HOW HONORS AT FORT LEWIS COLLEGE WORKS

Fort Lewis College offers a number of opportunities for motivated students to excel in their academic pursuits and the John F. Reed Honors Program, an academic enrichment program, is one such opportunity. Honors students join what many past honors' students have called the "best community on campus," with opportunities to participate in many interesting co-curricular events, including free tickets to plays, concerts, and other events.

Students admitted to the program who complete the requirements specified in their catalog and earn a 3.4 cumulative GPA will receive a notation on their transcripts that they are John F. Reed Honors Scholars and receive special recognition at Honors convocation and graduate with a Minor in the Rhetoric of Inquiry.

What is Rhetoric of Inquiry?

In ancient times, rhetoric was an important component of the original liberal arts (rhetoric, grammar, logic, music, astronomy, math, geometry). Rhetoric meant the art of persuasive speaking; however, it needed the other liberal arts (especially grammar and logic) to help complement it. Thus, an interdisciplinary education style was born.

For Honors students, interdisciplinarity is at the heart of the program. Examining how different disciplines interact with one another, as well as assist one another, should be a natural component of each student's participation and desires in the learning process. Thus learning the rhetoric of a discipline means learning how people use it (primarily through language) to persuade others of their knowledge. When students learn rhetoric in the honors program, they are learning how to 'talk the talk' of their primary discipline. Then they learn how to 'walk the walk' of that rhetoric by applying it to other disciplines, informing them, but also learning from them. The original Greek word 'inquiry' is 'istor' (ίστσρ), from which we get our word today for 'history'. In order to understand ourselves we must know our past. All of these elements then come together when developing an honors curriculum, and, for students, culminate in the production of their honors thesis.

Admission Policy

Requirements for Graduation

The requirements to graduate as a John F. Reed Honors Scholar are catalog-specific.

Perks of the Honors Program

Perks for admitted Honors Program students include:

• Students entering in the 2008-2009 catalog who are accepted into the Honors Program will receive a Minor in Rhetoric of Inquiry upon graduation.
• Key to Honors Lounge in Jones Hall 158; Lounge has a VCR, DVD, couch, microwave, refrigerator, coffee pot, book shelves, study space, and (soon!) computers
• An active community of like-minded students interested in academic challenge and intriguing conversation
• Book clubs/graduate school panels/guest speakers and other events
• Right to choose which concerts, etc. the honors program will buy tickets for 
• Honors Club Registered Student Organization Activities
• Honors designation listed on transcript and graduation program
• Honors hoods to be worn at graduation
• Outside mentorship on honors thesis
• Bound copy of honors thesis
• Special presentation reception with cake and punch

Opportunites for First Semester Freshmen

Freshmen are eligible for three freshmen honors programs. These are Stand Alone Honors Forums, Honors Learning Communities, and the Hungry Mind House residence hall. You can do one or all three. However, you are not automatically in the honors program itself. We do not have a “passive” honors program as does, say, CU, where anyone with a 3.3 and top 10% HS class rating gets in. Rather, we use students’ performance in an honors forum (either stand-alone or in a cluster) as a gatekeeper for those who apply. In other words, you must have a forum under your belt, a 3.0 GPA, and at least 15 credit hours to apply to the program. Taking a forum first term is an excellent idea for anyone even considering applying. That said, we have the Freshman Programs to channel prospective Honors students in the right direction and retain those kids who need a true challenge.

Honors Council:

Dr. Michael Martin – Coordinator for the John F. Reed Honors Program; History and Gender/Women's Studies
Dr. Carol Smith – Administration; Dean General Education and Enrollment Services
Bridget Irish – Administration; Coordinator of First Year, General Education, and Enrichment Experiences
Pamela Arbeeny – Library
Dr. Kenyon Bunch – Political Science
Dr. David Gonzales – Geosciences
Dr. Joseph Ortega – Biology
Dr. Dugald Owen – Philosophy
Dr. Deb Walker – Economics

For contact informaton of the above Honors Council members, click here.

  FORT LEWIS COLLEGE     1000 RIM DRIVE JONES 158     DURANGO, CO 81301     (970)247-6211     MARTIN_M@FORTLEWIS.EDU