LSA Honors Forum 2013

419 S State St

1330 Mason Hall

Ann Arbor MI 48109-1027

734.764.6274 phone

734.763.6553 fax

www.lsa.umich.edu/honors

Upcoming Events

• Parents Weekend

This year’s dates: October 18-20, 2013. Families are invited to a public lecture,

Friday at 4 pm, by DeRoy Professor Jacques Mistral: ”Whither Europe.” Reception

following at 5 pm.

“Victors for Michigan” Financial Campaign

Kick-off weekend for the fourth in this series is November 8-9, 2013. For an overview, see:

https://leadersandbest.umich.edu/campaignkickoff.

• Honors Award Ceremony

Michigan League Ballroom, Thursday, May 1, 2014, 7pm.

• 2014 Graduation

We’re headed back to Crisler Arena for the Honors 2014 Graduation Ceremony,

Friday, May 2, at 10 am.

For more Honors dates and events, see our website:

www.lsa.umich.edu/honors/events.

The Forum is available in an expandable view on our website:

www.lsa.umich.edu/honors/alumni/honorsforum.

Professional Connections: LinkedIn®

Did you know you can

search for contacts demo-

graphically on LinkedIn? Go

to Members, Search, Ad-

vanced Search, and use the

tool bar in the left column for

Location, as well as Industry,

Company, and more!

Visual Connect ions

A “Test Your U-M Skills” video

is now on the Alumni

webpage, as well as new

slideshows under the About

Us and Events/Parents

Weekend pages. Check back

regularly. We update images

throughout the year as they

are created within the Honors

program and across campus.

Regents Branding

In May 2013, the Regents

rolled out new Block M

branding cross-

campus, unifying

departments with

a shared logo style. Here’s

our new social media logo.

Look for it on Facebook,

Twitter, or on our Tumblr:

“That’s So Honors”

(honorslife.tumblr.com).

Introducing Alumni Profiles

Brainstorming ways to connect our graduating

classes and current students, the Alumni Council

and Honors Program Directors recently developed

Alumni Profiles, a new monthly feature which we

began publishing in January on the Honors web-

site.

Honors Alum Rachel Severin (Honors BA/

Comparative Literature, 2010), then working and

residing in Ann Arbor, enthusiastically began inter-

viewing candidates, whose professional accom-

plishments range from managing commercial oper-

ations for Levi Strauss & Company to performing in

Cirque du Soleil. These profiles share the benefits

of a superior liberal arts education by showcasing

the depth and breadth of experiences represented

by each interviewee.

Readers delve into the dynamic ways Honors grad-

uates’ lives have progressed and explore memories

of their friends and days on campus. Says Kent

Caldwell (BFA/BA, 2010), “There is so much to

explore within the University and the city of Ann

Arbor, and the mere four to five years to experi-

ence it all can come and go in a flash.”

These insightful pieces also inspire prospective

students wishing to pursue this engaging and rigor-

ous educational path. “The LSA Honors experi-

ence created an instant small-knit community at

Michigan, fostered by inspiring and supportive

professors, and a diverse group of talented

students,” shares Natasha Luppov (Honors BA/

Political Science and Russian, 2008), in the Feb-

ruary profile.

In the summer, we bade farewell to Severin, who is

attending medical school at Columbia University

(NYC). As Jacquelyn Turkovich (BA/English,

2006), Honors Academic Auditor, picks up the reins

of the profiles project, our plans include connecting

with current members on Honors Program Alum-

ni—University of Michigan LinkedIn, as well as

through personal relationships with the council,

faculty, and staff.

We are always on the lookout for interesting sto-

ries, complete with the unique twists and turns that

make for an interesting road. Do you know some-

one who fits this description? Please let us know.

Visit www.lsa.umich.edu/Alumni for details.

THE FORUM Advantage Honors P.2

News from the Honors Community P.6

Director’s Letter P.8

HRAs Earn Program Award P. 11

F A L L V O L 1 8

2013

The Forum Vol 18 2013

Ph

oto

: M

Walle

Featured: Graduation 2013, Crisler Arena.

With every graduating class,

Honors staff and faculty hear

personal experiences that

highlight the features the

program offers, and it’s not

just once students are profes-

sionally launched. Whether

applying for graduate school or

making early career decisions,

Honors students get help from

Honors advisors to maximize

their U-M LSA education.

