General Meeting: The first General meeting of the year is this Wednesday, September 13th at 11 am in Friends Hall. You will have the opportunity to meet our new director, Dr. Root, and we will be discussing new and exciting changes to the Honors Program. It is required of all Honors students unless you have a class during that time. Lunch will be provided.


Independent Study Deadline: Tomorrow, September 12th, is the last day to request an Independent Study through the Registrar’s Office. If you intend for your Senior Thesis Project to be an Independent Study, this is a hard deadline.

The Honors Lounge Printer is currently out of ink. It should be back up and running by Wednesday at the latest. We apologize for any inconvenience.

New Admissions Team: We will be creating a new committee within the Honors Program, the Admissions Team (A-Team). Members of the A-Team will attend Honors Open Houses and Admitted Students Days to talk with students and parents about the Honors Program. If you are proud to be an Honors student, this is a great way to give back to the program and to take on a rewarding leadership role. We will meet on a bi-weekly basis to discuss Admissions. We will also be heavily involved in the new Alumni Initiative to network with Honors Alumni and plan alumni events. The first interest meeting is next Tuesday, September 12th at 10:30 am in the Honors Lounge. If you are interested, please fill out the following brief questionnaire: https://ramapo.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1YaT03JpgfZ9Qvr

Special Events Committee: We also have openings on the Special Events Committee. We are looking for a diverse group of students including sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Freshmen can apply now to be considered for the Spring semester. Each member of the committee would be required to come to one meeting per week, plan for many of our Honors Program events, and come up with new and exciting ideas to increase our community atmosphere.

This is a great opportunity to get involved, build valuable leadership and event-planning skills, strengthen your résumé, and make the most out of your Honors and college experience. The first interest meeting is next Tuesday, September 12th at 12:00 pm in the Honors Lounge. If you are interested, please fill out the following brief questionnaire: https://ramapo.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1YaT03JpgfZ9Qvr

Senior Thesis Meeting: September 20th – There is a required meeting from 11am-12pm in the Honors Lounge of all seniors to discuss the project timeline. Dr. Root and I will be available to explain the changes to the thesis process and to answer any questions you might have.

The first Honors Olympics Event of the year will be the “Extreme Team Building” on September 26th at 7:00 pm in Pavilion1. All freshmen and HDG leaders are encouraged to attend. There will be a series of team-building exercises, and it will be a lot of fun. (and a lot of pizza). All attendees get a free Honors T-Shirt!

COPLAC Conference: The Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC) is holding a regional conference October 13-14th at Mansfield University, and Ramapo can send 10 students to present their research. (All expenses paid by Ramapo.) A few Honors students are already working on proposals, but I want to encourage any of you with a good research paper in their back pocket to apply. If you do wish to apply, send the abstract (150 words max), a 2 sentence bio, the name of your faculty mentor for this project, and an indication of whether you have any dietary restrictions to me by this Wednesday, Sept 13. (I know! So soon!) I'll give it a little polish and then send it along to your dean and to the Vice Provost, who is overseeing the selection of the 10 presenters for Ramapo. We encourage you to visit the COPLAC website for additional details about the conference.