ETSU announced Wednesday the establishment of a new Honors College, an effort to encourage and support students who desire to achieve more academically while seeking global experiences, unique research opportunities, and creative artistic endeavors.
In making the announcement, ETSU President Paul Stanton said, “I firmly believe that creating challenging academic excitement for students and selecting, encouraging and rewarding faculty who work closely with them, while building on ETSU’s historical achievements, will not only result in a successful Honors College, but will also create numerous opportunities for current and future ETSU students.”
ETSU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Bert C. Bach said he is confident the university will achieve its five-year agenda for the Honors College by the academic year 2009-2010.
The Honors College will be led by Dr. Rebecca Pyles as dean, and three other individuals have been tapped for new or expanded roles as directors of divisions within the college.
Pyles said, “Becoming dean of ETSU’s new Honors College is a challenge I look forward to with great excitement and enthusiasm. I can’t think of a more exciting opportunity than to serve a college dedicated to helping students from all areas of the university establish high academic goals and become more deeply involved in their studies.”
Stanton also announced that savings from ETSU’s former football program will be used to fund the first year of operation for the Honors College.
In addition, he said Jeff Anderson, associate vice president for university advancement and planned giving, will lead an “aggressive fund-raising effort” for the college.
Stanton added that a financial commitment from two ETSU benefactors and community leaders is launching the endeavor. “Jim and Sandy Powell are designating an endowment in an amount over $230,000 for Honors Scholarships. This significant support demonstrates Sandy and Jim’s investment and interest in this pursuit for continued academic excellence, and their desire to continue to build their strong legacy of giving and leadership for ETSU in so many endeavors.”
Current Director of University Honors Programs, Dr. Jay Boland, will continue his directorship role for this well-established initiative, while providing leadership for the new “Midway Scholars Program,” a special endeavor of the Honors College designed to recruit and to develop programs for outstanding transfer students who are selected for participation.
“The Midway Scholars Program will offer 20 of these two-year scholarships for fall semester 2005, and then we will invite a new class of 20 in the fall of 2006.”
Half of these scholarships will be awarded to those with associate degrees from sister TBR community colleges, and the remainder awarded competitively from among all transfer students.
Regarding the University Honors programs, Pyles said another 22 scholarships will be added to the University Honors Scholars and honors programs specific to academic disciplines.
Maria Costa will serve as director of International Programs and Services within the new Honors College.
Patrick Cronin will serve as the Honors College’s director of the “Arts Scholars Program,” a brand new scholarship initiative that is unique in the state and the nation.
One highlight will be the Roving Artist Company to be formed and staffed by the Arts Scholars and used as a mini-production company to provide performances and enrich ETSU’s academic offerings.performances in the classroom – or maybe even the boardroom – to enrich ETSU’s academic offerings.
Pyles said 25 students will be invited to join the Arts Scholars Program each academic year. “By 2008, we’ll have 100 student artists coming together to work with the exceptional artists from our own faculty. One of the innovative features of our new Honors College, and one that I am particularly proud of, is the goal of expanding access to honors experiences for more students across our campus.”
In conclusion, Pyles noted that the Honors College in its entirety will add a total of 57 scholarships for ETSU students, “plus lots of support to encourage students to take their studies out of the classroom.”

She observed that the value of a major research or creative arts project to undergraduate students is immeasurable and well-documented. “Whether in the lab, the library, the art studio, or on the keyboard – musical or computer – students gain tremendously in their understanding and in skills for their fields of study. They are better prepared for either jobs or future study in graduate or professional school. We have always encouraged these experiences for our ETSU students, and the Honors College will broaden this scope.”
The inauguration of the Honors College brings the number of colleges and schools at ETSU to nine. In addition to Honors, the ETSU colleges include Arts and Sciences, Business and Technology, the Claudius G. Clemmer College of Education, College of Nursing, College of Public and Allied Health, and the James H. Quillen College of Medicine. The two schools are Continuing Studies and Graduate Studies.

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