Today I want to talk about the current transitions of the Honors Program. As you all know, I hope, Dr. Margolius stepped down as Director of the Honors Program (we thank her for everything she accomplished!). The new Director is Dr. Peter Meiksins. Dr. Meiksins is a Sociology professor here at Cleveland State, and is proving to be as great of a director as he is professor.
Dr. Meiksins is interested in making a few changes to the program. First, he would like to change the notion that the roots of the Honors Program lie in academia. Although academics are a huge portion of the honors curriculum, Dr. Meiksins would like to create a complete honors experience.
Furthermore, Dr. Meiksins is very interested in supplying Honors students with study abroad and internship opportunities. From an intership with the Washington Center (meeting in MC Auditorium at 11am on 2/2) to projects across seas with the Fulbright grant (meeting in MC 102 at 12pm on 3/5), Dr. Meiksins wants Honors students to interact with new cultures and bright people such as ourselves as much as possible.
Community service is also a part of Dr. Meiksins agenda. As staff for the Honors Program, I have created the Honors "Big 10" Service Award. All Honors and University Scholars students who verify 10 hours of completed community service with an official nonprofit organization by March 31, 2009 will receive an award at this year's Honors Graduation Ceremony. Starting in the fall semester, an HON 201 class will be offered surrounding community service within the fields Honors students will be entering after graduation.
All in all, the future of the Honors Program seems full of opportunity and growth. Thanks to all of the Honors staff who have been working hard to ensure the smooth transition and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for this great program :)
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Winter Wonder Land
I know this isn't very substantive...but it's pretty much the topic of the day...
Why didn't CSU, and the Cleveland public school system, close for the am classes today? Furthermore, why close the campus and schools for classes for the afternoon? All this does is create unnecessary traffic jams and confusion. I know I'm from the Cleveland area, and should be used to the snow, but when my options are going to class or saving my car from obliteration, I choose playing hooky.
Any comments? Go for it!
Why didn't CSU, and the Cleveland public school system, close for the am classes today? Furthermore, why close the campus and schools for classes for the afternoon? All this does is create unnecessary traffic jams and confusion. I know I'm from the Cleveland area, and should be used to the snow, but when my options are going to class or saving my car from obliteration, I choose playing hooky.
Any comments? Go for it!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Honors Blogging and Such and Such
So, I'm trying to get this blog back up and running for the Honors Program. I know most of us have Facebook to keep in touch with fellow students, but this blog allows us to delve deeper into those relationships. If fact, Facebook is kind of the current topic of my mind...
Lately, I have been receiving numerous note tags on Facebook(if you are not a Facebook user: notes are random blogs or mass questionares on the site. You can "tag" someone in the note, signalling the person to read the note). In particular, notes on "25 Things About Me". I was contemplating what I would say about myself in 25 lines, or if I was going to even repeat the note, when I realized how little I know about the other people who completed the survey. Yes, I know their major, who they've befriended in the past year, and what their favorite television show is, but I don't know what is really inside these people. Advancements in technology have lead to widespread communication, but the advancements also have a downfall: people don't talk one on one regularly. When Facebook, Myspace, and texting are our main forms of communication, we lose the delicate personal nature of communication. Most of the items of the "25 Things About Me" lists would have been perfect anticdots, but texting usually doesn't include those simple tidbits about a person. So, next time you are browsing Facebook during that class, stop what you are doing and start up a conversation with the stranger next to you. You may be surprised by how much more you can get out of a simple "Hi, my name is..." than "poking" your friend in the dorm.
Lately, I have been receiving numerous note tags on Facebook(if you are not a Facebook user: notes are random blogs or mass questionares on the site. You can "tag" someone in the note, signalling the person to read the note). In particular, notes on "25 Things About Me". I was contemplating what I would say about myself in 25 lines, or if I was going to even repeat the note, when I realized how little I know about the other people who completed the survey. Yes, I know their major, who they've befriended in the past year, and what their favorite television show is, but I don't know what is really inside these people. Advancements in technology have lead to widespread communication, but the advancements also have a downfall: people don't talk one on one regularly. When Facebook, Myspace, and texting are our main forms of communication, we lose the delicate personal nature of communication. Most of the items of the "25 Things About Me" lists would have been perfect anticdots, but texting usually doesn't include those simple tidbits about a person. So, next time you are browsing Facebook during that class, stop what you are doing and start up a conversation with the stranger next to you. You may be surprised by how much more you can get out of a simple "Hi, my name is..." than "poking" your friend in the dorm.
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