A Personal and Professional Perspective on an Honors Program

Three decades ago, I had the good fortune of attending a highly selective, private college. At Yale, I received an excellent education because most of the classes were taught by tenured faculty who were experts in their respective fields. The relatively small class sizes and the wide variety of other educational opportunities ensured that each student received personal attention, encouragement, and support. Today, I have the privilege of serving as the president of Northern Kentucky University, a comprehensive, public university located just five miles south of Cincinnati, Ohio. At NKU, we aspire to provide a personal educational experience to the more than 12,000 undergraduate students who enroll each year. Given the demographics of our undergraduate student body--more than 50% are first-generation college students and 40% are eligible for Pell grants--the education we provide is truly transformative. A few years ago, Felipe Fernandez-Armesto wrote about the ability of regional, public universities to change the lives of their students: To find places that make an alchemical difference--that ignite unsuspected genius, enchant Cinderellas into princesses and magic modest ducklings into very fine swans--you have to look at the truly heroic local and regional universities. These institutions have shoestring budgets and few or no historic advantages, but make up for their deficiencies by the commitment of the teachers, the ambition of the students and the zeal of the communities that surround them. Northern Kentucky is just such a regional university One of the ways that we deliver on our commitment to our students is through our excellent honors program. The NKU Honors Program, which has grown to more than 500 students, enables these students to take special seminars and to conduct research projects with our senior faculty The program focuses on developing the analytical skills that are vital for success in our dynamic and competitive economy Because of the demographic profile of the students both in the honors program and at our university, our honors students are exposed to diverse perspectives and experiences. These experiences are critical for success in our country, where public, comprehensive universities educate 63% of all African American students, 47% of all Latino students, and 50% of all Native American students. Based on my own educational background and my professional experience, I believe that an honors program at a large, diverse, public university is an excellent choice for an ambitious, high-achieving student. As Frank Bruni wrote recently in The New York Times, an increasing number of outstanding students are choosing to enroll in an honors program or an honors college at a public university According to Bruni, these students can enjoy specialized programs and small classes while also being able to take advantage of the resources and expansive programming of a large, public university--benefits that honors students often tell me are the reasons that they decided to attend NKU. My daughter Clare, who contributed to this essay, chose to attend NKU in large part because of our honors program. During her senior year in high school, Clare applied for admission to nine institutions, including a few private colleges and several nationally prominent universities After a few months, she received acceptance letters from several of the more selective intuitions, the kind of colleges that her family and friends expected her to choose. Throughout her decision-making process, though, NKU continued to spark her intellectual curiosity and to engage her emotional aspirations. During an honors recruiting event, Clare heard students and faculty describe with enthusiasm and passion the various project-based courses that are common in our honors program. …