University Honors Program Newsletters: The Current and With Honors e-Zine

Sept. 5 HVP MEETING at Floyd Theatre

From Stonehenge in England to the Colosseum in Rome, the Overseers International Seminar visited the sites from the semester's study. SGA services vice-president Justin Tooley, at far right above, writes about the experience in "We're Not in Kansas Anymore Syndrome." HONORS CALENDAR Sept. 5 HVP meeting, Floyd Auditorium at the SAC, 12:20-1 p.m., pizza provided sept. 7 Senior Honors Thesis meeting, 4 p.m., rm. 254, Ekstrom Library (LIC) HSC Movie Night: Tremors, Honors House classroom, rm. 204, 6 p.m. sept. 8 Deadline for Honors Scholars banquet RSVP Fulbright workshop, Threlkeld 132, 3-5 p.m. Sept. 9 Accolade, Honors Program Open House, 1-3 p.m., Volunteers help in SAC, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. & 1:30-4:30 p.m. Sept. 13 Gilman Scholarship workshop, Honors House conference room 108 12 noon Quiz Bowl interest meeting, Honors House classroom, rm. 204, 8 p.m. sept. 14 Gilman Scholarship workshop, Honors House conference room 108, 12:30 p.m. sept. 15 HSC sponsors Dr. Sonya Jones, "Aligning the Cosmic Dance: An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Practice of Meditation," Threlkeld 132, 4:45 p.m. Fulbright workshop, Threlkeld rm. 132, 3-4:45 p.m. Senior Honors Thesis proposal deadline sept. 18 Honors Scholars' fall banquet -- by invitation only -- at Masterson's Restaurant, 6 p.m. sept. 21 Junior Mentoring Program banquet -- by invitation only -- at Masterson's Restaurant, 6 p.m. sept. 22 Fulbright workshop, Threlkeld rm. 132, 3-5 p.m. sept. 25 Dean Wiegman, Associate Vice-President for Health Affairs, pre-med discussion, Threlkeld 132, 5:30 p.m. Sept. 29-30 Kentucky Honors Roundtable, Morehead State University Movie Night with HSC Honors Student Council would like to cordially invite fellow Honors students to see a movie in the Honors House classroom, rm. 204, on Sept. 7 at 6 p.m. Released in 1990, Tremors defies categorization: it's comedy, horror, action and adventure all wrapped up into one film! If you want to add another level to your "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" game-playing, come check it out (yes, he's in this one, too!)! VOLUNTEER Volunteer for Honors Recruitment Event! Accolade, a program for our prospective scholarship and Honors students, is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 9 in many campus venues. Students interested in helping with the event should contact Nicole Rabalais, New Student Programs in the Office of Admissions or e-mail nicole.rabalais@louisville.edu. Shifts are 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 12:30 to 5 p.m. Students may earn service hours for helping out. Student volunteers are needed to help with setup and making families feel welcome and to help with cleanup. Students who wish to volunteer at the Honors sites should contact Dr. Richardson. REMINDER Honors Computer Lab and Equipment New computer equipment will soon be available in the Etscorn Center lounge. Also, remember that both Etscorn and the Honors House now serve those with wireless laptops. Just a reminder that the Honors lab computers are primarily to be used for homework and research and NOT for games. Students should not drink or eat around the PCs. Should you experience any problems, please contact Will Armstrong in the Honors House so he can address any issues. Paper is available at the Overseers Honors House reception desk on the first floor for $.25/25 sheets. REMINDER Keep Our Classrooms Clean! Please also note that in addition to food and drink being prohibited in the Honors House computer lab, we also kindly request you refrain from eating and drinking in the Etscorn Honors Center classroom, rm. 132. Exceptions to this rule will be made for meetings, study sessions and other events, but only as approved by Dr. Richardson. Campus Deadlines Reminder Senior Thesis Meeting Sept. 7 Thursday, Sept. 7, at 4 p.m. is the date for the Senior Honors Thesis information meeting held in Ekstrom Library, room 254. Anyone beginning a Senior Honors Thesis during the 2006-2007 academic year needs to attend. Come find out about the latest in Senior Honors Thesis support resources. Meet the faculty readers and ask questions. A good deal of Senior Honors Thesis information is posted online; please review this information prior to the Sept. 7 meeting. If you have questions, contact Melissa Stordeur at melissa.stordeur@louisville.edu or call 852-0025.	