December 11, 2019

Honors Wednesday Memo

Opportunities and Information for Honors Students

edited by Brad Rentz

Volume 3, Issue 16

December 11, 2019

 

Message from Dean Jeff Vahlbusch 

Congratulations to Honors students, faculty, staff, parents, and friends on bringing the Fall 2019 semester to a successful conclusion.

Of the many highlights of my past two weeks, I'll name three:  Donning a Santa suit for the AHA! (Appalachian Honors Association) second-annual "Twas the Night Before Reading Day" celebration on December 3rd. All I had to do was pose for photos and eat cookies. I also relished end-of-semester presentations—including dance! art! music! drama! arguments! analysis!—by students in Jeff Lindsay's HON seminar on the Anti-Hero, and the "Creative Show" at Third Space in downtown Boone by students in Dr. Garrett McDowell's HON seminar, "Balanced Brains." This evening featured Honors students’ drawing, photography, deep reflection and, as one student put it, "high-level personal development."

It's such a privilege to listen to students talk about the personal and intellectual transformations that Appalachian education, and Honors education—can bring about.

Although a break and holidays are on the way, Honors opportunities continue. This Honors Wednesday Memo collects opportunities for research, presentation, publication, travel domestic and international, study at home and abroad, and skill-building.  Worth checking out.

The Memo will return in January!

Jeff

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 The photo above features Santa at the AHA’s ‘Twas the Night Before Reading Day event

 

Upcoming Opportunities: 

National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR)

This year’s NCUR will be held in at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana March 26 – 28, 2020. This conference of nearly 4000 participants, promotes undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activities in all disciplines. For more information, visit our website.

Journal of Appalachian Health (JAH) Call for Manuscripts

The focus of the journal is on the health of the population of the Appalachian Region—from Pennsylvania to Mississippi. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis and the first issue is already published! To learn more and read the first issue, click here.

Undergraduate Honors Symposium at UNCG

The 20th annual UNCG Honors Symposium will take place February 28, 2020. The deadline to submit proposals is December 20, 2019 by 11:55 p.m. For more information and to learn more, visit our website.

Wake Forest School of Medicine: Summer Research Opportunities

The Biomedical Engineering Department and Center for Biomedical Informatics at Wake Forest School of Medicine will offer several summer 2020 research opportunities. These will focus on Imaging and Mechanics-based Projects on Accidental Cases of Trauma (IMPACT) and other biomedical engineering and informatics topics.  The internships will be offered between May 23 and August 1, 2020. For more information, click here.

Roman Frontier Excavation Field School

Would you like to attend Ground-Penetrating Radar Training in Transylvania, Romania over the summer? Consider three options from ArchaeoTek Archaeology.  Applications are now open for several 4 week sessions, for more information and how to apply, visit our website.

 

Upcoming Thesis Defenses:

Jeff says, “Support your fellow Honors College students and faculty by attending Honors thesis defenses! You'll marvel, learn, and grow. And each defense you attend, you'll make your own easier”

Lyubomir Gizdarski: December 11, 2 to 3 p.m., Rankin Science South room 210B Conference Room, a cell and molecular biology major, will present Identification of a Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) Inhibitor.

Stay in the Know…

21st Annual MLK Challenge

If you are interested in service and giving back to the Boone community, then you should sign up for the 21st Annual MLK Challenge! This event focuses on the legacy of MLK, and encourages local service inspired by the values he stands for. Early registration is now openclick here to register.

Washington D.C. Cultural Excursion Trip

From January 29, 2020 - February 2, 2020 students will attend the African American History Museum, the State Capitol and surrounding national attractions. The application is December 15, 2019. For more information, visit our website.

RSVP for Sustain Dialogue “Difficult Conversations” workshops

Workshops will be around the topic of Difficult Conversations and how to engage in dialogue across difference. Will be led by Rhonda Fitzgerald of the Sustained Dialogue Institute. The workshop will be held on January 21 and 22. For more information and how to sign up, click here.

Summer Study Away with the Department of Government and Justice Studies

The Department of Government and Justice Studies is offering four study away courses each for three credit hours Summer 2020. The first application deadline is January 17, 2020.  For more information, visit our website.

Social Justice and Music in South Africa

This three-credit hour faculty-led course will take place in the first summer session of 2020. With students and musicians at the University of Johannesburg and the University of Zululand, Appalachian students will learn South African traditional music and about the powerful role of the arts in the reconstruction of South Africa. The application deadline is March 15, 2020. For more information, click here.

 

In the Honors Spotlight

Honors Dr. Brent James wins 2019 Faculty Global Leadership Award

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Photo above features the 2019 Global Leadership Award winners (left to right): MS. Megan Aeschleman, Dr. Martin Meznar, Dr. Jesse Lutabingwa, Ms. Sirisha Karra, and Dr. Brent James. Photo from OIED. 

Dr. Brent James (right), senior lecturer in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, has been awarded the 2019 Global Leadership Faculty Award. In the Honors College, Dr. James has taught Honors seminars like HON 1515: Race, Class, and Gender in Brazilian Culture and Society. This upcoming Spring 2019 semester, Dr. James will be teaching for the first time HON 2515: LA FRONTERA: Histories and Current Realities in the Borderlands of Mexico and the United States. 

For more on Dr. James’ award, click here.

 

Art Honors Students visit Museums in Raleigh/Durham

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Honors students posing in front of Nick Cave’s Soundsuit (mixed media, 2015) at the Nasher. Photo by Dr. Waldroup. 

Accompanied by Dr. Heather Waldroup, Associate Director of the Honors College, Dr. Mira Waits, Assistant Professor of Art History, and Smith Gallery Director Jennie Carlisle, a group of honors students from Appalachian State University's Department of Art traveled to Raleigh/Durham for a day in November to visit several significant art museums. The group focused on viewing contemporary works by underrepresented artists at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University and the North Carolina Museum of Art

To read more on this story by Dr. Heather Waldroup, visit our website.

  

To Stay in the Know and Learn About All Opportunities in Honors, please visit https://honors.appstate.edu/announcements

 

Appalachian State Honors College on Social Media!

Check us out on Instagram also! Find us by searching “Appalachian Honors College”

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Don’t forget to “like” us on Facebook at Appalachian Honors: https://www.facebook.com/Appalachian-Honors-482157301971520/ 

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Have news to share? Submissions to the Honors Wednesday Memo can be made by emailing honors@appstate.edu. Any content received by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday will be considered for the following week’s issue.