University Studies Abroad Consortium

The Honors Bugle

The most recent Ashland University Honors Program newsletter, The Honors Bugle, is now available. The newsletter is written and published by a diverse group of current Honors Program students and provides a great student perspective on what's happening in the Honors Program. Check The Honors Bugle out!

Study Abroad Grants Available

Interested in studying abroad summer or fall semesters? Grants are available. Check it out!

Honors December Graduates and Program Mentors
From left to right: Paul Dyczkowski, Robert Woodward, Dr. Justin Young, Justin Nolan, Dr. Nitin Walia, Anna Falls, Dr. Perry  Corbin, Theresa Riley, and Dr. Christopher Swanson (Honors Program Director)
Not pictured: Dr. Joe Mackall, Dr. Richard Roberson, and Dr. Russell Weaver

The Honors Program is privileged to have the opportunity to award Honors cords to the five Honors Program students who will be participating in tomorrow's cording ceremony.

Paul Dyczkowski

Majors: Creative Writing, English

Minors: Philosophy

Capstone: A Reckoning of Strange Rain and Invisibly Growing Petals: An Essay Collection

Mentors: Dr. Joe Mackall, Dr. Russell Weaver

Anna Falls

Major: Biochemistry

Capstone: Synthesis, Characterization, and Degradation of Multi-Armed Calixarene-Core Polylactide Star Polymers

Mentor: Dr. Perry Corbin

Justin Nolan

Majors: Information Systems, Computer Science

Capstone: Johnson Brother's Rubber Company Database Systems Upgrade: An Undergraduate Information Systems Project

Mentor: Dr. Nitin Walia

Theresa Riley

Majors: Hospitality Management, Entrepreneurship

Capstone: Improving Motivation and Needs Satisfaction of Employees in the Hospitality and Food Service Industries

Mentor: Dr. Richard Roberson

Robert Woodward

Major: Mathematics

Minor: History

Capstone: Fun with Farey: An Exploration of the Mediant Sequence

Mentor: Dr. Justin Young

Congratulations to all of the graduating seniors and best of luck in your future endeavors!

Honors Senior Alex Sheil presents research at NCHC Annual Conference

Alexander Sheil and Dr. Christopher Swanson attended the National Collegiate Honors Council Annual Conference in New Orleans.  Alex is a senior sport management major from Connells Point, New South Wales, Australia.  Alex also is a member of the Ashland University swim team.  Here is how Alex described his experience at the NCHC conference:

In November, I was given the opportunity to attend the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana with Dr. Swanson. I was invited to do a poster presentation of the research project I conducted with the Sport Management Faculty earlier in the year titled: Examining the relationship between a coach’s leadership style and team cohesion in swim teams.

The conference was a wonderful experience where I was able to present my research to numerous students and professors as well as talk to many other students about the research that they had conducted. I had the opportunity to attend a wide variety of presentations throughout the conference ranging from ‘Mathematics and Magic’ to ‘How to use social media to benefit your organization’. I also had several opportunities to network with people from different organizations and graduate schools during the Graduate Fair that took place on the second day on the conference.

During my time in New Orleans, I was able to experience so much of the food and culture of the area. On the first night, the conference hosted a welcome reception that included tradition food such as Gumbo, Jambalaya and Po’ Boys, as well as a band playing Jazz music. The second night there was a Cajun Boil at the conference hotel, which included Cajun style seafood and Mardi Gras themed entertainment.  One of the days for lunch I lined up at Central Grocery to get one of the famous Muffuletta sandwiches before heading down to the riverfront to eat and watch the city life. I spent some time during the trip wandering through the streets of the French Quarter, down Bourbon Street and along the Mississippi River taking photos and taking in the sights.

The trip was a really wonderful experience for me both professionally, with regard to presenting my research and networking, as well as a cultural experience where I got the opportunity to see the beautiful sights of New Orleans and try all of the amazing food.

Honors Program Students Defend Capstone Projects

Part of the graduation requirements for Honors Program students is the completion of a comprehensive Honors Capstone Project. As fall 2013 comes to a close, Honors Program seniors prepare to defend the culmination of their research and hard work. The defenses are open to the public and all are encouraged to attend.

Read the abstracts here.

Thursday, November 21

5:00 pm – Spencer Dolezal – Founders Seminar Room

McCarthy’s Fatherhood: An Examination of Fatherhood in The Road

Monday, November 25

4:30 pm – Anna Falls – Kettering 217

Synthesis, Characterization, and Degradation of Multi-Armed Calixarene-Core Polylactide Star Polymers

Monday, December 2

4:00 pm – Paul Dyczkowski – Bixler 305

A Reckoning of Strange Rain and Invisibly Growing Petals: An Essay Collection

Wednesday, December 4
5:00 pm - Robert Woodward – Patterson 301

Fun with Farey: An Exploration of the Mediant Sequence

Honors students and Shawshank Redemption

Dr. Maura Grady and students of the Honors Interdisciplinary Seminar at the Ohio State Reformatory

"Andy came to Shawshank Prison in early 1947 for murdering his wife and the fella she was bangin'."  Seventy-six years later, Honors students are studying "The Shawshank Redemption, Fan Culture and Film Tourism in Ohio" as the first segment of the Honors Interdisciplinary Seminar.  When I decided I wanted the Fall 2013 Honors 390 course to have a "local" theme, he contacted English professor Dr. Maury Grady about teaching a segment on the The Shawshank Redemption as she had previously taught an Honors core course "Literature and Film" and the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield was the prison site used in the filming of the movie.  A number of other locations throughout Ashland and Mansfield also appear in the movie.  Dr. Grady jumped on the request, stating, "I love Frank Darabont's film and have thought about how to do a unit on it-- the connection to the Ashland/Mansfield area is an especially attractive bonus."  Unbeknownst to me, Dr. Grady was already collaborating with hospitality management professor Dr. Robby Roberson on a project on film tourism.  Also unbeknownst to me, the Mansfield Convention and Tourism Bureau was organizing a 3-day 20th anniversary celebration over Labor Day weekend, making this the perfect timing to teach The Shawshank Redemption.  During the first week of class, students watched the movie and took a tour of the Ohio State Reformatory.  During the second week, they are preparing interview questions to survey the thousands of fans who will be converging on Richland and Ashland County for the anniversary celebration.  The final two weeks of the course will focus on reading the Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption and comparing it to the movie, on processing data from the interviews and on presenting the results of their research. 

For more information about the 20th anniversary celebration, see the Mansfield Tourism website.