| VOLUME 33, NUMBER 24 | THURSDAY, April 11, 2002 |
UB Creates Office of Honors and Scholars
By
SUE WUETCHER To further improve efforts to attract
the best and brightest students to UB, the university has created a
new administrative unit to offer additional services and experience
to talented undergraduates.
The Office of Honors and Scholars will
house both the University Honors Program and the new Academic Excellence
Scholars Program. The new office will be led by Josephine Capuana, administrative
director of the University Honors Program.
The Academic Excellence Scholars Program
actually began in 1998 as a merit scholarship program offering funds
to students whose credentials, while strong, placed them just outside
of the parameters of the University Honors Program. The goal of the
newly configured program is to enhance that scholarship effort by providing
academic and student support services, said Regina Toomey, associate
vice provost for new student recruitment programs.
"The merit dollars available to these
students has been vital to our effort to raise the profile of our entering
class," Toomey said. "We are convinced, however, that we can experience
additional improvement in entering student profile and in student retention
if we offer additional services and experiences to these students."
Ricki Shine, formerly director of the
Freshman Honors Program at Iowa State University and a member of the
Executive Committee of the National Collegiate Honors Council, has been
named coordinator of the Academic Excellence Scholars Program.
Shine said the program will offer "an
integrated set of courses and experiences that aim to help each student
make the most of his or her undergraduate experience at UB and best
prepare each student for graduate education or the workplace."
Shine noted that 700-750 freshmen will
be designated as Academic Excellence Scholars in Fall 2002. Each will
receive a scholarship ranging from $1,000 to $2,000 per academic year.
In order to keep the scholarship—for up to eight semesters—students
must maintain a UB GPA of 3.0 or higher
In addition to the scholarship, she
said that Academic Excellence Scholars will have access to specialized
advisement concerning fellowship, study and research opportunities for
advanced students; academic lecture and student-services workshops reserved
for academic excellence scholars; community-service opportunities, and
courses with other Academic Excellence Scholars linked to major and
university requirements.
The Office of Honors and Scholars is
part of a larger group within the Office of Enrollment and Planning—the
New Student Recruitment Programs group—created last spring by Vice
Provost Sean Sullivan. The group, comprised of the Office of Admissions
and the Office of Transfer and Articulation Services, in addition to
the Office of Honors and Scholars, was charged with "encouraging the
enrollment of an increasing number of new students with superior academic
preparation and fostering an environment that encourages their continued
enrollment and academic success," Toomey said.
She noted that the group already has
achieved some successes in this area during the past year.
Among its achievements for Fall 2001:
Among the accomplishments cited for
Fall 2002:
New administrative unit to offer more services
to attract talented undergraduates
Reporter Editor