Doing the Honors

Students help craft a new program for top-tier SOM undergrads.

By Jeanne Spreier

Nurturing the seeds of leadership will be one goal of The School of
Management's Undergraduate Honors Program as it gets under way this fall.
Juniors and seniors who participate in the honors program curriculum, and
their freshman and sophomore associates, won't be taking leadership
courses specifically. But because enrollment in honors program classes is
limited, students will have the opportunity for in-depth discussions that
embrace leadership issues.

Dr. Mary Chaffin, SOM's associate dean for undergraduate studies, says the
new program's selection criteria targets potential campus leaders 
applicants must have held leadership positions elsewhere  and already has
provided leadership opportunities and growth for several students who
helped launch the honors program.

One of those is Iris Kuo, a senior getting two degrees upon graduating,
one in finance, the other in arts and performance. Part of Ms. Kuo's
interest, she says, stems from her experience as a student at the Texas
Academy of Math and Science, a program for high school students at the
University of North Texas. I was used to the challenge (of classes) and
the close-knit community, Ms. Kuo recalls.

The School of Management is sort of fragmented, she says, noting that
some students attend only in the evening, some are double majors, and some
are on campus for one semester, off the next, and return the following
year. She wanted a way for School of Management students to develop
friendships and networking opportunities. Already a member of The
University of Texas at Dallas' Collegium V, the campuswide honors program,
she expressed an interest in starting a similar program within The School
of Management.

Chris Van Valkenburg, another SOM student who has been instrumental in
getting the program started, agrees. I think that the management honors
program, from its inception, has been a terrific opportunity for students
to gain Ôreal world' leadership abilities, says Mr. Van Valkenburg, also
a Collegium V member.ÊThe chance to initialize and mold a program does
not come along very often, and I knew that this opportunity was choice,
especially if one has any entrepreneurial aspirations.

Mr. Van Valkenburg and Ms. Kuo were on the Management Honors Program
Council, a group of students who organized the program and arranged
recruitment. Ms. Kuo says they had expected about 30 students in this
fall's initial class. About 75 students initially enrolled in the honors
program. We were elated that it turned out so well, Ms. Kuo says.

To be admitted to the honors program, students must be juniors or seniors
with a 3.3 or higher overall grade-point average (GPA). Participants are
chosen based on academic excellence, extracurricular activities,
demonstrated leadership, work experience, references and an essay.

In order to graduate from the honors program, however, students must
attain a 3.5 GPA and complete 15 hours of community service each semester.
Jess Dunn, a senior seeking a double major in business administration and
biology, is organizing that component of the program, giving her an
opportunity to develop leadership skills. Ms. Dunn, who is a returning
student after spending almost a decade in the workforce, has had other
leadership roles  both volunteer and work-based  and saw this as a way
to use some of her skills to put a new program in place. I'll be leaving
right as the party is getting started, she says, but adds that she is
grateful for the chance to help organize the program.

Dr. Chaffin foresees a time when a leadership class becomes a component of
the management honors program. But at this point, the smaller core
classes, providing more opportunity for lively discussion, and the various
opportunities for students to step in to help get the program organized
have clearly started these students on the leadership path.