DπHondt (Oceanography), Professor Arthur Spivack (Oceanography).

 

With the support of the Office of the Provost, Deans, and Chairs, twenty members of the URI faculty currently hold three-year limited joint appointments between the Honors Program and their home departments. These faculty members are providing a stable core for Honors course offerings and planning. Those holding limited joint appointments with Honors are: Professor JosÈ Amador (Natural Resources Science), Professor Lynne Derbyshire (Communication Studies), Professor Victor Fay-Wolfe (Computer Science & Statistics), Professor Cheryl Foster (Philosophy), Professor David Gitlitz (Modern and Classical Languages and Literature), Professor Carolyn Hames (Nursing), Professor Frank Heppner (Biological Sciences), Professor Charles Hickox (Management), Professor Galen Johnson (Philosophy), Professor Leonard Kahn (Physics), Professor Sandra Ketrow (Communication Studies), Professor James Lewis (Math), Professor Richard McIntyre (Economics), Professor William Lynn McKinney (Education), Professor Arthur Mead (Economics), Professor Ronald Onorato (Art), Professor Arthur Stein (Political Science), Professor Judith Swift (Communication Studies), Professor Gerry Tyler (Political Science), and Professor Walter Von Reinhart (Modern and Classical Languages and Literature).

 

Additional Honors courses continue to be solicited each year from the entire URI faculty, and nominations for additional three-year limited joint appointments will commence in Fall, 2004 to become effective Fall, 2005.

 

D. Honors Colloquium

 

As highlighted above, Professor Richard McIntyre (Economics, College of Arts & Sciences), Professor John Grandin (Modern and Classical Languages and Literature, College of Arts & Sciences), and Professor Chai Kim (Management Information Systems, College of Business Administration) coordinated the Fall, 2003 Honors Colloquium, ≥The Futures of Globalization.≤ The list of outstanding speakers began with an address given by Tina Rosenberg, New York Times editorialist and independent journalist (Mexico City), author of Children of Cain: Violence and the Violent in Latin America and The Haunted Land: Facing Europeπs Ghosts After Communism, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and a MacArthur Fellowship. Among others, additional speakers in the Tuesday evening Colloquium series were Peter Bergen, CNN terrorism correspondent, author of Holy War Inc,. and producer and host of Al Qaeda 2.0; Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor and author of The Future of Success, The Work of Nations, and many other books, founder of The American Prospect, University Professor and Maurice B. Hexter Professor of Social and Economic Policy, Brandeis University; Amy Chua, professor of international law, Yale University, and author of World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability; Tom Sgouros, writer, film producer, and performance artist; and Amitava Kumar, professor of English, Pennsylvania State University, author of many books including Passport Photos and Bombay, London, New York.

 

Honors Colloquium special events included a conversation and performance ≥Intercultural Journeys in Music≤ with David Kim, concertmaster, Philadelphia Orchestra, founder and director of the Kingston Chamber Music Festival held each summer at the Kingston campus, as well as a truly remarkable and brilliant photography exhibit by Kerry Stuart Coppin, ≥Las CanciÛnes Negras Sin Color≤ (≥Black Songs Without Color),≤ which was curated by Judith Tolnick in the Photography Gallery of the URI Fine Arts Center.

 

In addition to financial support from the Honors Program, major grants in support of the Fall, 2003 Honors Colloquium were made by the URI Presidentπs Office, URI Office of the Provost, URI Foundation, URI Alumni Association, URI College of Arts & Sciences, URI College of Business Administration, URI Multicultural Center, URI Office of Student Affairs, URI College of Pharmacy, The Providence Journal, Theta Chi Fraternity, and Fidelity Investments. Beginning in Fall, 2002 and continuing thereafter, the Honors Colloquium is supported by a generous allocation from the President of the University.

 

The URI Honors Colloquium has grown into a statewide and nationally recognized forum for contemporary issues demanding scholarly attention and debate. The URI News Bureau under the leadership of Linda Acciardo, Director of Communications, and Jan Wenzel, with the support of Robert Beagle, Vice President for University Advancement, has succeeded in achieving public visibility and widespread coverage for the Colloquium. The Colloquium also is wonderfully supported by the URI Publications Office which produces the copy and art work for the posters, flyers, and brochures.

 

This report takes note, with deep gratitude, of the commitment of time and work made by the Fall, 2003 Colloquium Coordinators, Professors McIntyre, Grandin, and Kim in conducting such an outstanding series of events and teaching the correlated Honors Colloquium class for 100 honors students. The Honors Program and Visiting Scholars Committee has selected for the Fall, 2004 Honors Colloquium: ≥Food and Human Rights: Hunger and Social Policy≤ to be co-coordinated by Professor William Lynn McKinney (Dean, Human Science and Services) and Professor Kathleen Gorman (Psychology; Director of the URI Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America).

