About Our Program

Program Mission

With a commitment to the rich traditions of the liberal arts, the High Point University Honors Scholar Program takes a multidisciplinary, holistic approach to higher education, empowering students to cultivate contemplative selves and to build meaningful public lives. Believing a liberal education transcends the sum of its parts, the program challenges students to connect diverse ways of comprehending their world, to approach problems and questions with rigor and adaptability. Its graduates have prepared themselves for leadership on a global stage, their lives deepened by intellectual curiosity, broadened by cultural and academic diversity, and strengthened by compassion and self-awareness. They distinguish themselves by their abilities to synthesize information, create new knowledge, render sound judgments, and communicate effectively.

Program Principles

The Honors Scholar Program has five principles that inform its scope, structure, and delivery.

• That a university should value diversity and inclusion while creating a climate conducive to the intellectual and emotional development of all;
• That a liberal arts education should empower students to be agents of their own learning, in school and throughout life;
• That a core curriculum should teach the habits of mind indicative of a liberal arts education: critical thinking, inquiry, synthesis, contextualization, and reflection;
• That core courses should invite multidisciplinary and multicultural perspectives so as to teach students to recognize preconceptions and biases, tolerate ambiguity, consider ethical concerns, and cultivate compassion;
• That the value of a liberal arts education should be continually, rigorously, and publicly analyzed by students and faculty.

Program Learning Outcomes

The Honors Scholars Program outcomes are informed greatly by the AAC&U’s Essential Learning Outcomes for liberal education. Students who complete the program’s core curriculum will demonstrate high levels of competency in the areas described below.

• TRADITIONS: Investigate questions of enduring and contemporary importance by engaging the intellectual traditions and research methods that shape studies in the sciences and mathematics, social sciences, humanities, histories, languages, and the arts;
• CONTEXTS: Interpret human endeavors within the contexts of time and space and through a critical self-awareness of their own positions;
• SYNTHESIS: Synthesize information and resources to solve complex problems that have personal significance and public relevance;
• ETHICS: Recognize and analyze ethical issues within real-world challenges and make sound judgments when engaging in research, creative works, co-curricular experiences, interpersonal relationships, civic activities, and professional duties;
• AWARENESS: Describe and analyze their roles as global citizens, demonstrating deep awareness of the differences – often invisible – between cultures and individuals, as well as knowledge of the processes of global interconnectedness and subsequent opportunities and tensions;
• COMMUNICATION: Communicate effectively, often publicly – in writing, speech, and visual media – employing careful analyses of rhetorical purposes, audiences, messages, and modes of delivery;
• COLLABORATION: Collaborate productively in diverse groups to complete multifaceted projects that affect real communities;
• DEVELOPMENT: Articulate the values, needs, and goals that contribute to the cultivation of their private selves and that influence the crafting of their public lives;
• REFLECTION: Attend to their own intellectual, personal, and professional development by curating, reflecting on, and publicly presenting embodiments of their learning and scholarship.

Research Assistantships:

Many students that participate in the Honors Scholars Program are offered the opportunity to research with professors that publish in their respective fields of study. This rare chance (which is usually only offered to graduate students at other institutions) is a perfect foundation for honors students who are planning to pursue a graduate degree.

Visiting Scholars:

The Honors Scholars Program regularly invites and sponsors renowned scholars to speak at High Point University on a variety of topics.

Scholarship for Rising Seniors:

The Honors Scholars Program awards one annual scholarship to the rising senior with the highest GPA in the program. The student must also exhibit extraordinary student leadership and be an active member of the Odyssey Club.

Priority Registration:

Honors Scholars Program students are provided the opportunity to select their courses during registration periods before non-honors students. This allows honors students the flexibility to take honors classes offered that particular semester and to create a academic schedule conducive to their learning style.

Extended Library Borrowing Privileges:

The High Point University library allows honors students enhanced borrowing privileges by allowing them access to non-circulated DVDs and extended check-out time for books.

Honors Housing in Finch Hall:

Students in the Honors Scholars Program at High Point University have the opportunity to live with fellow honors students in Finch Residence Hall. More information can be found on the Honors Housing page.

The Honors Scholars Program Committee is charged with planning and supervising the implementation of the Honors Scholars Program.

Honors Scholars Program Committee Members in 2016-2017:

Dr. William Carpenter  – Director of Honors Scholars Program; Professor of English

Dr. Briana Fiser – Associate Chair of Honors Scholars Committee; Assistant Professor of Physics

Dr. Kristin Ackerman – Assistant Professor of Biology

Dr. Tom Albritton – Chair, Department of Professional Education & Leadership Studies; Associate Professor, English Education

Dr. Jennifer Brandt – Director of Women’s and Gender Studies; Director of the Common Experience; Assistant Professor of English

Dr. Matthew Brophy – Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Mr. David Bryden – Director of Library Services

Dr. Victoria Brown – Assistant Professor of Visual Merchandising Design

Dr. Rob Harger – Chair, Department of Mathematics & Computer Science; Professor of Mathematics

Dr. Nathan Hedman – Assistant Professor of English and Theater

Ms. Erica Lewis – Senior Director of Student Life

Dr. Stacy Lipowski – Assistant Professor of Psychology

Dr. Meredith Malburne-Wade – Director of the Office of Fellowships and Awards

Dr. Jacob Paul – Assistant Professor of English

Mr. David Radanovich – Assistant Professor of the Practice of Communication

Dr. Kimberly Reich – Associate Professor of Exercise Science

Dr. Dean Smith – Assistant Professor of Communication

Dr. Patricia Swafford – Associate Professor of Management

Mr. Bradley Taylor – Student Success Coach

Dr. Chelsea Wentworth Fournier – Assistant Professor of Anthropology

Dr. Andrew Wommack – Assistant Professor of Chemistry