From Rebecca Gleit (Honors BS/

Math, 2013): “I lived in Honors Hous-

ing as a sophomore, and this year

had a profound impact on my Michi-

gan experience. At the time, I wanted

to become a pediatrician. I was tak-

ing the science classes necessary to

do so, but also was interested in

math.

I was encouraged by the people I

met through Honors that it was possi-

ble, and even potentially beneficial,

to pursue math as my major and still

work towards medical school. I felt a

lot of support from the Honors Pro-

gram with regards to my nontradition-

al trajectory. They took an interest in

my interdisciplinary research in math-

ematical biology and supported my

desire to write an Honors thesis, an

unconventional route towards gradu-

ating with Honors in the math depart-

ment.

Recent students share

game-changing Honors

services and experiences.

From Thesis to Publication and Beyond: Honors Alumni Bookshelf [Jacquelyn Turkovich]

As a way to highlight and sup-port our exceptional alumni and some of their many ac-complishments, the Honors Program has started an Alum-ni Bookshelf. The project began a few years ago with Honors Alumna, Anna Mick-ols (BA with High Distinc-tion, Honors Anthropology, 2011) researching alumni and organizing the first large acqui-sition. Within the past year, Jacquelyn Turkovich (Honors Academic Auditor) has as-sumed the research and ac-quisition responsibilities. This past winter, the Program was able to purchase beautiful shelves to house the books, which are now on display in the center of the office. In August 2013, we purchased 14 more books and are aware of a few more that are due to be published in 2014. Are you published? If so, please let us know! We would love to include your book on the Honors Alumni Book-shelf. Please contact Jacque-lyn Turkovich at [email protected] with your publication information.

PROFILE OF THE

INCOMING CLASS

OF 2013

[Gayle Green]

It is the time of year when we welcome in a new group of Honors students and as in previous years, this group of students is exceptional. We have an incoming class of 496 students joining us in Honors this year and are eager to share the class profile with you. As in previous years, there are more women (60%) than men in this class and 57% of this year’s class are residents of the state of Michigan, which is an increase from last year’s 55% in-state percentage. Among out-of-state students, 30 (6%) are international students. The class median ACT range is 32-34 and for the SAT, the median range is 1400-1490. As we all know, however, test scores and grades are only part of what goes into our admissions decision-making. That’s why we require all students who apply to the Program to write an additional essay as part of their application to Honors. The Honors essay is an invaluable part of our holistic evaluation methodology. It’s a time- and labor-intensive process, but each year, we are rewarded through our interactions with such an amazing group of young people.

A final fun detail: this class, if graduating in four years, will enjoy a U-M Bicentennial Graduation ceremony in 2017.

Students heading to the Kick Off lunch on Palmer Field. Photo: J. Turkovich

At the end of my junior year, I decid-

ed I did not want to attend medical

school. At a loss for what I should do

instead, I talked to Honors advisors

and other Honors students. I was

constantly in awe of the impres-

sive people I heard about, and

realized I was fortunate enough to

have an education that would

allow me to do amazing things,

even outside of medicine.

This drove me academically and

personally, and I decided that my

next step in life post-graduation

needed to be a job where I could

work on an issue that was very im-

portant to me. This led me to Teach

for America. I will be teaching

9th grade Algebra in Milwaukee,

Wisconsin for at least the next two

years and figuring out what my long-

term plans will be. What is most

crucial is that you feel what you are

doing is interesting and important,

because this will keep you motivat-

ed.”

I consider myself extremely fortunate

to have had the unusual experience

of being both a student and an em-

ployee of the Honors Program, and I

feel doubly grateful for my experienc-

es there that led me to law school.

Being a part of the Honors Pro-

gram not only gave me the skills I

needed to go to law school, it also

taught me to listen to myself in

order to figure out what it is I real-

ly want to do, rather than follow

some kind of pre-determined for-

mula.

From the moment that I set foot on

campus as an Honors student, I

remember being told just to do what

sounds fun. “Do what you love and

the requirements will (for the most

part) take care of themselves.” So I

did that! In LSA, I gravitated toward

classes in the Comparative Literature

department, and I also found myself

wandering into Theatre classes in the

School of Music, Theatre, and Dance

as well. My thesis about clowns and

Fellini films blended my theatre inter-

ests and my literature interests to-

gether, and the experience of doing

that research and writing was such a

wonderful learning experience for

me.

I owe much of what I have now to my

experiences in the Honors Program,

and I will always be grateful for that.”