If there are corrections or omissions, e-mail honors@louisville.edu to update information. Lecture Series from the Honors Student Council (HSC) HSC Academic Lecture series has put together several academic lectures for the fall semester. The first features Dr. Sonya Jones, "Aligning the Cosmic Dance: An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Practice of Meditation" on Friday, Sept. 15 at 4:45 p.m. in the Etscorn classroom. Honors Volunteer Program (HVP) Meeting, Pizza The first Honors Volunteer Program (HVP) meeting is Sept. 5 from 12:20 to 1 p.m., pizza provided. Please note that the meeting is in Floyd Theatre at the SAC. HVP meetings are a great place for freshmen to become acquainted with other Honors students and Louisville. September events and plans for the rest of the semester are to be discussed. HVP meets the first Tuesday of each month from 12:20 to 1 p.m. Quiz Bowl Team Interest Meeting The University of Louisville's Quiz Bowl will meet on Wednesday, Sept. 13 at 8 p.m. in the Honors House classroom, rm. 204. If you are interested in more information, please contact Katie Widener at klwide01@louisville.edu or Amanda Alexander at analex02@louisville.edu. LSAT LSAT OVERVIEW AND PRACTICE EXAM On Saturday Sept. 23 from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. U of L Brandeis School of Law and Kaplan present a seminar on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) that will help you in preparing for this major examination. The program will include information on test strategies/logic, admission to law school and an actual practice LSAT examination. There is a $15 fee, payable the day of the event (check or cash only). A light lunch will be provided. Enrollment is limited to the first 100 registrants. The proceeds will benefit the Harlan Scholars Pre-Law Program of the Brandeis School of Law. To register, call 1-800-KAP-TEST (527-8378). FALL PREVIEW EVENT On Monday Sept. 18 at 5:00 p.m. the Brandeis School of Law will be hosting a Fall Preview Event that will cover the admissions process and the study of law and will include a tour of the law school will be offered. You will be able to meet current law students, faculty and practicing attorneys. You may also sit in on a first year evening class, beginning at 7:25 p.m. This is a free event and refreshments will be served. To register, call (502) 852-6364 or e-mail lawadmissions@louisville.edu. Reminder for Pre-Med Students Especially Freshmen and Sophomores Dean David Wiegman, Associate Vice-President of Health Affairs, visits the Honors Program Monday, Sept. 25 for a pre-med discussion. The program is in Threlkeld room 132 at 5:30 p.m. Freshmen can especially benefit from this visit, but sophomores may also find it helpful. Anyone interested in pre-med is welcome. RSVP Due to Honors Scholars Banquet Attention sophomores, juniors and seniors! The Honors Scholars fall banquet is Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. at Masterson's Restaurant. If you are active in the Honors Scholars program, make sure you RSVP by Sept. 8. This is an opportunity for you to take a break from studying and enjoy a nice dinner, mingle with your classmates and hear about the exciting Honors Seminars that are being offered in the spring of 2007. Freshman Honors students may sign up for Honors Scholars following the first semester grading period. If you have questions, please contact Tony Robinson at tony.robinson@louisville.edu or call 852-0025. The Arts and Sciences picnic Aug. 30 offered lucky sophomore Emily Robinson the opportunity to dunk Honors Program director Dr. John Richardson disguised in his alter-ego attire of curly black wig and Hawaiian shirt. Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Mary Ann Stenger by Clare Kalb, Spanish To limit Professor Mary Ann Stenger’s professional accomplishments at U of L to the scope of the Honors Program is to leave out a mountain of contributions she has made to improve undergraduate and graduate life at the University at large. Nevertheless, the scope of Honors must be our focus here, and her involvement with us is prodigious all on its own! A self-described Honors enthusiast, Dr. Stenger has ardently supported and at times helped develop various Honors initiatives in her 15 to 20 years of affiliation with the Honors Program, from general education curriculum to the Modes of Inquiry weekend in which she has participated for at least 14 years. Dr. Stenger is a Distinguished Honors Faculty Fellow (2001–present) and teaches seminars on various topics in religion and women’s studies. This fall she is offering “Fundamentalisms” for a second time, examining with her students fundamentalist thought and practice in the world’s major religions and connecting those ideologies with issues of women’s rights and religious pluralism. Some of Dr. Stenger’s past seminar offerings have included “Religious Symbolism in American Pop Culture,” “Mysticism: Cross-Cultural Explorations,” and in 1999 and 2004 she traveled with her classes to China and Japan, respectively, in “Buddhism in China” and “Land of the Rising Sun” (co-taught with Dr. Julie Bunck) seminars. In previous years Dr. Stenger has also taught the Honors’ sections of the “World Religions” class. Professor Stenger earned her BA from Lawrence University and holds her doctorate in religion from the University of Iowa. She has been teaching at U of L almost without interruption since 1977. Dr. Stenger is an expert in East Asian religion, contemporary Christian thought, interfaith religion, feminist theology and religious pluralism. Her main areas of research focus on religious feminism and religious pluralism, and she is chairing the project to publish the Dialogues of Paul Tillich from Mercer University Press. Of her many years of involvement in Honors, she says, “I love teaching honors students. It’s been and important part of my experience at U of L.” Thank you, Dr. Stenger!	