University of Kansas Honors Program

08/28/2026

On Sunday, first-year students gathered in the Burge Union for Honors Convocation, our long-standing celebratory welcome. Attendees enjoyed breakfast with their honors seminar peers and heard from program director Dr. Sarah Crawford-Parker, Executive Dean Jennifer Roberts, and our 2026 Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett Award winner, Eli Cochrane.

We also announced our 2026 honors faculty awards: Outstanding Departmental Honors Course Instructor Lindsey Kraus, and Outstanding Honors Seminar Instructor Ray Mizumura-Pence. Congrats, all!

08/24/2026

Congrats and good luck on your internship, Dario!

With the first day of classes comes a new KU Honors Intern! We are excited to share Dario as our fall exhibitions intern. Dario is currently pursuing a Master's in Architecture through KU and is a participant in the University of Kansas Honors Program. Dario will be spending the fall semester working with Andrew on all things exhibits. Welcome to the team, Dario!

08/24/2026

Here are some sights from the first day of classes we caught from our Nunemaker vantage. Best of luck to all of the students on this momentous day!

08/21/2026

To welcome students to our side of campus during move-in, we've hosted a two-day open house at Nunemaker Center — which today involved the whole staff wearing their Nunemaker T-shirts. We love working in this special building and are excited to invite so many new and returning faces through its doors.

08/13/2026

If you are on LinkedIn, come say hello and follow us! We're increasing activity on our company page there, and we're excited to see what the honors community is up to in the professional world. LinkedIn followers will be kept in the loop about program happenings and the achievements of students past and present. https://www.linkedin.com/company/kuhonors/

P.S. It's Harry's birthday today! Happy birthday, Harry! 🎉🎂🎁

08/10/2026

This fall, our corps of donor-supported Honors Faculty Fellows will welcome five more amazing professors and researchers to its ranks, all of whom will meet our incoming students at Honors Convocation on Sunday, Aug. 23. We're so grateful to have this dedicated cohort guide and mentor students as they move through the program.

Melinda Lewis, who won an International Affairs Advisory Board International Teaching Award in 2024 for her work in Costa Rica, is just one of the may Honors Faculty Fellows who inspire their students (and us!) with their energy and innovation. To learn more about Melinda, read this story from our 2026 edition of the Honoread: https://honors.ku.edu/news/article/melinda-lewis-profile.

08/07/2026

We saw some familiar KU Honors faces participating in Center for Service Learning's Trailblazers Mini-Grant and Cohort Program, which provides funding for student leaders to partner with the community and work toward social change in areas like environmental sustainability, youth mentorship and health resources.

Recently, several honors students presented their projects at the 2026 IMPACT Conference at the University of Cincinnati, and 2026 honors graduation speaker (and former Baby Jay) Helen Viloria won the Top Individual Presentation award at the Center for Service Learning's Service Showcase for the creation of a student-run resource closet.

Read more about how these students made a difference in the Lawrence community: https://news.ku.edu/news/article/students-lead-community-minded-service-projects-through-ku-trailblazers-program

08/05/2026

🦋 Summer honors intern spotlight: Melany Reyes 🦋

This summer, Melany interned at Monarch Watch, where she developed educational materials for students and teachers about monarch butterflies and their conservation while assisting with monarch care and laboratory tasks.

"Through this internship, I have learned more about monarch butterfly biology, migration, challenges, and conservation efforts. I also learned how important education and community outreach is at Monarch Watch by helping the community discover ways they can help protect monarch butterflies and other pollinators," Reyes said.

"Developing educational materials taught me that effective communication involves both sharing information and presenting it in ways that are clear, meaningful and engaging. This experience also showed me that I enjoy science communication and sharing complex concepts through activities that are engaging and accessible for diverse audiences. I am very grateful to Monarch Watch for the opportunity to be part of their team!"

08/03/2026

Congratulations to senior psychology, data science, and political science major Eli Cochrane, who was recently awarded a Portz Interdisciplinary Fellowship! The award, given by the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC), will support an upcoming research project titled, “Exploring Self-Presentational Motives in Conspiracy Belief Expression."

Earlier this year, Eli received KU Honors' Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett Award, which recognizes a rising junior or senior who has demonstrated leadership, innovation, and engagement in the University Honors Program. "My first-year honors seminar instructor, Dr. Yvonnes Chen, was instrumental in my development as a researcher. Taking her seminar, 'Mindfulness in the Modern World,' gave me the skills to reframe my mindset and focus on improving myself as a full person, and the lessons I learned there have ensured I know how to handle the inherent rejection, fear, and uncertainty that comes with a research career," Cochrane said.

"I've always felt supported both academically and personally within KU Honors — the staff does a great job at encouraging students to reach their full potential and follow their passions. When I attend an honors event, I know there will be people there who want to see me succeed and will do all they can to help me."

Eli is the founder of the Kansas Research Collective, a group that supports prospective and current student researchers by providing peer mentorship, support with application and presentation preparation, and a platform to discuss and showcase their work. Students interested in getting involved with Kansas Research Collective are invited to attend the group’s first meeting of the year at 4 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 31 in the Burge Union Forum AB.

07/27/2026

We're at the height of the summer, and honors students are in the midst of study abroad trips all over the world. 🌎

Many of these experiences were made possible through the generosity of Arlo and Dixie Schurle, whose transformative global experiences led them to champion studying abroad and create a fund to make it possible for honors students.

To read more about Arlo and Dixie, click here:

Global careers inspire couple’s gift Dixie and Arlo Schurle represent the University of Kansas while in Braga, Portugal. (Photo courtesy of Dixie and Arlo Schurle.) Mon, 06/29/2026 author Justin Runge Share Share by Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Kansas natives and hono...