 

E. URI Foundation Distinguished Visiting Scholar

 

The URI Foundation Distinguished Scholar Award is made to a scholar who has not only achieved prominence in his or her academic discipline but also has done work that has gained the attention of the educated public. The selected distinguished scholar gives the annual URI Foundation Distinguished Address each Spring semester. As highlighted above, the recipient of the 2003-2004 Award, Edward S. Casey, Leading Professor of Philosophy at State University of New York at Stony Brook and member of the University of California Santa Barbara Interdisciplinary Humanities Center, presented a well-received and very well-attended address in early April, 2004 on ≥Public Memory in Time and Place: Commemorating Disaster in the Wake of 9/11.≤

 

F. Endowment and Awards

 

An additional gift was made to the Honors Program Endowment by Mr. & Mrs. Carroll Brown, in memory of Mrs. Brown's mother, Professor Grace B. Sherrer of the URI Department of English who gave the first Honors lecture at the University. Cash awards from the Sherrer endowment were made to twelve outstanding Honors Program seniors. Based on the academic excellence of the 2004 senior honors class, this was the first time in the history of the Honors Program that all the awards were made to graduating seniors. Awards are based on GPA, steady progress toward completion of the Honors Program, and additional noteworthy achievements. These were announced at the fifth annual Spring Honors Convocation on May 6, 2004.

 

G. Visiting Scholars

 

The HPVS Committee received requests totaling $2,700 for Visiting Scholar presentations for 2003-2004. Six awards were made, totaling $1,900; these represented a range of departments, colleges, and disciplines. Although most of the grants are of necessity for small sums, their cultural and intellectual enhancement of the community is considerable. The Committee has provided co-sponsorship with several departments and programs. The Committee always encourages applicants to seek partial funding from other sources.

 

H.   Senior Honors Projects.

 

The Program sponsored forty-three Senior Honors Projects (HPR401/402) during 2003-2004. This is the highest number of senior projects in the history of the program. The previous high number had been thirty-five projects in 2002-2003. Some of the project titles were: ≥Did September 11^th Change the Level of Social Capital in the United States?,≤ ≥Cancer Healthcare Disparities Among African Americans,≤ ≥A Guide to Legislative Advocacy for Medical Marijuana Activists,≤ ≥Wind Farms: A Possibility in Rhode Island,≤ ≥A Critical Comparison of Karl Marx vs. Adam Smith on Human Nature,≤ ≥An Analysis of the William J. Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiativeπs Plan to Combat the AIDS Pandemic within the Developing World,≤ ≥The Exploitation of NCAA Athletes: Should They Be Paid?,≤ and ≥An Investigation of the Anti-Sweatshop Movement.≤

 

Senior Honors Projects were presented at the second annual Honors Undergraduate Research Day on May 5, 2004. A student conference was organized with concurrent sessions for humanities, social science, and natural science projects. Each senior completing a project also contributed an abstract to a booklet of abstracts available in the Honors Center.

 

The following faculty served as sponsors for the Senior Honors Projects (HPR401/402) during 2003-2004: Professor David Abedon (Community Planning and Landscape Architecture), Professor Paul Arakelian (English), Professor AndrÈ Ariew (Philosophy), Professor Su Boatwright-Horowitz (Psychology), Professor Brian Cardany (Music), Professor Bongsup Cho (Biomedical Sciences), Professor Nancy Cook (English), Professor James Daly (Electrical Engineering), Professor Nikhilesh Dholakia (E-Commerce, Marketing, and Information Systems), Professor Marlene Dufault (Nursing), Alain-Philippe Durand (Languages and Literature), Professor Paul Florin (Psychology), Professor Cheryl Foster (Philosophy), Professor Carolyn Hames (Nursing), Professor Galen Johnson (Philosophy), Professor JoÎlle Rollo-Koster (History), Professor Brian Krueger (Political Science), Professor Don Kunz (English), Professor Mark Lehrer (Management), Professor Angelo Lucia (Chemical Engineering), Professor Richard McIntyre (Economics), Professor Arthur Mead (Economics), Professor Ronald Onorato (Art), Professor Craig Overton (Management), Professor Barbara Pagh (Art), Professor Joe Parillo (Music), Professor Lynn Pasquerella (Philosophy), Professor Brian Quilliam (Epidemiology), Professor Arthur Stein (Political Science), Professor Judith Swift (Communication Studies), Professor Mark Wood (Psychology), and Professor Donald Zeyl (Philosophy).

 

I. Spring Honors Convocation

 

The annual Spring Honors Convocation was held on May 6, 2004, with Professor Arthur Mead (Economics, College of Arts and Sciences) as guest speaker, and included a luncheon organized by the Honors Student Advisory Board. The Sherrer prizes were awarded (cf. section F above) and Senior Honors Projects were presented in the form of a booklet of abstracts prepared by the students. Grateful appreciation was expressed to the thirty-four faculty sponsors of senior honors projects (HPR 401 and 402). Professor Arthur Mead was awarded Honors Professor of the Year for 2003-2004.