"Roots of the Republic" Overseers International Seminar trip traveled to Italy and Great Britain. Seminar members pictured in alphabetic order are Tia Alton, Brittany Benge, Sarah Powell, Laura Bishop, Kate Brueggemann, Anthony Cash, Matt Flairty, Becky Graham, Glypie Grider, Nisha Haque, Ashley Howarth, Miranda Mattingly, Allie Martin, Kyle Riggs, Amanda Thompson and Justin Tooley. We’re Not in Kansas Anymore Syndrome By Justin Tooley, Political Science and Economics Clearly, we weren’t in Louisville anymore. The feeling behind Dorothy’s famous lines from The Wizard of Oz was never more evident as fifteen University of Louisville Honors students found themselves hauling fourteen days of luggage through the congested streets of Rome. And no one realized it more than me... (continued) Fulbright Applicant Workshops Workshops for those applying for Fulbright fellowships are scheduled for Sept. 8, Sept. 15 and Sept. 22 in Threlkeld room 132. The first session will be an informational walk-through of the application. For full information on these sessions read “Workshops for Fulbright Applicants.” If you plan to apply for a Fulbright, be sure to attend these valuable workshops. Gilman Scholarship Workshop All Pell grant supported students interested in study abroad (sophomores to seniors) with GPA's of 3.4 and above may attend an informational workshop on the Gilman Scholarship. This workshop is offered at 12:00 noon on Wednesday, Sept. 13, and at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 14 in the conference room of the Honors House, rm. 108. Students expecting to attend this session are encouraged to notify Dr. Condon in advance of the session. Any student unable to come at either these times should schedule an individual appointment. The national deadline for the Gilman application is Sept 26. Upcoming Deadlines SCHOLARSHIPS and FELLOWSHIPS Watch this spot for campus and national deadlines Campus deadlines for: Gilman Study Abroad Scholarship, Sept. 26, 2006 Workshops Sept. 13, 12 noon, Honors House, rm. 108 or Sept. 14, 12:30 p.m., Honors House, rm. 108 (Sophomores to seniors with Pell Grants) See also language initiative. Rhodes Scholarship, Oct. 2, 2006 (Outstanding scholars attend two years at Oxford) Marshall Scholarship, Oct. 4, 2006 (Two years of graduate study in the United Kingdom or Ireland) Mitchell Scholarship , Oct. 6, 2006 (A year of graduate study at one of nine universities in Ireland) Gates Cambridge Scholarship, Oct. 15, 2006 (Outstanding scholars study at Cambridge) If you plan to apply for any of these scholarships and have not already made an appointment with the director of the Scholarship Office, Dr. Patricia Condon, you should do so immediately. Her e-mail is patricia.condon@louisville.edu or call 852-6293. NEW FEATURE: FACE TIME (Facilitating the growth of a cohesive Honors community.) Introducing…Faraz Jeelani Faraz is returning to the Honors Program for his second year as biology major. In the spring he took “Honors History of Civilizations,” which he says was “very interesting and a lot of fun” and spent his summer doing cancer research at the James Graham Brown Cancer Center on the Health Sciences Campus. In his free time he enjoys religious activities, spending time with his family in Pikeville, Ky., working out, tennis and basketball. At the moment he is preparing for the spring MCAT. Faraz also serves as Vice-President of the Muslim Students Association (MSA). MSA is sponsoring “Understanding Islam: An Interpretation of Islamic Law,” a lecture given by Islamic Scholars from Saudi Arabia Sept. 5 at 6:00 p.m. in the Floyd Theater. Faraz also participates in the following organizations: HVP, HSC, Minority Association of Premedical Students (MAPS) , Indian Student Association (ISA) , Asian American Association (AAA), A&S Student Council , Alpha Epsilon Delta and Guaranteed Entrance to Medical School (GEMS) . He is an approachable guy who likes meeting new people and helping other students. If you would like any more information on any of his activities, be sure to stop him on campus and share some face time. Be a Cardinal Host! The Cardinal Host Program is a select organization of students who assist at various Presidential events - receptions, athletic events and numerous other functions. Cardinal Hosts help make an event run smoothly but more importantly, they represent President Ramsey and the University of Louisville and its mission. Are you a sophomore, junior or senior that would like to be a part of this program? Applications are due next Friday, Sept. 8. For more information, please contact Julie Soule via e-mail. Freshmen Please Note Freshmen names had not yet been added to the Honors listserv when we sent out the first issue of The Current. We apologize for the error and for leaving you out of the loop. You may want to go back to check through items that are of interest to you. Check ARCHIVES under The Current linked in the far right of The Current logo above. Calling all Honors Students! Calling all Honors Students! The Current is now taking art submissions. Art submissions can be of any medium, but a picture will need to be taken in order to include the work in The Current. All submissions must be original and are subject to content review by the Honors Staff. Share your talent, share your passion, share your hobby! Please contact nichole.burruss@lousiville.edu with questions and submissions.