Author: Kimberly Engber

Wichita State University is an institutional member of the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC). Any WSU faculty or staff can access NCHC resources by signing up as an institutional associate. Note: You must use the email assigned to you by your institution for your institutional associate account.

Powered by the Teaching and Learning Committee, the Honors Syllabus Exchange allows members to explore a wide range of syllabi tailored for honors courses. Whether you’re seeking inspiration for first-year seminars, interdisciplinary studies or capstone courses, the collection covers diverse areas of focus, including humanities, social and behavioral sciences, natural sciences and interdisciplinary studies. Explore Syllabus Exchange.

Questions about Honors at Wichita State? Visit wichita.edu/honorsfaculty or email honors@wichita.edu.

Multiple opportunities to engage with the Dorothy and Bill Cohen Honors College are available to faculty and staff. Visit the Resources for Faculty in Honors page for more information.

• Propose an Honors seminar course: Submit a seminar course proposal through the Course Information Management (CIM) system by March 1 for the following spring. Include information in your syllabus about what makes the course Honors. You may use the separate course proposal form for more preliminary ideas and discussion with the faculty council. For more information about current Honors courses, visit the undergraduate catalog.
• Departmental honors courses: Departments may offer an honors (H- suffix) section of any existing department course by adding a cross-listed course through the CIM system. These courses are scheduled and supported by the department. Department chairs are welcome to contact your college’s honors faculty council member with any questions.
• Faculty-initiated honors options: Faculty may invite any student (honors students and students who are not in honors) to earn honors credit for a department course. Each student pursuing a faculty-initiated honors option must submit an honors option agreement form. A student may initiate an honors option in a course by talking with the instructor before the third week of the semester. The submission deadline may be extended for faculty-invited honors option agreements.
• Just curious about Honors? Sign up to receive the honors weekly update, a Friday email with information and opportunities, by emailing honors@wichita.edu

The Dorothy and Bill Cohen Honors College has been recognized for the second year as a Partner in Peace institution.

Partners in Peace exists as a collaboration between the National Collegiate Honors Council and the Nobel Peace Center, located in Oslo, Norway. Operating within the International Education Committee of NCHC, PiP enables students, faculty and institutions to study and implement practices utilized by Nobel Peace Laureates in their attempts to achieve harmony and collaboration between individuals.

The proposal to expand a “Peace Across the Curriculum” initiative submitted by Dean Kimberly Engber (English), Chelsea Redger-Marquardt (sport and leadership studies), Carolyn Shaw (political science), Jodie Simon (sociology) and Rannfrid Lasine Thelle (history/religion) includes an honors first-year colloquium experience and modules in department/thematic courses with reading and/or viewing materials from Nobel Laureates and guests working in peace organizations.

Wichita State was announced as a member of the inaugural cohort of sixteen Partners in Peace institutions in November 2025.

Kimberly Engber, dean, Cohen Honors College and associate professor of English, served as an external expert for the project “A Glossary of Transatlantic Literature in the Long Nineteenth Century” led by a research team at the University of Zagreb. The project was awarded funding from the NextGenerationEU Republic of Croatia National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

Multiple opportunities to engage with the Dorothy and Bill Cohen Honors College are available to faculty and staff. Now is a good time to consider proposing a new Honors seminar or inquire about teaching an existing seminar. Interested faculty can submit a course proposal through the Course Information Management (CIM) system that includes information about what makes the course an Honors-level experience. Course proposals are routed to the Honors College Faculty Council for review. Instructors whose courses are approved by the council will be asked to confirm college and chair approval and other details related to course scheduling.

Faculty also may use the separate course proposal form to request to teach an existing Honor seminar course topic such as HNRS 352 Survey of Law and Public Policy or HNRS 486 Collaborative Research. For more information about Honors curriculum, visit the undergraduate catalog.