From Mary L. Shelly Mageski,

(MDDP Music/Theater BTA & LSA

Honors BA/Comparative Litera-

ture, 2007): “When I graduated from

college I wanted to be a clown. I’m

not kidding. So when people find out

I’m in law school at the University of

Michigan, they are usually pretty

surprised. I didn’t express any inter-

est in going to law school when I was

a student. That desire developed

later, after a few years out in the

working world.

[Jeri Preston] Some people see a Broadway musical and think enter-tainment. Honors Resident Advi-sors saw The Book of Mormon and thought, “Here is a way to create dialog between people on reli-gious diversity, helping us find common ground.”

In their pitch to the faculty, HRAs Sydney Behrmann, Bri Kovan, and Rebecca Gleit proposed flanking a trip into Detroit to see the popular Broadway show with two evenings of discussion, supplemented by Mormon religious leaders who could share their perspective on social identity and the portrayal of religious minorities in society. Their goal—to take 100 people cost-free to see the musical, while requiring participation in the sur-

rounding events—involved raising over $4,500 though proposals to the South Quad Hall Council, Mul-ticultural Council, Arts in Resi-dence, and Hillel. By March 12th, they had 80 reser-vations (and 100 people for the discussion series)! Busses were booked and arrangements final-ized for meetings at the Religious Institute for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and at the Hillel, both on campus, using experiences from the musical to generate lively conversation. Behrmann, one of the organizers, explained, “Another aspect (of our idea) was to get participants to think critically about how art and popular culture portrays

minority groups and how that affects the members of those groups. It was both rewarding and exciting to see the partici-pants’ enthusiasm for our mis-sion.” The event series earned the Hillel’s “Program of the Year” Award at their annual ceremony. Davey Rosen, Assistant Director, praised the HRAs for “bringing together students from the Honors Program, Breaking Barriers—a Hillel student group, the Church of Latter Day Saints, and U-M Pro-gram on Intergroup Relations, to meet and have a dialog about their identities.”

Honors Research & Travel Grants

Last year the Honors Pro-gram distributed $44,392 to 37 different Honors students to support their research costs, conference attendance, international travel, and other academic enrichment oppor-tunities. These research and travel grants were made pos-sible through the generosity of many gifts from our donors, both large and small. There are not many other places on campus where un-dergraduates can find this level of funding support for their projects. It is truly one of the great benefits of being in the Honors Program. We would especially like to cele-brate the following recipients and donors.

Wang-Gerber Honors Scholarship for Study Abroad. Donated by Julia Wang and Peter Gerber. Dominic Spadacene, Tricia Dubbs, Edna Chiang, Nicole Corrigan, Darci Curwen-Garber, and Allison Epstein Braunstein Honors Fund. Donated by Samara H. Braunstein. Madeline Dunn, Peter Felsman, Cosette Kathawa, Elizabeth Keenan, Jordan Kifer, Becky Lau, Stephanie Olson, and Amanda Bromilow

HRAs Earn Hillel Award for ProgramHRAs Earn Hillel Award for Program

11 2

Student Global Experience Fund and Kennedy Research Awards. Donated by John P. Kennedy. Douglas Manigault, Noel Gor-don, Mackenzie MacDonald-Wilkins, and Michael Perles (SGF); Wesley Schwartz and Samantha Patterson (KRA) Hellmann Family Endowment.

Donated by Joan Hellmann.

Kaitlin Ma, Katie Poggensee, Gayathri Vadlamudi, and Alys-sia Maluda

[Compiled by Sean Marinelli, HRA]

Honors continues to celebrate

its donors—both friends and

alumni. The awards, prizes,

programs, and services we

offer are directly attributable to

you. We thank you sincerely.

Veneeta Acson, Keith D. Agism, Swati

Agrawal, Justin A. Amash, Paul J.

Anderer, Mark A. Anderson, William C.

Anning, Kurt F. Anschuetz, Yvonne

Asamoah, Jessica Baker, Sudhir B.

Baliga, Dorothy E. Bambach, Terry A.

Barnes, Michael H. Baron, Miriam E.

Bar-on, Janis L. Barquist, John C.

