You Just Haven't Earned It Yet

I barely recognize the Honors College any longer. When I taught my first Honors sections back in the late 1980s, they were smaller (about 60% of the normal class size) and the students expected to be worked harder. Not only expected it, enjoyed it. Being an Honors student was a big deal and so was being a member of the Honors Faculty. Not all applications were accepted, and not all of those accepted stayed accepted. I myself felt honored when I got to teach an Honors section.

But things changed. One common way for a college or university to make itself look good is to trumpet its Honors program. The bigger the better, even if there's not enough brains to go around. Not so much the kids, although over the years there did seem to be a few more marginal students than before. No, there was a shortage of "stations," as the then-dean used to put it. First, the number of "stations" was increased by adding extra students to each section. By and by, additional Honors sections were added as individual departments felt able to do so. I am told that the Honors College reimbursed departments for offering Honors sections, although the exact nature of the arrangement still escapes me. Over the years, I must have brought a fair amount of money into my department that way. Whatever. I was still just genuinely honored by the chance to teach in the Honors College.

I honestly can't say just when I stopped being pleased to teach in the Honors College. Even though additional Honors sections had been added, the number of "stations" in each section crept upward. In his unending quest to grow the program by adding more and more "stations," the then-dean of Honors College insensibly exercised less and less scrutiny over the faculty providing these "stations." Quantity counted more than quality.

The situation has not improved with time, as a quick glance at the Honors College's official list of outstanding faculty demonstrates. Most of these people are in fact outstanding teachers and scholars. Some are decidedly not. The official list includes adjunct faculty, retired faculty, and even one full-time member who boasts an Ed.D. from Nova Southeastern University. Absent from the list is last year's dean of the College of Arts and Letters, despite a teaching load which consists exclusively of one Honors section per semester. But absent from the list are several long-time Honors Faculty members who have won various University awards for teaching and/or research, but no longer teach in the Honors College. Not what I would call true excellence.

I don't question the administration's sincere intention to "upgrade" the Honors College. The proverbial rising tide lifts all boats, et cetera. The time, trouble, and money expended in renovating Scholars House, instituting three endowed chairs, and founding a new Honors academic journal all demonstrate good intentions. Yet to me, at least, these initiatives address only tangential concerns. The Honors College already has more students than it can effectively handle with the resources - Honors sections and qualified Honors Faculty - it currently has. Until the Administration addresses this very real need - an outside review would be an excellent start - I am concerned that its efforts will amount to little more than window dressing.