Contact: Kristn Clark Fry
February 16, 2005

ETSU announces establishment of Honors College featuring unique attributes

JOHNSON CITY – With today’s news conference announcing the official establishment of its new Honors College, East Tennessee State University embarks on an ambitious mission to encourage and support students who desire to achieve more academically while seeking global experiences, unique research opportunities, and creative artistic endeavors.

In making the announcement, ETSU President Dr. Paul E. Stanton Jr. said, “I firmly believe that creating challenging academic excitement for students and selecting, encouraging and rewarding faculty who work closely with them, while building on ETSU’s historical achievements, will not only result in a successful Honors College, but will also create numerous opportunities for current and future ETSU students.”

Stanton continued, “We are not starting from scratch – we have a vibrant Honors Program, most of our colleges and departments also have strong Honors in Discipline programs, and we have collaborative research opportunities for undergraduate students to work in laboratories, libraries and elsewhere with our researchers. We have national and international student exchange programs. We have a history of commitment to interdisciplinary programs, and we have a vigorous fine and performing arts initiative. By building on this foundation, ETSU can have the strongest range and quality of Honors programming of any regional public university in the country.”

The goals are impressive, but ETSU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Bert C. Bach said he is confident the university will achieve its five-year agenda for the Honors College by the academic year 2009-2010.

He announced the Honors College will be led by Dr. Rebecca Pyles as dean, and three other individuals have been tapped for new or expanded roles as directors of divisions within the college. In addition, a Director of Undergraduate Research, the position Pyles now leaves, will be appointed for the college following an internal search.

Provost Bach noted that Pyles is “uniquely qualified” to serve as the inaugural dean of the new college due to her wealth of experience at ETSU in a number of positions, including her most current. She has senior administrative experience as an interim dean, served as director of the University Honors Program for four years, continues to teach a major seminar in that program, and has directed undergraduate research projects.

Pyles commented, “Becoming dean of ETSU’s new Honors College is a challenge I look forward to with great excitement and enthusiasm. I can’t think of a more exciting opportunity than to serve a college dedicated to helping students from all areas of the university establish high academic goals and become more deeply involved in their studies.

“The Honors College will join with our many distinguished academic colleges and departments to promote student success in the outstanding degree programs we have available at ETSU. I look forward to working with our exceptional faculty, staff and students to develop and support opportunities for students to achieve and excel.”

President Stanton also announced that savings from ETSU’s former football program will be used to fund the first year of operation for the Honors College. In addition, he said Jeff Anderson, associate vice president for university advancement and planned giving, will lead an “aggressive fund-raising effort” for the college.

Stanton added that the generous commitment from two loyal ETSU benefactors and community leaders is launching the endeavor. “Jim and Sandy Powell are designating an endowment in an amount over $230,000 for Honors Scholarships. This significant support demonstrates Sandy and Jim’s investment and interest in this pursuit for continued academic excellence, and their desire to continue to build their strong legacy of giving and leadership for ETSU in so many endeavors. On behalf of the ETSU community, I am most grateful to Jim and Sandy Powell.”

He noted another dimension to the Powell Honors Endowment, saying, “It serves as a guidepost and challenge to their friends, and to the alumni and friends of ETSU, to join them in this quest and mission to create an Honors College that boldly champions student success and sparks the flame of distinguished achievement across the academic disciplines of the university and in the arts. We trust that our other friends and alumni will follow the wonderful example of the Powells.”

Current Director of University Honors Programs, Dr. Jay Boland, will continue his directorship role for this well-established initiative as well as ETSU’s numerous Honors in Discipline programs, while providing leadership for the new “Midway Scholars Program,” a special endeavor of the Honors College designed to recruit and to develop programs for outstanding transfer students who are selected for participation.

On Monday, Feb. 21, Provost Bach will begin visiting all Tennessee Board of Regents community colleges to inform students about this new initiative specifically for exceptional transfer students.