Barron, Robert Bartels, Daniel D. Bart-

feld, Richard K. Bauman, Richard

Beaubien, John F. Bednarski, Sanford

A. Bell, Richard M. Bendix, Jr. , Guy M.

Benian, Darlene Berkovitz and Robert

Zinn, Susan G. Berkowitz, Daniel Ber-

land, Joan Berry, Douglas R. Bertz,

Shyam Bhakta, David L. Birch, Andrew

W. Blass, Jeffrey A. Block, Joseph and

Ilene Block, Fred and Cynthia Bodker,

Patricia S. Bodnar, Louis A. Bodnar,

Fred L. Bookstein, Paul and Gail Bou-

ton, Hannah Bozian, Willard L. Boyd,

Larry Bram, Samara H. Braunstein,

Mary F. Brink, Willa Cohen Bruckner,

Bruce S. Brumberg, Timothy J. Bu-

chowski, Susan K. Burden, Peter Buri-

an, Virginia O. Bush, David and Linda

Calzone, Richard L. Carter, Diana D.

Chapin, Paul N. Chardoul, Stuart M.

Chemtob, Shawn J. Chen, Susan and

Jerome Ciullo, Deborah L. Clarke, Amy

E. Cohn, Lynn A. Cooper, Barbara M.

Cornblath, Barbara L. Cullen, Paul K.

Davis, Sandra H. Davis, Richard Day,

Mark and Paula DeBofsky, Peter W.

Deutsch, Steven and Lisa Diamond,

Michael J. Diamond, Robert and Cyn-

thia Domine, James B. Doshi, Ronald

Dubowy, Eve D. Eden, Stephen A.

Edwards, Joseph Ellner, Ruth F. Engel,

Jeffrey S. Englander, Richard Fefer-

man, John E. Feighan, Mark I. Feng,

Jonathan P. Ferrando, Lawrence J.

Field, Robert S. Fink, Courtney A.

Finlayson, Sara J. Fitzgerald, Mary B.

Foster, Bryant M. Frank, Charles Fred-

erick, Stanley Freeman and Cecilia

Parajon, Daniel A. Friedlander, Martin

Friedman - Sarah Allen Charitable Gift

Fund, Darcy R. Fryer, Thomas J. Gal-

lagher, Thomas D. Gamble, Betsy A.

Gard, John Garr, David A. Gass, An-

drew M. Gaudin, David M. and Tanner

O. Gay, Alison F. Geballe, Elizabeth

Runyan Geise, Michael J. Gelfand,

Peter J. Gilbert, Grant P. Gilezan, Brian

Gill, Marilyn E. Glazer, Joyce Gleason,

Miriam J. Golbert, Larry M. Goldin,

Barry L. Goldin, Richard J. Goldsmith,

Mark S. Goldsmith, Ellen W. Goldstein,

REFLECTIONS ON A FACULTY MEMBER We share with you this tribute sent in memory of Dr. Sally Allen. These sentiments reflect the experiences of many alumni: “...I was a student in the hon-ors program in the 1970s, and my thesis advisor, Dr. Sally Allen recently died. She was what every undergraduate needs (and wants) - a profes-sor with passion for teaching, passion for her students, and the right balance of carrot and stick to help a student keep striving. I know that I speak for many students when I say that we felt so lucky to have had the chance to be one of her students. She taught us genetics, and she taught us how to think critically and to develop a love of science.“ Andrew Leavitt (Honors Zoology, 1979)

Honors Graduates for Winter 2013 Here are statistics from the W13 graduating class: 318|10.7% of the entire LSA graduating class Top Ten Majors: 10) Biochemistry (10) 9) Anthropology (11) 8) Neuroscience (14) 7) Biopsychology, Cognition & Neuroscience (15) 6) Cellular & Molecular Biology (16) 5) Political Science (17) 4) History (19) 3) Mathematics (22) 2) English (25) 1) Psychology (39) Other interesting stats: 5 perfect (4.0) GPAs! Average GPA 3.747 (Distinction range) 90 grads earned degrees with Distinction, 76 High Distinc-tion, 36 Highest Distinction 42.7% of our graduates double-majored 36.7% of our graduates had at least one minor [Compiled by Jacquelyn Turkovich]

HONORS ALUMNI

PRIZE

The Honors Alumni Prize for Outstanding Achievement is funded by generous donations from Honors alumni and awarded to an excellent Honors student who in addition to significant academic success, has given sterling service to the Program, the College, and the University. Gabriel Moss (BA with Highest Distinction, High Honors in History, 2012) has been a strong member of the Honors community from the beginning of his first year, and during his years with us he has served in many capacities. Gabe worked in our office throughout his student career and served as a peer advisor for Summer Orientation. He majored in History with an Honors thesis on politicians in the late Roman Republic. He also taught an Honors 135 minicourse on the meaning and making of history. This fall Gabe began a doctoral program in history at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Take a look at Gabe’s summer project in the Honors office below.