 

I.      Honors Program and Visiting Scholars Committee

 

The members of the Honors Program and Visiting Scholars Committee during the past year were: Professor Galen Johnson (Philosophy), Director, Honors Program; Professor Valerie Karno (English), Professor Michael Rice (Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Science), Professor Edmund Boyle (Accounting), Professor Richard McIntyre (Economics), Professor Sarina Wyant (Library), Professor John Grandin (Modern and Classical Languages and Literature), ex officio, Co-Coordinator of the Honors Colloquium, and Professor Chai Kim (Management Information Systems), ex officio, Co-Coordinator of the Honors Colloquium.

 

K. Honors Student Advisory Board

 

The Honors student board has now been in existence for six years. Benjamin Leveillee, 2004, served as President (succeeding his older brother, David Leveillee, 2002) and Bethany Toole, 2004, was Secretary-Treasurer. In addition to monthly meetings to advise the Director, the student Board organized several fundraising events and sponsored an adopted family in the Christmas adopt-a-family program sponsored by the Warwick House of Hope.

 

L. Major Scholarships

 

Under Professor Cheryl Foster (Philosophy; Honors Program Associate Director), the National Scholarships Office continues to make its home in the Honors Center. Dr. Foster reports the following activities for 2003-2004.

 

OVERVIEW

 

∑         On the basis of its success in both the Truman Scholarship program and its

promotion of public service opportunities for students, URI has been named one of three Truman Foundation Honor Institutions for 2004. The two other selected universities are Brandeis University and the University of Mississippi. A plaque will be presented to President Carothers by Foundation Executive Director Louis Blair at a campus presentation ceremony during the winter of 2005.

 

∑                Applications for major scholarships among URI students continue to rise and volunteer faculty/staff committees devote increasing amounts of time to selection and mentoring. About three dozen students are currently in the process of applying for URI nominations to the major British study programs. The popularity of these programs this year rests in part on the Providence Journalπs front page feature on Gates Cambridge Scholarship winner Gregory Hughes, one of only 31 winners of that award in the USA this year.

 

∑                Since 1996 more than 180 students have sought official nominations for major national awards. A total of 123 students have submitted completed applications to national and regional scholarship bodies and among these, 67 have been interviewed, become finalists or received honorable mentions, and 37 have won awards. While we do not measure success by the number of winners relative to overall applications, our percentage rate of winning, 30% of all awards applied for, and our percentage rate of finalists or interviewed applicants, 55%, is competitive with some of the most selective universities in the country.

 

ASPECTS OF RECENT APPLICATIONS

 

o               For the first time ever a URI student won the Gates Cambridge Fellowship, another won the Mellon Fellowship in the Humanities and a third won the North American Nature Photography Association College Student Scholarship (one of eight in the country). Two URI students won Goldwater Scholarships in science and were the only two winners in the state of Rhode Island. This is the third time in a row that two URI students have won the Goldwater award (institutions may nominate a maximum of four).

 

o               Former Boren Scholarship winner Brendan Franzoni won this yearπs Truman Scholarship for the state of Rhode Island.

 

o               Among this yearπs senior applicants were four winners of their departments Presidentπs Award for excellence in their major (Logan Connors, Jake Goldman, Greg Hughes, Doug Reed)

 

o               Among this yearπs winners were two adult students and one visually impaired student.

 

 

2003-2004 National Fellowships ≠ Nominations, Finalists and Winners (with majors noted)

 

         Rhodes            

Michael Charles, English and Biology (RI interview)

                        Adam Zitello, Environmental Science/ Management (Ohio interview)

                        Courtney Blodgett, Environmental Science/Management (RI interview)

                        Jake Goldman, Management Information Systems

                      

            Marshall          

                        Doug Reed, Philosophy (New England finalist)

                        Greg Hughes, Computer Science (New England finalist)

 

            Gates               

Greg Hughes, Computer Science (Winner)

Courtney Blodgett, Environmental Science/Management (national finalist)

Doug Reed, Philosophy

                       

Fulbright         

Matt Paquin, Studio Art (recommended finalist)

Amy Dietrich, Ph.D. student, Marine Affairs

Chelsea Conlin, Studio Art

 

            Truman           

Brendan Franzoni, Political Science and History (Winner)

                       

            Udall

                        Rosemary Lally, Coastal Science

 

            Goldwater

                        Meghan Bellows, Chemical Engineering and German (Winner)

                        Chris Piecuch, Math, Physics and German (Winner)

 

            Mellon

                        Logan Connors, French and History (Winner)

 

            NSEP Boren    

                        Robert Hanson, Political Science (Winner)

                       

            Metcalf Grant ≠ Rhode Island Foundation       

Lisa Lahr, English (Winner)

 

 

North American Nature Photography Association College Student Scholarship

            Jennifer Wendell, Philosophy and French (Winner)

           

                        NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship

Shane Laisle, Business (finalist)

 

 

                                                Respectfully submitted,

 

                                                            Galen A. Johnson, Director

                                                            Honors Program and Visiting Scholars Committee