Dean Pyles commented, “We are targeting students who have graduated with an associate degree from a Tennessee community college, as well as from other universities, who are looking for the next step in their studies. These attractive scholarship packages provide special courses and encouragement for students wishing to pursue opportunities in undergraduate research or study abroad or exchange experiences.

“The Midway Scholars Program will offer 20 of these two-year scholarships for fall semester 2005, and then we will invite a new class of 20 in the fall of 2006.”

Half of these scholarships will be awarded to those with associate degrees from sister TBR community colleges, and the remainder awarded competitively from among all transfer students.

Regarding the University Honors programs, Pyles said another 22 scholarships will be added to the University Honors Scholars and honors programs specific to academic disciplines.

Maria Costa will serve as director of International Programs and Services within the new Honors College. She has the responsibility for “fully recognizing an ambitious global agenda to enrich and expand the experiences of our students.” Among other areas, Costa will identify opportunities for students and faculty that may emerge from partnerships ETSU has entered into with international universities.

Costa said, “As someone deeply transformed by the experience of studying abroad myself, I have been committed to the support and development of all areas related to international education at ETSU. I look forward to working with colleagues who believe that international education opportunities must reach all qualified ETSU students, and that it is a crucial component of educating students for a diverse world. Joining the Honors College not only gives International Programs a home for the first time in 20 years, it gives us allies in the pursuit of our vision of internationalizing the campus and the curriculum.”

Pyles said that beginning this July, ETSU will offer financial awards to assist students from any area of the university with the costs of participating in study abroad, and national or international exchange experiences. She said, “These study and exchange opportunities are the chance for students to travel and learn from different cultures and to bring those experiences back to our campus to share.”

Patrick Cronin will serve as the Honors College’s director of the “Arts Scholars Program,” a brand new scholarship initiative that is unique in the state and the nation. He is a former holder of ETSU’s Wayne G. Basler Chair of Excellence in the Arts, Rhetoric and Science and the university’s first holder of the Permanent Artist in Residence position. By expanding the definition of “honors,” Cronin said the university has established a division within the college that “uniquely recognizes the arts and the contributions that art and artists make to the city, the region and the world.”

Cronin added, “ETSU has created a place where gifted women and men can come together to create their art in a college that celebrates the place that the arts have always held in human culture.”

When discussing the Arts Scholars Program, the new dean said that beginning in fall 2005, students from all areas of the arts will be invited to participate in a special interdisciplinary curriculum designed to educate the artists of the 21st century in a shared learning experience. One highlight will be the Roving Artist Company to be formed and staffed by the Arts Scholars and used as a mini-production company to provide performances in the classroom – or maybe even the boardroom – to enrich ETSU’s academic offerings.

Pyles said 25 students will be invited to join the Arts Scholars Program each academic year. “By 2008, we’ll have 100 student artists coming together to work with the exceptional artists from our own faculty. One of the innovative features of our new Honors College, and one that I am particularly proud of, is the goal of expanding access to honors experiences for more students across our campus.”

In conclusion, Pyles noted that the Honors College in its entirety will add a total of 57 scholarships for ETSU students, “plus lots of support to encourage students to take their studies out of the classroom.”

She observed that the value of a major research or creative arts project to undergraduate students is immeasurable and well-documented. “Whether in the lab, the library, the art studio, or on the keyboard – musical or computer – students gain tremendously in their understanding and in skills for their fields of study. They are better prepared for either jobs or future study in graduate or professional school. We have always encouraged these experiences for our ETSU students, and the Honors College will broaden this scope.”

The inauguration of the Honors College brings the number of colleges and schools at ETSU to nine. In addition to Honors, the ETSU colleges include Arts and Sciences, Business and Technology, the Claudius G. Clemmer College of Education, College of Nursing, College of Public and Allied Health, and the James H. Quillen College of Medicine. The two schools are Continuing Studies and Graduate Studies.