Featured: Honors Archival photo with former staff advisor Nancy Pietras & student.

EYE ON IT: Honors History Project

Anticipating U-M’s bicentennial in 2017, Gabe Moss began this summer sifting through files, papers, and pictures, piecing together the facts and faces that comprise 55 years of Honors. Over the summer, our history took shape in an Evernote website file, a far cry from yesterday’s manila folders, and was preliminarily published as Prezi (an interactive slide show) on our website: Honors Alumni/History.

Paul W. Goldstein, Marcia E. Goodman,

Bonnie S. Gottlieb, David Greenblatt,

James W. Greene, Bruce M. Green-

wald, Maureen L. Greenwood, Donna

C. Gregg, Cheryl P. Grood, Andrew M.

Grove, Hamzavi Foundation, Robin L.

Harrison, Curt H. Hartog, Robert J.

Havlik, Tom Hawkins Charitable Foun-

dation, Joan Hellmann, Alan Hergott,

Michael S. Herman, Herman Family

Foundation, Stephen M. Heyman and

Susan H. Steinman, Kurt M. Heyman,

Fredrik T. Hiebert, Robert J. Hill, Albert

A. Holman III, Steve Holman, Jacquel-

ine N. Horn, Steven M. Horwitz, Liane

Houghtalin, Kate F. Hutchens, Mori H.

Insinger, William A. Irwin, Pamela S.

Jacobson, Christopher J. Jaksa, Jen-

nifer C. Jaruzelski, John K. Lawrence,

Deborah Jones, June M. Everett, Nicho-

las J. Kabcenell, Emily B. Kalanithi,

Mary Ellen Kane, Frank R. Kane,

Randle J. Kashuba, Kathleen H. Keeler,

John P. Kennedy, Peter J. Kenny, Hon.

Judith G. Kleinberg, Jon Henry Kouba,

Mark L. Kowalsky, Jill E. Kraus, Kevan

and Barbara Kreitman, Ronald J. Krone,

Jonathan L. Kuhn, Frederick Kuhn,

Thaddeus W. Kurczynski, Richard M.

Kussman, Benjamin Z. Landman, Law-

rence R. Landman, David J. Lane,

Gordon L. Lang, Warren C. Laski, Lin-

coln J. Lauhon, Gail Lauzzana, Jerold

D. Lax, William N. Layher, Andrew D.

Leavitt, Steven Leber, Randall D.

Lehner, Sander Lehrer, Arthur N. Ler-

ner, Howard A. Lerner, Stuart J. Levin,

David L. Levine, Linda Kohn Levy, John

A. Libbe, Diane L. Liberman, Gail H.

Lift, Susan E. Light Carroll, James M.

Lindsay, Richard M. Longnecker, Mari-

lyn Mann, Susan Louise Mann, Jay

Margulies, James R. Marsh, Elizabeth

Martin, James E. Martin, Marjorie M.

Mastie, Belinda Mathie, George M.

McCabe, Christopher J. McCleary,

Christopher J. McCleary, Thomas A.

McClish, Klint J. McKay, David Mead,

James Menders, Adam J. Mesh, San-

dra G. Miller, Ross Miller, Simon and

Sandra Miller, Theodore N. Miller, Su-

san L. Million, Martha L. Minow, Kathryn

G. Moberg, Francisco R. Montero,

Katherine M. Moore Hiebert, Joel G.

Moranz, Natalie C. Morath, Brenda L.

Moskovitz, Richard E. Moulton, Robert

D. Nachman, Chris M. Nicholson, Hart-

ley Nisenbaum, Richardson and Nan

Noback, Nedra Noordhorn, Richard N.

Ostling, Alison Overseth, Larry H.

Pachter, Erin P. Peart, Mary S. Pedley,

Benjamin C. Peng, John A. Pfefferle,

Sue N. Pick, Robert Pinkel, Jan Platt

and Jeff Ross, Michael R. Pollard,

Carrie L. Pryor, Jay M. Ptashek, Linda

L. Randell, Robert B. Ransom, Sangita

K. Rao, John A. Rapaport, Margo S.

Rebar, Robert W. Rebar, Elaine M.

Rice, Michael H. Ries, Steven G. Riv-

kin, James V. Roelofs, Kenneth H.

Rosen, Carolyn H. Rosenberg, Eric J.

