An Epic Mission

For some students, intellectual curiosity and leadership are innate. For many, it must be nurtured. The Shaw University Honors College is an academic center of encouragement, interaction, and care for a diverse population of students. Many of them would otherwise never conceive of the marvelous opportunities and experiences they share during their college sojourn and later in their adult lives. Even though the hundred or more historically black colleges and universities do not all have honors programs, Shaw University has made this commitment to transform the lives of its scholars. Support of the honors college initiative and affirmation from the university's leadership are crucial to its success. As the new president of Shaw University, I believe strongly in honors education and work collaboratively with our faculty and staff to extend its mission. As one of my first actions, I have recommitted the university to tangible financial support of students who show their commitment to the honors college, providing significant scholarships for them so that students who demonstrate academic excellence can once again be the heart of our program. I have taught many of the students who have participated in the program and know firsthand the value of the experiences from which they have benefitted. One such experience has been the university's Shaw in Jamaica Minority Health International Research Training Program, which is part of the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities Project (Jamaica MoN Project). This ten-week residential internship at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, in Kingston, Jamaica, allowed students to spend the summer researching the attitudes and behaviors of Jamaican men. Research ranged from studying the population's awareness, knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and risk perceptions related to prostate cancer and screening. For over 150 years, Shaw University has provided opportunities for promising students, and since 2001 the honors college has created a sense of community and belonging among such students. The college has supported, challenged, and encouraged students to think outside the box and seek opportunities that lead to strong networks of support. We know that finding a niche and a sense of belonging in college leads to student success, commitment, and perseverance; it positively influences our ability to recruit, retain, and graduate students who are invested in their own educational experience from the beginning of their college career With eleven years at the helm of the program, our director has worked tirelessly to keep students and graduates connected to one another and the university Stability in and commitment of the leadership of the program has provided a connection to the university that provides multiple dividends: a commitment of our younger alumni to the university, their persistent participation in the life of the university, and their support of students following in their footsteps. Social media have allowed alumni of the program to share their accomplishments, connect with current students, and provide new opportunities for current students, essentially paying it forward. A wide diversity of activities is found especially within HBCU honors programs that, on the surface, would seem to be different from typical honors offerings These activities are geared towards strengthening and expanding necessary life skills for college students who may need social reinforcement. Underlying our program are the "five wells" expressed by Robert M. Franklin, former president of Morehouse College: well-balanced, well-dressed, well-read, well-spoken, and well-traveled (if even virtually, understanding world dynamics). Several of our honors colloquia emphasize African American philosophy and ethnography, providing a cultural grounding and milieu that awaken students to their heritage Shaw University has a natural linkage to this heritage, being the place where the civil rights organization SNCC--the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee--was founded in 1960. …