The Director's Corner
October 17, 2024
A few weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of visiting all sections of HONR. 1077, Freshman Exploration, introducing myself to our newest students and hearing suggestions from them about things to do in the Auburn area. I also asked the students what they wanted from the Honors College, and since then the College’s wonderful staff and I have been working on responding to those requests.
While we have not been successful in all our efforts ¾ University Housing rules unfortunately prevent us from installing a ping pong or pool table in the Broun Hall Lounge ¾ I am delighted to report that we have made some progress in relation to another Honors space: the RBD Library Honors Study Room. Several portable whiteboards are now available in that room for students to bring to their desks, along with the larger whiteboards already installed on the walls. We also have plans underway to fill the new shelves in this space. Some shelves will provide a new home for bound Honors student theses produced over the past forty-five years. Alumni now can know that their hard work will be available to inspire current Honors students, and as we go forward Honors students who elect to give a copy of their thesis to the College can know that their work will be visible to future students as they pursue their own studies in this room.
Over the coming months we also will be building up a library of pleasure reading for Honors students, with an emphasis on genre fiction (mysteries, science fiction, thrillers, romances) and personal favorites from our students and staff. Each of our staff will be nominating a favorite book, we will collectively select some other titles, and we welcome requests from our students. We also will provide extra copies of Auburn common reads from previous years. Our hope is that this library, from which books may be signed out on an honor system, will provide our students with opportunities to take breaks from their studies and feel part of a community of shared reading.
Finally, in response to queries from some first-year students that they were unsure how to access the Broun Hall Honors Lounge, this newsletter contains a link to a short video providing directions on finding the lounge. My thanks to our indefatigable Communications Specialist Wade Berry and our equally indefatigable Student Programs Coordinator Maggie Reynolds for creating this video.
I hope our students enjoy these small changes, and I look forward to hearing more from our students about how Honors can enrich their education and their experiences as Auburn students.
Dr. Laura Stevens
Director, Honors College
Professor of English