Departmental honors courses: Departments may offer an honors (H-suffix) section of any existing department course by adding a cross-listed course through the CIM system. These courses are reviewed by Honors then scheduled and supported by the department. Department chairs are welcome to contact Kimberly Engber, dean of the Cohen Honors College, with any questions at kimberly.engber@wichita.edu.

Additional questions? Visit the Resources for Faculty in Honors page or contact your college’s honors faculty council representative at wichita.edu/honorsfacultycouncil.

The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program’s 2025-26 competition features over 400 awards offered in more than 130 countries. Fulbright U.S. Scholar Awards allow United States citizens to teach, research and carry out professional projects abroad. Applications are accepted until Sept. 16, but it’s not too early to see what’s possible.

Curious to see what Fulbright U.S. Scholar awards have to offer? Visit the webinar schedule for events throughout the competition and register to join. Up next:

• March 20: Sub-Saharan Africa
• March 27: Middle East and North Africa
• April 2: Global Hidden Gems of the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Competition for 2025-26
• April 9: Ask Us Anything: Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program 2025-26 Open Forum

The Kansas Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol event is an annual opportunity for students to present their research experiences with state lawmakers and campus leaders in Topeka. All currently enrolled undergraduate students are eligible. Students in all majors and of all nationalities are encouraged to apply.

The research day event showcases the work of up to 40 Kansas undergraduate student projects representing each of the state’s eight public four-year institutions. This event emphasizes higher education’s role in developing educated citizens and preparing a workforce with the necessary skills to further the economic growth of the state.

Presenters travel to Topeka March 1 or may request to present virtually. The Cohen Honors College will coordinate travel and pay for all expenses. Submit your research abstract by 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2.

For questions, visit the undergraduate research webpage or email honors@wichita.edu

Faculty and staff from across campus are invited to develop and teach Cohen Honors College seminars, including first-year seminars, for academic year 2024-25. Faculty are paid or the college is reimbursed for adjunct replacement.

Each semester, more than 60 faculty and staff are engaged in Honors. Honors-affiliated faculty and staff work individually and in collaboration with colleges to increase student opportunities across campus and lead students to do more meaningful work.

The Honors College encourages faculty and staff to consider developing problem-based, team-taught and/or social justice topics. An ideal Honors course is, at its core, an experiment. It boldly challenges assumptions about what students know and how they learn. It should provoke students to engage actively in the learning process, and it should empower students to participate in academic dialogue, solve real-world problems through research, and draw creative and compelling connections within and across disciplines.

Interested faculty should submit a course proposal through the Course Information Management system (CIM) system and include specific information about what makes a course an Honors-level experience. Course proposals are routed to the Honors College Faculty Council for review. Instructors whose courses are approved by the council will be asked to confirm chair approval and other details related to course scheduling.

Faculty also may use the Seminar Course Proposal form to make a preliminary inquiry and get feedback on a course idea.

Teaching existing HNRS seminars: Faculty may request to teach an existing Honors seminar course, such as HNRS 351 Survey of Leadership, HNRS 352 Survey of Law and Public Policy, or HNRS 486 Collaborative Research. For more information about Honors curriculum, visit the current student page of the Honors website or visit the undergraduate catalog.

Departmental honors courses: Departments may offer an honors (H- suffix) section of any existing department course by adding a cross-listed course through CIM. Once approved by the department and the honors faculty council, these courses are scheduled and supported by the department. Department chairs are welcome to contact the Dean of the Cohen Honors College with any questions.

For questions, visit the Resources for Faculty in Honors webpage or email honors@wichita.edu

Bike enthusiasts among the Cohen Honors College faculty invite the community to experience fall on the Redbud Trail at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19.

Attendees will meet in front of the John Bardo Center for an hour of biking or walking. Students, faculty, staff and friends are all welcome to join.

Shocker Career Accelerator is excited to share the Class of 2022 First Destination Survey Report results. The report presents an overview of the Wichita State graduating cohort of 2022.

The data was sourced from the First Destination Survey, a nationwide initiative to encapsulate the early-career trajectories of recent college graduates within the first six months post-graduation.