News of Recent Events

The Spring 2007 Honors Banquet
Research Day 2007
HSS Celebration of Student Scholarship
The Hate Violence Task Force

The Spring 2007 Honors Banquet

Dean Andrew Svedlow at the Honors Banquet

Guests at the Spring Honors Awards Banquet sat at a dozen beautifully appointed tables in the University Center’s Panorama Room, visiting and recounting the achievements of the past year. With the year coming to a close, many guests reminisced about the grand reopening of the Honors Program’s new office space, about the undertakings of faculty and students, and about the multitude of activities in which Honors students and faculty participated.

After dinner, the guest speaker—Andrew Svedlow, Dean of the School of Performing and Visual Arts—rose to speak to the gathering. Dean Svedlow put it to the group what sort of speech it would like to hear, and the audience chose the option of an interesting speech, which resulted in the Dean’s recounting an experience he had had in a Buddhist temple. Inciting more than a few smiles and chuckles, he encouraged the members of the audience to find peace with themselves and to be patient in trying to do so.

After Dean Svedlow’s speech, Honors Director Marie Livingston, due to retire this winter, announced plans for building a stable endowment that can provide funds for scholarships the Honors Program can provide to students. Honors scholarships have been largely dependent on donations to the program in the past, but Director Livingston’s vision is to create a fund large enough to guarantee the availablility of scholarships long into the future. Marie stunned the audience by announcing her intention to match all donations up to $10,000.

This was a hard act to follow, but Marie and Associate Director Debra Holman went on to recognize students for their meritorious service and their acadmic excellence. Officers of the Student Honors Council were recognized for their service to the community, and several students active within the Honors community were acknowledged for their service as well. Eva Sorrentino was recognized by the Co-Vice Presidents of Community Service for her outstanding record in community service over the past year. Scholarship recipients were formally recognized, and the yearly Becky R. Edgerton Award was given to Katie Goulet for her involvement in the Honors community and the contributions she has made to it over the past several years.

The students, faculty, and friends who were present at this year’s Honors Banquet thoroughly enjoyed the camaraderie that is a hallmark of the Honors tradition. The banquet was a fitting culmination of everything that has occurred this year, highlighting the achievements of the members of the community.

Sarah Pickett

The 2006-2007 Student Honors Council

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Research Day 2007

Candice Walkinshaw presents a poster with her analysis of Weld County’s ability to meet the needs of the homeless.

Each year during Academic Excellence Week, the Honors Program sponsors a campus-wide Research Day as part of its commitment to scholarship, research, and academic achievement. Academic Excellence Week is an annual event held each spring that enables academic units and organizations from all areas of campus to celebrate student achievement. As part of this celebration, Research Day is held to give graduate and undergraduate students an opportunity to share their ongoing work and completed research projects with peers, faculty, and staff. This year Research Day, which is co-sponsored by the Graduate Student Association, was held on April 12, 2007, in the University Center.

Derek Hurst explains his research on economic issues in Germany related to globalization during an individual presentation.

The topics of Research Day presentations range across every subject, including psychology, Spanish, women’s studies, biology, nursing, popular culture, history, economics, sport and exercise science, sociology, and more! Research Day participants can present their work in individual presentations, panel presentations, or poster presentations. In the past, presentation sessions have all been 55 minutes long, but the schedule was changed this year to provide the alternatives of presenting in either a 25-minute session or a 55-minute slot.

This year’s Research Day gave me, as a graduating senior, the perfect opportunity to present my Honors thesis. I’ve never been much for public speaking, so I signed up for one of the 25-minute sessions to present my thesis about the International Film Series (IFS). At first I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to speak for 25 minutes, but the presentation went much better than I had envisioned. I had a small audience of attentive listeners who were genuinely interested in my work with IFS and who asked pertinent questions. Because we were able to get a dialogue going and because no one else was scheduled in that room directly after me, my presentation actually ended up lasting for about an hour!

Presenting at Research Day was a valuable experience for me because I was able to share a project I was passionate about, and I received positive feedback on my thesis work. I would encourage other Honors students, undergraduates, and grad students to participate in this event next year. I’m sure you will find a receptive audience and receive encouragement and new ideas for your ongoing and completed research if you do take part.

Katie Goulet

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HSS Celebration of Student Scholarship

During the spring semester of 2007, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) sponsored a research paper competition among all undergraduates who had worked on research projects related to their coursework in HSS. Faculty in the college identified student projects that were of high quality and made recommendations for student submissions. A group of faculty representing all areas of the college judged the research submissions and awarded $100 scholarships to each of the top four winners.

Given the focus on undergraduate research in the University Honors Program, it is not surprising that three of the four outstanding pieces of research were conducted by Honors students! Christopher Appleby, Allison Howe, and Kevin Nathern were among the winners. The fourth winner, Nathan Fuhr, completed his work as part of Mind 288 Contemporary Arts Connections taught by Jeffrey Lee in the spring 2007 semester. He presented an original poem entitled “Zapatistas in the Outhouse.”

The winners were featured in a special forum for students and faculty in the college, hosted by Dean David Caldwell. Allison Howe represented Communication Studies with instructor Heidi Muller and presented her work on “Communication, Cognition, and Culture: A New Structure for Adolescent HIV Prevention Curriculum.” Both Kevin Nathern and Chris Appleby represented Economics and Professor Marie Livingston (Honors Director) in their presentations on “The Libyan Great Man-Made River Project vs. Desalination” and “Iceland’s Karahnukar Hydropower Project: A Cost and Benefit Analysis,” respectively.

Students and faculty from a full range programs in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences attended the forum. The discussion and questions raised about each piece of research revealed a great deal of interest in the projects. It was great for the University Honors Program to have these outstanding students present their research to a wide audience. The content of the presentations and the professional way in which they were delivered suggests that undergraduate research is flourishing at the University of Northern Colorado!

Marie Livingston

Award Recipients at the Celebration of Student Scholarship

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The Hate Violence Task Force

This spring we were most fortunate to be able to have the Hate Violence Task Force come to UNC and put on a mock trial for the Honors community and the campus as a whole. The Task Force, one of the Colorado Lawyers Committee’s volunteer projects, is made up of practicing lawyers from the Denver area who donate their time to tour the area, raising awareness of hate violence by putting on very realistic mock trials.

Hate violence is any act of intimidation, harassment, physical force or threat of physical force motivated by a racial, sexual, gender, or other social bias. The mock trial format is very effective at presenting realistic, although fictional examples of hate violence. The lawyers present four separate cases of hate crimes, and then let the audience split into juries to determine the verdict for themselves, given the relevant laws in Colorado.

Not only do these trials raise awareness; they also give the attendees a wonderful insight into the functioning of the American judicial system. The Hate Violence Task Force covers modern issues; teaches about the government, laws, and the courts; and encourages people to become better citizens. The Hate Violence Task Force is a great group to have in the area, and many thanks to them for coming to UNC. We look forward to their visiting campus again in the future!

David Zartman

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