Fifth-grade students work with an Honors architecture class to build a marshmallow- and-toothpick bridge. The project taught design principles. IN HONOR OF LEARNING: UNIVERSITY HONORS PROGRAM ENTERS ITS FORTH DECADE

by Maridith Walker Geuder
photos by Russ Houston

Give a fifth-grader some miniature marshmallows, some toothpicks, and instructions to build something. What do you get? Not a mess, as one might expect. You get a bridge, of course.

That's what five Mississippi State students discovered when they took an Honors design studio directed by architecture professor Jane Greenwood. "I asked the students to undertake a community service project with a class at Rosa Stewart, Starkville's public fifth-grade school," she explained. Their out-of-class Honors work was in addition to regular in-class assignments.

The interaction sparked the imaginations of both the elementary and the university students, Greenwood said. In guiding a marshmallow bridge-making project, the architecture students learned to teach about design principles and parameters. "There's no better way for our students to learn," Greenwood says.

At the same time, she said, the fifth-graders learned that ordinary materials could create a modest structure that in some ways resembled the much grander Brooklyn Bridge and other bridges they had read about in class.

The project was one of several the architecture students implemented to help open the world of design to their young Rosa Stewart friends. It's the kind of challenge that students enrolled in the University Honors Program are accustomed to, said UHP director Jack White, who has headed the program since 1984.

"Honors is designed to provide students a great deal of freedom," he explained. "Honors professors are profoundly interested in their students and provide innovative experiences to connect them to their academic subjects."

Jack White, director of the University Honors Program

Mississippi State professors have been voluntarily teaching Honors classes since the program's beginning in 1968 as the Stephen D. Lee Honors Program in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Under the direction of John Tilley 1968-81, the college-based program gradually expanded, adding courses in political science, history, English, and foreign languages in addition to original honors courses offered in literature and calculus. In 1981, Honors was designated a university-wide program and the name changed to reflect its new status.

Today, more than 1,000 students from every college and school participate, with Honors sections available in more than 50 courses in the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Architecture, and Business and Industry. Befitting "the People's University," the program is not an elite, small college. It offers broad access to all qualified students and provides them challenging academic experiences, White said.

1,000 AND COUNTING

"The Honors Program is designed for full access," he emphasized. "We want students to develop their interests and tastes as they explore a variety of subjects. Consistent with the university's emphasis on academic quality, we want to provide a sound classroom experience, with plenty of access to discussion. We don't impose mandates except standards of achievement."

The University Honors Program will be a key player in helping achieve academic goals outlined by President Malcolm Portera's five-year strategic plan for the university. To help realize Mississippi State's commitment to becoming a premier public undergraduate teaching institution, the university will expand its Honors course offerings and increase opportunities for study abroad, internships, and independent research.

To be eligible for the University Honors Program, entering freshmen must have a composite score of 26 or above on the American College Test or, for transfer students, have a grade-point average of at least 3.4 (out of 4.0). To remain eligible for Honors classes, students must maintain a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.4.

Qualified students may enroll for as few or as many Honors courses as they wish. Those completing 14 hours of Honors credit receive recognition as Phase I scholars on their official university transcripts; those with an additional 14 hours receive Phase II certification.

Both students and professors say they value the smaller Honors classes that provide opportunities for personal involvement.

"AN IVY LEAGUE EDUCATION AT A PUBLIC INSTITUTION"

Art professor and Grisham Master Teacher Paul Grootkerk teaches an Honors art appreciation course that typically enrolls fewer than 20 students. "The class provides wonderful opportunities for one-on-one interaction," he said.

"Honors classes are very hands-on," he explained. In a session on printmaking, he is able to take students into art professor Linda Seckinger's studio, where they learn by doing.

"Students do ceramics, they do sculpture," he said. "Engineering and business majors may find that they have talent. The work they produce is a real discovery for them."

INTERESTING   FACTS ABOUT THE HONORS PROGRAM

The average class size is about 20 students. An estimated 85 percent of the University Honors Program participants receive substantial scholarship support. The average ACT score of Honors Program participants at Mississippi State is 29. All 14 Mississippi State students who have received Truman Scholarships have been participants in the Honors Program. All three Mississippi State students chosen this year for national Goldwater Scholarships are members of the University Honors Program. The Honors House at 45 Magruder Street more than 100 years ago served as the home of Major Sessums, the first academic dean at Mississippi State. It provides a library, computer lab, and other amenities for Honors Program participants. Directors of the Honors Program have included Dr. John Tilley, 1968-81; Dr. Carmen McClendon, 1981; Dr. Steve Shaffer, 1983-84; and Dr. Jack White, 1984-present. The Giles Distinguished Professors at Mississippi State serve as advisors to the Honors Program.

In 1999, Grootkerk also is teaching for the first time an Honors-sponsored summer studies program in London. Offered through the 22-university Cooperative Center for Study Abroad, the course in modern British art is providing students extensive lectures and tours of major British galleries such as the Hayward, White Chapel, and Tate.

Such experiences expand the worldview and the knowledge available to students, Grootkerk believes.

What do students like about the Honors Program? There are some easy-to-define advantages. The program offers scholarships to 50 outstanding entering freshmen each year; the opportunity to register for classes on the first day of pre-registration, ensuring greater class selection; and "study-friendly" environments in two Honors residence halls, one for freshman men and women and one for upperclass men and women.

Honors Forum, a one-hour pass/fail class, broadens knowledge through interaction with visiting artists, scholars, business leaders, and government officials from around the world. The program provides study abroad opportunities and helps sponsor cultural field trips such as one to the "Palaces of Versailles" exhibit held last year in Jackson. Students also have opportunities to provide direction and leadership to the Honors Program through the 17-member Honors Council, an elected group.

