The Spelman College Ethel Waddell Githii Honors Program enhances the overall intellectual environment of the Spelman community by sponsoring lectures, promoting the development of innovative courses, encouraging intellectual inquiry, and celebrating academic achievement. The primary goal of the program is to provide a stimulating environment in which young scholars can confidently pursue their individual and shared intellectual interests, and discover the sheer joy of rigorous intellectual inquiry. The program is interdisciplinary, and participants are encouraged to expand their intellectual horizons beyond their major fields of study. The program provides a diverse set of opportunities for intellectually curious and highly motivated young women who genuinely enjoy exploring, discovering and learning. Honors Program participants take special courses, form close intellectual and mentoring relationships with faculty members, and conduct independent research. Spelman women who participate in the program are inspired to become intellectually engaged and socially responsible, and to remain so throughout their lives. Established in 1980, the Honors Program was renamed the Ethel Waddell Githii Honors Program in 1992. A distinguished scholar, teacher, and Spelman graduate, Dr. Githii served as the director of the Honors Program from 1985 to 1990.
