Head of the class
Increased support for programs, scholarships, faculty attracts the best and brightest to our community
Within the past five years, the Virginia Commonwealth University Honors College has undergone a major overhaul, with the introduction of an honors undergraduate research program, the significant expansion of the curriculum, the creation of new student organizations and the establishment of the Office of the National Scholarship Coordinator.
This growth, said Honors College Dean Timothy Hulsey, Ph.D., stems from the more than $1.9 million raised for the college through the university’s budget process and the Campaign for VCU. Former Board of Visitors Rector Jay M. Weinberg took the reins of the honors campaign, making leadership gifts and encouraging others’ involvement. Honors was the first during the Campaign for VCU to reach its goal.
When the campaign was launched publicly in 2004, one of the main goals was to attract bright and ambitious students and faculty to campus. The growth and development of the Honors College is doing just that, Hulsey said.
“We have completely revamped our curriculum and soon will begin offering a new Honors Core Curriculum. One long-term goal is to create a new, expanded honors facility on campus that will house our offices, the honors residence hall, as well as honors classrooms and meeting rooms,” he said.
Through the Honors Summer Undergraduate Research Program, Hulsey said, students work individually with faculty, assisting with research and scholarly activities.
“Students get involved in faculty labs as undergraduates, which makes them much more attractive to graduate programs when they apply,” Hulsey said. “Having faculty members teach honors classes gives them opportunities to try new pedagogical techniques that can then be taken back to their non-honors classes. And, because of our special programs, we attract top-quality students to VCU who might not come here otherwise.”
Stephen D. Gottfredson, Ph.D., provost and vice president of academic affairs, said the Honors College’s guaranteed admission for students to VCU’s professional programs, such as the schools of Medicine and Dentistry, are another pull for top students. Through the Honors College, students can apply to a graduate program, which can offer them early admission, assuming they perform well as undergraduates.
VCU’s diverse student and faculty population, entrepreneurial spirit and growth trajectory also have made the school more attractive, Gottfredson said.
“For faculty, it is very clear that this university is on the move in a way others are not,” he said. “People [at VCU] are willing to think about alternative approaches. … There are a lot of things about VCU that are different from our peer institutions.”
And donations continue to be an important driving force behind the university’s expansion, Hulsey said.
“We are working to expand study-abroad opportunities for honors students, especially with our partner universities. Our goal is to have at least 25 percent of honors students studying abroad each year,” he said. “Many of our needs, especially scholarships, cannot be funded with state money. If we are to be able to provide financial support for these excellent students — many of whom come from out-of-state — we must raise money to provide for scholarships.”