If you have questions, contact Lenise Alexander @LeniseAlexander@gmail.com

In November 2014, three students from The Ohio State University at Newark attended and presented their original research at the 2014 National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) Conference held in Denver, Colorado. The conference theme, “Thrill of the Climb”, was selected in recognition of the many challenges, new and old, that are faced today in Honors education coupled with the understanding of the deep rewards that come from taking on these challenges.

In photo above (left to right) Dr. Stephanie Brown, Bryce Jones, Chelsea Hinshaw and Debra Fitch attend the NCHC Conference in Denver, Colorado.

Featured speaker at the event, Erik Weihenmayer, believes that we must constantly challenge ourselves to grow and evolve, to “climb” while others “camp”.

“It is an honor for our students to be recognized and to present their research at a well-respected national conference like NCHC, stated Jen Anthony, director, community access at Ohio State Newark. “These three students have done brilliant work throughout the year, and it was a privilege to attend the conference with them and see their hard work pay off. They truly did an exceptional job and they, along with the entire campus community, should be proud”, she continued.

Students begin by submitting a Poster Session Proposal which includes an abstract that summarizes the student’s research, including outcomes. These abstracts should clearly state the significance of the project in terms that can be understood by a general audience and clearly convey the student’s original analytical, critical or creative contribution to his or her discipline. At the conference, students present their research or fine art in the form of a standard poster. All work is judged by NCHC faculty judges and includes a numerical score and qualitative feedback for student presenters.

The following are abstracts from each of the three students’ presentations at the conference, students who have chosen to experience the thrill of the “climb” to new heights of intellectual and personal development.

Debra Fitch

From The Handmaid’s Tale to Bumped: The Continuing Discourse Concerning Women’s Reproductive Rights in Dystopian Fiction

I’ve been interested in The Handmaid’s Tale and books like it since the 1980s; however, I wasn’t familiar with the term “dystopian” until much later. When Professor Brown offered a dystopian-themed course, my research paper for her class became the spark for this ongoing research project which combines my two favorite genres – dystopian and YA literature.

I’m majoring in English with Research Distinction, and I’ve also completed a minor in creative writing. I’ll be graduating at the end of this semester.

Chelsea Hinshaw

Mysterious Bones: The Lost Key to New Orleans’s Odd Fellows Rest

I owe my first trip to New Orleans to the service learning class at the Newark campus –The LeFevre Fellows. This particular year (AU12-SP12) was really unique for this class as other students and I were able to visit New Orleans twice: once at the end of autumn semester and again at the end of spring semester. The second trip, I joined a fellow student in completing a documentary on Jazz Funerals which was all filmed on site in New Orleans. This fascination with the Jazz Funerals of New Orleans led to my fascination with New Orleans’s unique graveyards, and once again I returned to New Orleans on spring break of this year and began my research on cemeteries there, focusing on a cemetery called “Odd Fellows Rest”.

I plan to graduate in Spring of 2016 with a major in German, minors in English and creative writing, and a minor in Anthropology

Bryce Jones

Berlin, 1989: Sex, Drugs and the GDR

I’m a senior studying English and History. I will graduate by the end of 2015, after which I plan to apply for masters programs in the UK. Currently my research interests center on apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic narratives and how societies function when the human race is threatened with extinction. I have also spent time in Germany and enjoy writing about the representations of Berlin, Germany, in historical fiction.

Also attending the conference was Stephanie Brown, associate professor of English at Ohio State Newark. “ We were most impressed by the originality of the research being presented at the NCHC conference, as well as by the professionalism of the presenters, including, of course, our own students”.

The 2015 NCHC Conference is being held on November 11-15^th and will take place in Chicago, IL. Its theme is “Make No Little Plans”. Ohio State Newark students, Lenise Sunnenberg and Bryce Jones have submitted their research for possible inclusion in the event. Lenise’s research topic is New Orleans’s Mardi Gras Indian Queens: Exploring the Intersection of Race, Gender and Culture in a Unique Tradition. Bryce’s research topic is Dystopian Intellectuals and Survival in Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic Narratives.

Please congratulate your fellow honor peers with their excellent work!

Honors contracts. Here is information from Meagan Toohey, the director of Honors Advisoring for Arts & Sciences. If you’re a sophomore, contact me (cope.38 or 366 9293) to discuss how to get started. Review this information first: 

In Arts and Sciences, the end of the second year of study is when we ask students to commit to the Honors Contract so that they can become candidates for graduation with honors in the Arts andSciences: http://aschonors.osu.edu/honors/contract.

For Arts and Sciences honors students transitioning to Columbus who want to continue with honors:

1. Schedule an appointment with an ASC honors counselor in Columbus
2. Discuss the Honors Contract and their plans for transition BEFORE you begin taking courses in Columbus
3. If you are at the end of the second year, we can work with you on completing the Honors Contract form.
4. Students can make an appointment by calling the ASC Honors Office at (614) 292-5104.

For Arts and Sciences honors students who are staying in Newark and want to continue with honors:

1. Start by talking with Nancy Coscia (Newark campus; coscia.4 or 366-9333) or Linda Mathews (mathews.98 or 366 9333).  They might be able to help the students get started with completing the Honors Contract (http://aschonors.osu.edu/honors/contract).  If necessary, the ASC Honors Office at Columbus for assistance.

1. As part of the Honors Contract approval process, students will need to consult with the departmental honors advisors in Columbus about honors expectations for majors and minors: http://aschonors.osu.edu/advising/advisors.  (It may depend on the student’s major whether it will be possible for him or her to complete the honors major requirements entirely at Newark.)

1. Once the student has completed the Honors Contract form, it will need to come to the ASC Honors Office in Columbus for review by the ASC Honors Faculty Committee (the form can be scanned and e-mailed to me for submission).

1. Students who are pursuing the Honors Contract curriculum but who are staying in Newark are also always welcome to make an appointment (in person or phone appointment) with an ASC honors counselor in Columbus by calling (614) 292-5104.

For honors students who are not in Arts and Sciences:

1. Contact the honors directors and/or advising offices for the relevant colleges here in Columbus to ascertain what the expectations for graduation with honors are for those colleges

If you have been working on independent research with a faculty member, consider presenting at the 2015 National Collegiate Honors Conference! The conference will be November 11-15th in Chicago. Presentations can be in poster or interdisciplinary panel form, in which students will present their research in fifteen minutes. Email Dr. Cope or your advisor for help applying. Funding is available! For more details, check out the  NCHC Conference Guidelines. Deadline is February 26th at 11:59 pm.

Nominate your best professor for the teaching excellence award. Open the attached form, explain what makes the professor’s classes rewarding or the extra support he/she provides, then sign and date the bottom. Email Jack Richardson (Richardson.256) with completed forms, bring them to his office (Warner 241), or put them in his mailbox in the Service Centers (Founders).

Teaching Excellence Award

Deadline is today at 5 pm for applying for the Lake Erie summer research program. Don’t miss out on these opportunities to participate in these research studies:

• Ecology of the Round Goby: Analysis of the condition of this invader of The Western Basin of Lake Erie (Ichthyology)
• Survival rates of birds of the Lake Erie Islands (Ornithology)
• Fisheries investigations to inform fisheries management (Fisheries Research/Management)
• Lake Erie Watersnake research to inform status of snake post-removal from endangered species list (Herpetology)
• Exploration of Lake Erie nutrient loading, hypoxic events (the “dead zone”) and harmful algal blooms (Limnology)

Application: Research Experience for Undergraduates  — note that scholarships are available.