Honors Academy names 2016 Faculty Fellows

The Radford University Honors Academy announced its 2016 cohort of Faculty Fellows.

The five faculty members join the academy to teach honors classes, participate in honors co-curricular events and advise and mentor Honors Academy students. Faculty Fellows serve three-year terms and appointments are staggered.

The new Honors Academy Faculty Fellows are:

  • Moira Baker, professor of English
  • Boyoung Park, associate professor of teacher education and leadership
  • David Sallee, associate professor of health and human performance
  • Jyotasna Sharman, assistant professor of nutrition and dietetics
  • Cassady Yoder Urista, chair and associate professor of anthropological sciences

The new cohort joins the following current Honors Academy Fellows to complete its eight-person faculty:

  • Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion Guy Axtell
  • Professor of Foreign Language and Literature Eric du Plessis
  • Professor of Mathematics and Statistics Neil Sigmon

“These Faculty Fellows strengthen the faculty-student bond at the core of the honors experience at RU with their enthusiastic teaching and mentoring,” said Honors Academy Director Niels Christensen. ”The Faculty Fellows enliven the Academy with diverse perspectives from across Radford’s academic spectrum. Indeed, another colleague referred to the group as a ‘Dream Team’ and it would be difficult to imagine a more accomplished selection of faculty.”

One of RU’s portfolio of high-impact practices, the Honors Academy is a community of approximately 250 motivated and intellectually mature students. Honors Academy students, or Highlander Scholars, have small classes that are capped at 20 students and share a residential space and dedicated classrooms in Floyd Hall to develop a rich sense of community among the Honors Academy students and faculty.

To graduate from the Honors Academy as a Highlander Scholar, students must have a minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA and complete at least 27 hours of honors work and an honors capstone project. They also must fulfill other obligations by engaging in honors contracts, independent study, study abroad or upper-level honors seminars.

Jan 28, 2016