Another hello from the dean's office

Hello! Sara Brennen here. I work in the dean's office, and am particularly interested in using the Internet to connect Scholars, alumni, friends, and staff with each other. I encourage you to jump into discussion on this blog by posting comments using the comments links at the bottom of any of the blog entries.

Since I have the pleasure of learning almost daily news of Scholars' amazing accomplishments in the areas of academic excellence, internationalization, and leadership and civic engagement, I plan to post to this blog to share some of this news with you, and hope to hear your stories of "life with honors" also.

We are looking forward to celebrating in 2007 the 10-year anniversary of the date when the Schreyers announced their unprecedented $30 million dollar gift to establish the Schreyer Honors College. As part of our celebration, we would like to share stories of how participation in the SHC shaped Scholars' lives during and/or after college. If you have such a story to share, please post the story using the comment link below, or by sending an email to me at sep104@psu.edu.

Take care and see you online, :) Sara

p.s. here is a bird's eye view of Happy Valley for you (when you get there, click on the Satellite button.)

Summer Commencement!

Penn State to hold summer commencement ceremonies Aug. 12

In addition to the main commencement ceremonies, Schreyer Honors College will recognize about 59 graduating seniors during its medals ceremony on Friday, Aug. 11, at 5 p.m. at The Nittany Lion Inn.

President Spanier will provide the welcome remarks, and Executive Vice President and Provost Rodney Erickson will provide special and closing remarks and present student awards, assisted by the honor college's newly appointed dean, Christian M. M. Brady.

(Via Penn State Live.)

Schreyer Scholar to Compete for Miss America

Penn State alumna to compete for Miss America title
Amazing. How many other universities can say that their top students not only are Goldwaters, Rhodes, Marshall, and other scholarship winners, but also in the running for Miss America?

Miss Pennsylvania Emily M. Wills is a 2006 graduate of Penn State, holding a bachelor's degree in psychology from the College of the Liberal Arts.
...
After winning the Miss Penn State title as a freshman, Wills received the usual congratulatory phone messages from friends and family on her cell phone. She also received an unexpected, but much-appreciated message that began, "Hello, this is Graham Spanier …"

"For the president of a Big Ten university to take time out of his schedule to call, that just threw me," said Wills.

"Being named Miss Penn State made me step outside my comfort zone. It really does open a lot of doors and helped me to think on my feet and to be able to articulate," Wills continued. It also opened doors to opportunities she otherwise would not have had. For example, she sang the national anthem at a football banquet with Joe Paterno on one side and President Spanier on the other. "JoePa came in and gave me a hug," Wills said.

In addition to serving as Miss Penn State, Wills was:

-- Schreyer Honors College student;

-- a four-year member of the Penn State Dance Team;

-- the College of the Liberal Arts scholarship winner for both 2003 and 2004;

-- winner of the Asbury Award for Outstanding Leadership, Community Service and Promotion of Diversity; and

-- named a Promise Fellow, part of the America's Promise initiative.

Congratulations to Emily and best of luck!

(Via Penn State Live.)

Accessible is my middle name

Well, no, it isn't really, but I try to be as accessible as possible. This blog is one way to do it. The other is through email (cbrady AT psu.edu coming soon!) and IM (AIM - drcbrady). I can't always promise that I will reply to your IM at 1AM, but I often will so feel free to get in touch!

(Adium, represented by the duck, is a free IM client for the Mac OS.)

First Words

This is my new blog for the Schreyer Honors College of the Pennsylvania State University. I will use this venue to share with students, past, present, and future, about events and news from SHC, but most of all as a place for me to share with you my thoughts on honors education at Penn State (and occasionally more general comments as well). For the latest news be sure to see the links (soon to be updated) at the right or go directly to our SHC News page. In the meantime, I thought I would share with you my comments I made to the University Board of Trustees upon my appointment.

It is indeed a distinct honor to be the next Dean of Schreyer Honors College. SHC is widely recognized as the premier honors program in the nation and I look forward to the challenge of building upon its tremendous strengths.

Much of what first drew me to Schreyer Honors College was that its mission confirmed my own convictions. Most honors programs emphasize primarily enabling their students to achieve academic excellence and successful competitions for national scholarships such as the Rhodes or the Marshall. I believe that a person of honor is someone who not only achieves academic distinction but is also a person of noble character. SHC’s emphasis is upon creating scholars who are not simply outstanding academicians but are complete individuals who will contribute to their communities and the world. SHC fosters the development of men and women who not only possess honors but also are honorable themselves.

I also believe that SHC is unique in emphasizing the success of our students based upon their goals and aspirations. Whereas most honors programs, as I have said, demonstrate their success by stating how many Rhodes scholars they have and what graduate schools they were accepted into, Schreyer Honors College can rightly boast about how many scholars are teaching in public schools, are in the Peace Corps, or are engaged in business and agriculture.

Penn State offers a breadth and depth of education unlike most any institution in the world [my boyhood memories of being involved in 4-H and FFA have come flooding back!] and the Schreyer Honors College is in a great position to foster, encourage, and engage students from across the disciplines. I am thrilled to be a part of this family [my brother and his wife, both PSU alumni, say that now I truly am part of "the family"] and to have the opportunity to guide and build upon the success that is Schreyer Honors College by recruiting the best students in the nation to come to Penn State, to enhance their educational experience (both inside the classroom and out) which will, in turn, enhance that of all Penn State students, and to help form truly honorable citizens.

Once again, thank you for this great honor.