Stricker outlines new plans at State of UHC address

With three semesters leading the University Honors College under his belt, Dean Edward Stricker announced three new initiatives Friday afternoon during his annual State of the UHC address.

About 40 Pitt students and faculty gathered in the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium to hear Stricker’s second annual address that describes the condition of the UHC and where it is headed.

The University Honors College provides classes and research opportunities for students seeking a more rigorous course load. Unlike many other university honors colleges across the country, Pitt’s Honors College grants any student with a GPA of 3.25 or greater the ability to enroll in UHC classes and apply for it’s research opportunities.

Among Stricker’s new plans is a faculty mentoring program that will allow students an intimate look at research and fieldwork in a given discipline and provide a new opportunity for students to cultivate relationships with educators at Pitt.

“Students might shadow faculty members to see what it’s like to be a scientist, academic or an educator. Talk to faculty directly,” Stricker said. “I think that’s part of the education that we provide our students, and I would encourage students to seek it and faculty to provide it.”

Stricker said Pitt administrators approved his project on Thursday and that he and his student advisory committee are in the process of identifying faculty to participate in the project.

Stricker also said he would like to introduce a new “Honors College Scholar” certificate by the end of this academic term.

The certificate would be a less rigorous cousin to the Bachelor of Philosophy degree the UHC currently offers, allowing students who do not have the time to meet the BPhil’s extensive requirements another way of distinguishing themselves.

“I have two faculty advisory boards who say this can be implemented quickly,” Stricker said. “There are some terrific, qualified students graduating this year. It would be sad if they just missed it.”

According to Stricker, such a certificate would require a research paper instead of a thesis, making it more accessible. Applicants would also present their work publicly and to a committee, although not necessarily to an outside examiner as the BPhil requires.

Stricker expects this alternative to draw in students daunted by the BPhil’s rigorous standards and help them realize their potential for academic research.

Although its non-membership nature means that no student is “in the Honors College” during his or her time at Pitt, Stricker said he would like students who have been active participants in the college’s classes and programs to have a way of indicating their involvement with the UHC upon their graduation.

Lastly, Stricker announced plans for a Board of Visitors to provide an advisory role for the UHC.

“One of the things that impressed me when I was a candidate for the dean position was how impassioned a subgroup of Pitt alumni were in being interested in what was happening in the Honors College,” Stricker said.

Prior to becoming Honors College dean, Stricker served as a researcher and professor in Pitt’s Neuroscience Department, which he founded in 1986 and chaired through 2002. Stricker took over for interim Dean Steve Husted, who assumed the position after the passing of the UHC’s founding dean, Alec “Doc” Stewart, in August 2011.

According to Stricker, these alumni attributed much of their personal growth as undergraduates to the UHC and were looking for a way to give that experience to other students.

In the future, Stricker hopes to harness this passion into a formal advisory role.

As Stricker laid out his vision for the future of the UHC, two concerned undergraduate students involved with the Honors College handed out leaflets to attendees detailing their qualms with Stricker’s leadership during his time as dean.

James Simkins, a Pitt senior and the founder of the group Pitt Honors College in Exile, a group composed of undergraduates disgruntled with Stricker’s leadership, was one of the people handing out leaflets before Stricker’s address.

The leaflets he passed out explained his position and that of the Pitt Honors College in Exile.

“Encouraging students to become creative thinkers is not what the Honors College is focused on anymore,” the leaflet said. “Instead … it is teaching its students to become better applicants for prestigious jobs, scholarships and professional schools.”

Simkins had no great objection to Stricker’s announcements, but did say that he is in contact with Pitt alumni who share his concerns with the UHC’s current direction.

“I hadn’t heard about [the alumni board],” Simkins said as the audience filed from the auditorium. “But that should be interesting,” Simkins said.

Stricker acknowledged during his speech that the Honors College was moving in a new direction. But, he said, these changes could fuel new positive developments within the UHC.

“I’ll point out that there are changes happening. Speaking generally, it’s my experience that when there are changes, that is often invigorating,” Stricker said. “But it’s also true, I think, that change can be unsettling. People feel uneasy they don’t know what’s happening next or they don’t understand why something is happening. I understand that.”