May 2, 2024

Creating an Energetic Learning Environment

As an undergraduate student at the University of Missouri, Katie Essing was an active part of the Honors College. Now, as an Honors affiliate faculty member, Essing has the opportunity to share her expertise with numerous Honors students. “It’s definitely come full circle for me,” said Essing, who is an assistant teaching professor in the marketing department in the Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business. “As a student, the Honors College felt like home. The courses within the college were some of my favorites, and the entire experience really helped me throughout my academic…

April 16, 2024

Recognizing Excellence in Honors

There were plenty of laughs to go around during the annual Honors College spring awards ceremony, as well as plenty of faculty, staff and students who were honored.  Multiple students pursuing the Honors Certificate were recognized for their outstanding achievements over the past year. The college also gave an award to an outstanding faculty member, Katie Essing, and an exceptional campus partner, Susan Hartnagel. The final honor of the evening was given to Alexandra Socarides, associate provost for academic programs, who has been a major supporter of the Honors College over the years. Socarides will soon join Emerson…

April 3, 2024

Unbound: Reading Without Limits

The University of Missouri Honors College has a variety of important partnerships across campus and throughout the Columbia community. One of the more unique collaborations is with the Unbound Book Festival. A staple in Columbia since 2016, the Unbound Book Festival welcomes world-class authors to mid-Missouri to discuss their books, their work and their life. The goal of the festival is to bring together participants to create diverse communities and inspire a life-long love of books and reading. In 2017, the Honors College began offering a 1-credit hour course – “Unbound: Reading Without Limits” –…

March 14, 2024

Morgan Davi — An Honors Advisor in Europe

Last summer, Morgan Davi, a University of Missouri Honors College advisor, along with other Mizzou advisors and staff, went on the experience of a lifetime: they took Mizzou to Italy. The group visited Mizzou’s campus partner, CEA CAPA, at their Rome and Florence campuses. Advisors observed classrooms, classes, student housing and teaching demonstrations, all with the goal of exchanging cultural insight and experiences. The opportunity was meant to give advisors who had never been abroad the chance to observe what a study abroad experience is like for students. The goal was to have advisors then take the experience…

March 11, 2024

Honors College Welcomes Andrew Leland as Cherng Distinguished Scholar

Since high school, Andrew Leland has had to grapple with his worsening vision due to retinitis pigmentosa, a rare and progressive eye disease that leads to the deterioration of the retinas. Nearly a decade ago, Leland began using a cane full-time – a decision that brought frustrations but also a desire to explore new questions and experiences. Leland’s journey eventually became a memoir, The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight, which was published last year. “I’ve known I was slowly losing my vision for many years,” said…

March 5, 2024

Uplifting and Supporting Others

“… the idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that’s wrong with the world.” Those words appear in Tracy Kidder’s book, Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World. A medical anthropologist and physician, Farmer was a professor at Harvard University and served as the chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Farmer, who wrote extensively on health and human rights, was the co-founder and chief strategist of Partners In Health, an international non-profit that provides health care services and…

March 4, 2024

A Sense of Adventure

A fan of writing from a young age, Bailey Stover has only strengthened her storytelling skills through the University of Missouri School of Journalism and has found new and exciting avenues for sharing those articles. Stover’s journalistic endeavors have extended beyond the classroom, too. She has participated in multiple study abroad experiences and conducted undergraduate research through the Discovery Fellows Program. On top of her involvement in the J-School, Stover has found time to support her peers in the Mizzou Honors College as vice president of the Honors College Programming Board. When added together, those unique opportunities are…

Feb. 27, 2024

Honors College Welcomes Inaugural Cohort of Tarkow Teaching Fellows

Interested in supporting future Tarkow Teaching Fellows? Contact Melia Douglass (mdouglass@missouri.edu) for more information! For 50-plus years, Ted Tarkow has shared his passion for philosophy, literature and art with thousands of University of Missouri students. Tarkow, a professor emeritus of classical studies, has held a variety of roles during his Mizzou tenure, including several within the Honors College. Currently an affiliate faculty member, Tarkow served as director of the Honors College for a handful of years and has been a regular professor in the Humanities Sequence. To honor Tarkow’s incredible teaching legacy, the…

Feb. 26, 2024

Overcoming Obstacles and Encouraging Others

Reginald Rogers woke up on June 18, 1999, and expected it to be a fairly uneventful day. Rogers was at home in Atlanta, Georgia, enjoying a well-deserved break after finishing his sophomore year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Late in the afternoon, Rogers hopped in his car for a quick trip to pick up his father. He never made it to his destination. Rogers was involved a terrible accident, one that kept him in surgery for 14 hours and unconscious for three days. When he awoke, he had no memory of the collision and was…

Feb. 21, 2024

Communicating Vital Messages

Part of the ASH Scholars Program, the Minority Focused News as a Locus of Empowerment research team investigates the manners in which news websites and streaming platforms that serve under-represented and marginalized populations provide a benefit to society. The team was created in 2019 and undergraduate students at the University of Missouri who participate in the research seek to understand how identity-focused content serves as a safe space for those affected groups. It’s work that Julius Riles, an associate professor of communication at MU, had admired since its inception. Riles joined Mizzou in 2016, bringing with…