But Honors students most often talk about the program in terms of personal development and personal challenges.

Tamikia Carr, Student Association secretary

"You can't be anonymous," laughs Student Association secretary Tamikia Carr, a junior political science major from Clinton. She and twin sister Eushekia, who is a Student Association senator, both enrolled in the Honors Program as freshmen.

"Honors classes are more difficult than regular classes," Tamikia said. "They offer good in-depth discussions, and professors expect you to speak. You really get to know your professors and fellow students."

Student Association president Matt Allen, a graduate of Jackson Academy, also believes that Honors classes encourage students to stretch themselves. A high-achieving high school student, Allen had decided to attend Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., after graduation.

Matt Allen, Student Association president

Instead, attracted by the university's Political Science Department, he opted to enroll at Mississippi State. "By taking advantage of the Honors Program, I can get an Ivy League education at a public, affordable institution," he explained.

Honors sections in courses such as American government, public policy, and international relations have "focused on writing, reading, and analytical skills," he said. Now a senior, he believes all have prepared him for his next academic undertaking.

"I'll apply for graduate programs at the London School of Economics, the University of Virginia, and Harvard," he said. "I want to combine the study of law, business, and government to work in a field like anti-trust law. My goal is to work here in Mississippi."

"ONE OF MY BEST EXPERIENCES"

Senior Joel Farbman of Huntsville, Ala., a communication major, chairs the Honors Council and has edited UHP's award-winning newsletter, The Phoenix. He remembers one of the first Honors courses he took, taught by sociology professor James D. Jones.

Joel Farbman, president of the Honors Council

"We worked in teams and were asked to create a whole new society," he recalled. "Every-one wanted to create the world's most peaceful society, but we began with the premise that it wouldn't work. We started our hypothetical society with a dictator."

The iconoclastic approach challenged the students to consider what an "ideal" society might be. "It was one of the most interesting projects I've had since being in college," Farbman said.

Editing The Phoenix and taking it to a first-place award in national competition is another source of pride for Farbman, as is his involvement in Honors student governance.

"Honors is one of my best experiences since being here. I've taken advantage of many opportunities, including study abroad, and I've made lasting friendships with students and professors."

Paula Runge, freshman Honors student

Freshman Paula Runge, a mechanical engineering major from Perkinston, already has taken five Honors classes in composition, communication, and calculus. "I've had the best time of my life," she says.

The first member of her family to attend Mississippi State, she says that Honors classes have given her opportunities to challenge herself. "There's a real emphasis on individual projects," she observed.

Honors classes also have given her a unique perspective of fellow students, she believes. "Everybody is there for class, they've done their assignment, and they're ready to learn. The academic experience is great."

Runge, whose first semester grade-point average was 3.76, has developed a list of goals for her academic career at Mississippi State.

She wants to graduate with at least a 3.5 grade-point average, receive a patent on a plant-based baling twine she's developed, land a job with Chevron Inc. of Pascagoula, and earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic equestrian team, among others.

"I don't want to miss any opportunities," she says. "I don't want to look back and wish I'd done something."

"IT WAS THE CORNERSTONE OF MY COLLEGE EXPERIENCE"

Today, Kevin Byrne is director of program services and development for the Virginia-based Horatio Alger Association, an organization that annually awards more than $1 million toward college education for at-risk students.

A graduate of Mississippi State's College of Business and Industry, he also earned a master's degree at University College, Cork, Ireland. An advocate for higher education, he says that the University Honors Program instilled in him "a profound respect for the value of education."

"The Honors Program was the cornerstone of my college experience," he said. Honors classes provide more of a `discussion' of academic material rather than a lecture or rote memorization of information. This `conversation' between professor and student is the highest form of learning and provides a truer understanding of the material covered."

Byrne counts an Honors study abroad program to Perugia, Italy, as a significant academic and cultural opportunity. "That trip introduced me to the value of the humanities. To this day, I continue to take courses and attend lectures on a wide variety of topics in the humanities, which provides both personal and professional enrichment."

He compares the role of the Horatio Alger Foundation to that of the University Honors Program. "Our program opens up a world of learning and support for students as they begin their college careers-much of the same type of world the Honors Program provided for me when beginning my college education."

"RIGOROUS, CHALLENGING CLASSES PREPARED ME"

When he was a senior political science major in 1983, Tommie Cardin decided to opt for a graduating challenge. He signed up for an honors political science class taught by Dr. Tip Allen and began thesis research about the 1982 re-election of longtime Sen. John Stennis.

"It was a massive undertaking for a senior who was ready to check out, but it was very rewarding. It required me to stretch and use many different methods of research and assimilate massive amounts of information into a cohesive, working format," he recalled. "Dr. Allen demanded and expected excellence and knew how to challenge you to perform your dead-level best."

Today an attorney with Crosthwait, Tierney in Jackson, Cardin says that the Honors Program also provided an intangible quality that has benefited his career.

"In addition to research and writing skills, Honors gave me added self-confidence," he says. "You can't have enough of these skills in preparing for a legal career."

A strength of the University Honors Program is that it provides learning opportunities for students like these, says Jack White.

"For some students, an 'aha' experience occurs when they take their first Honors class and have the freedom to explore and challenge. For some, it may be living with a diverse group of people in an Honors residence hall and getting to know someone from a different background. For some, that experience will come later when they do something outside the traditional curricular offerings, such as a study abroad program or an internship.

"The Honors Program provides advocacy for every experience of university life. It's the antithesis of an elitist, small college. Our students can experience the personal attention of a smaller institution, but they gain the benefits of a large institution."