The Honors Program
Honors seminars are small and are often held outside at Gilpatrick House, home of the Denison Honors Program.
The Honors Program at Denison
THE DENISON UNIVERSITY HONORS PROGRAM is open to members of the Classes of 2010, 2011, and 2012 with a cumulative GPA of 3.6 or higher. Students in the Classes of 2013 and higher are not eligible to participate in the Honors Seminars but are welcome to attend events sponsored by the Honors Program, and are encouraged to seek assistance with national and international prestigious scholarships and fellowships.
The Honors Program at Denison exemplifies the commitment of the college to exceptional intellectual work by its faculty and students.
Central to the program's mission is a rich array of seminars that are intended to challenge the intellectual aspirations and expectations of highly motivated and talented students. Many courses feature multiple intellectual and/or disciplinary perspectives. Experimental topics and course designs foster a sense of intellectual intimacy and a shared delight in exploring a topic in unusual depth. The courses are likely to include a significant research component and/or artistic endeavor. Classes are kept small, usually no more than 16 students. Seminars are offered across all four divisions of the college and at both the introductory and more advanced levels.
The program sponsors symposia, cultural activities and extracurricular events that promote intellectual and artistic excellence and complement the seminar offerings. Additionally, honors students can take advantage of the many scholarly opportunities open to all high-achieving students at Denison.
The Director of the Honors Program and faculty advisers work closely with participants as they make their seminar selections over the course of their Denison career.
The Denison University Honors Program is a member of the National Association of Fellowship Advisors (NAFA).
Seniors enjoy the chocolate covered strawberries at the 2008 Honors Program graduation reception and ceremony.
Student research
If they wish, students may also graduate in the Honors Program by maintaining a GPA above 3.4 (3.6 beginning with Class of 2010), taking at least four honors seminars, and completing a senior honors research project. Examples of recent honors projects show the diversity of such research:
- James Joyce's The Dead: Illuminating Joyce's Characters Through Costume Design (Theatre)
- "There She Is, Miss America": The Social Construction of the Ideal American Woman (Sociology/Anthropology)
- The Covenant as a Symbol of and Context for the Scottish Witch-Hunt (History)
- Effects of Vegetation and Landscape on Butterfly Diversity and Abundance (Biology)
- Sustainable Development and Corporate Culture: Green Consideration in Corporate U.S.A. (Environmental Studies)
Who are our administrators?
Interim Director of the Honors Program Joan Krone holds the Benjamin Barney Distinguished Professorship in Mathematics and Computer Science. She joined the faculty at Denison in 1990. She earned a B.S. at West Liberty State College, a M.S. in mathematics and a M.S. in computer science and her Ph.D, degrees at Ohio State University. Her research interests include applications of formal methods to Software Engineering, program verification, and theory of programminglanguage design.
Director of Fellowships and Professor of Political Science James Pletcher joined the faculty at Denison in 1983. He earned a B.A. at the University of Michigan and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. His research and writing focus on the politics and institutions of agricultural production and marketing in the developing world, primarily in Africa and Malaysia. His current project explores the dynamics of small holder production and marketing of agricultural exports in Uganda.
Assistant to the Director of the Honors Program Cookie Sunkle came to Denison in 1988. She earned a B.A. at Ohio Wesleyan University. In addition to her administrative duties, Sunkle assists with under- and postgraduate applications for prestigious fellowships.
In addition, professors from many academic disciplines offer classes each semester within the Honors Program.
For more information about the program and curriculum, go to:
or contact:
Joan Krone
The Honors Center
Gilpatrick House, P.O. Box 810
Denison University
Granville, Ohio 43023
Phone: (740) 587-6573
Fax: (740) 587-5688
E-mail: krone@denison.edu