A note from our Director and Chair
Letter from the Interim Director
The Honors College can create spaces of knowing founded in promising connections. Together students and faculty are the visionaries and leaders that can extend the colleges reach locally, nationally, and internationally.
As the college navigates new adventures that build upon current international programming it will undoubtedly form partnerships that will continue to expand the minds of students and faculty alike. These experiences will unfold the various layers of global competencies that can be applied locally to our many community partners. Additionally, these applications find their way into philanthropic events such as the P.E.A.C.E carnival, a student run event, which raises funds for various organizations. As a community we come together to forge exciting pathways that produce lasting impact.
As the Interim Director I am privileged in supporting the incredible students and faculty within Honors.
Go Rams!
Maria Urrutia
Interim Director | Honors College
Dear Friends of the West Chester University Honors College,
Greetings from West Chester, Pennsylvania! Our faculty and staff are working diligently to bring students across the University the best in Honors education. We are thrilled to have wonderful students in our Honors Core, Honors Bridge, and Honors Seminar Pathways. Our faculty, staff, alumni, supporters, and stakeholders have a lot to be proud of, as can be seen on our Honors Student Spotlights on our home page and our Capstone Highlights on our courses page. Students throughout the campus can participate in the Honors Student Association and Honors Seminar Pathway.
Our faculty have had major accomplishments this year. Dr. Zachary Wooten helped to develop WCU’s Interfaith, Meaning-Making, and Spirituality Project. He is also leading three grant-funded research projects exploring religious leadership on TikTok, interfaith leadership amongst hospital chaplains during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the grief experiences of undergraduate students considering the climate crisis.
Joining our department this year is Professor Spencer Camacho. Professor Camacho brings his studies in leadership and creativity to our courses in a variety of ways. He has recently developed new teaching strategies for a few of our Core courses and seeks to equip students with concrete strategies on how they can best support their diverse communities.
We would also like to welcome visiting professor, Dr. Henrik Syse, Dr. Syse is teaching HON 451, International Ethics in a Time of Crisis and Rapid Development, this semester, and hosted the Nobel Peace Forum in March, featuring Dr. Asle Toje and Mr. Jorgen Frydens from the Nobel Peace Committee.
Our successes could not be made possible without the dedication of our staff: Ms. Michelle Wills, our Administrative Assistant; and Ms. Jessie Hazell, our Graduate Assistant. Ms. Wills works diligently with the Core and Extended Honors faculty to enable us to succeed in teaching our exceptional students. Ms. Hazell has participated in many projects this semester, and we are lucky to welcome her for another year as our graduate assistant!
Rams Up!
Dr. Gerardina Martin
Assistant Director and Chair
Honors College