Rosenbloom, Thomas M. Rosseel,

Diana Rothman, Patrick N. Rothwell,

Daniel Rubenstein, Jeff and Susan

Rubenstein, Kathleen Ryan, Jason Ryu,

Brian T. Saam, Scott Sagel, Bernard

Salzman, Heather E. Sandlin, David H.

Sarne, Randy J. Schafer, Julie

Schaffner, Jonathan M. Schmerling,

Edward M. Schmidt, Thomas and

Maryellen Scott, Suzanne K. Sebert,

Raffie Shahrigian, Ann Shapiro, David

Shapiro, Ellie B. and David Shappirio,

Daniel M. Share, Catherine E. Shavell,

Michael D. Sher, Scott Sher, Scott H.

Shore, Jasvinder S. Sidhu, Janet L.

Silverberg Dale, Lisa Simotas-Schwartz

Charitable Fund, David A. Singer, Mi-

chael D. Sitrin, Robert A. Sklar, Robert

D. Sloan, Jeffrey R. Smith, Debra H.

Snider, Paul P. Spaulding, Douglas C.

Sprigg, Robert and Sally Springstead,

James J. Spurrier, Joseph Starr and

Ellen Kauders Starr, Terry S. Stein,

Judith Zee Steinberg, Mitchell Stengel,

Laura C. Stevenson, Max A. Strasburg,

Steven J. Swanson, Duane L. Tarnacki,

Jane Thompson Babbitt, Colin A. Un-

derwood, Amy Miyoshi Valent and

David Valent, Elizabeth Vallance, Ste-

phen G. Van Meter, Joan M. VanBoven,

Bruce S. Vanderporten, Nina E. Vinik,

James W. Vollman, Dietmar U. Wagner,

Deborah J. Walder, Brita Graham Wall,

Spencer W. Waller, Kirsten Walpert,

Julia Wang and Peter Gerber, Brady T.

West, James M. White, Dr. Timothy E.

Wilens, Dr. Carol K. Willen, William

Fisher Charitable Fund, John H. Wilson

Jr., Joseph H. Wimsatt, Harriet Z. Win-

kelman, Suzanne G. Wolf, Gregg

Wolper, Jocelyn F. Woolworth, Patricia

Yeghissian, Jay H. Zimbler, Jeffrey M.

Zucker [Compiled by Vicki Davinich]

Featured: Parent’s Weekend 2012.

Photo: J Turkovich

[Jeri Preston] F13 Kick Off welcomed over 400 first-year Honors students, along with faculty, staff, and student dis-cussion leaders. Professor Tim McKay addressed the new students with welcoming re-marks in the Power Center. Two professors, Denise Sekaquaptewa, Professor of Psychology, and Stephen Garcia, Associate Professor of Organizational Studies, fol-

lowed with reflections on our Summer Book, Whistling Vival-di, by Claude Steele. Progressing to Palmer Field, using the walkway over Washtenaw Avenue, students enjoyed a sunny view of a tent for 500. Upon entry, groups gathered for book discussions and a delicious lunch. After an introduction by Honors Peer Mentors, Honors RAs took charge of organizing a cross-

campus photo scavenger hunt that included stops at Hacker Graduate Library, the Diag, the U-M Museum of Natural History and the Law Quad. For the declaration of prize winners, students gathered at the Cube in Regents’ Plaza for ice cream and socializing, before returning to West Quad and surrounding environs.

Photos: J Turkovich

Moving on up...to Power Center & Palmer FieldMoving on up...to Power Center & Palmer Field

Honors Welcomes DeRoy Professor: Jacques MistralHonors Welcomes DeRoy Professor: Jacques Mistral

[Donna Wessel Walker]

The Honors Program is happy to welcome French economist Jacques Mistral as the Helen L. DeRoy Visiting Professor in Honors this Fall term. M. Mistral has served as an economist in French government and industry, an economic advisor to the French Prime Minister, and as part of the French diplomatic mission to the United States in the French embassy in Washington, D. C. He has been an active academic, pursuing scholarly research and teaching at such prestigious universities as the École Nationale de la Statistique et de l’Administration Economique, the École Polytechnique and the École Sciences-Politiques. He is also a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institute. His work

in macroeconomics, economic policy and international economics has resulted in many publications and presentations; his reputation is international.

M. Mistral will teach a course for Honors students on “The Political Economy of Europe and the Eurozone” addressing such questions as: How does Europe work? What is its role in world affairs? What is the

future of Europe?

At its 40-student capacity, this will be an intense, short term course for 6 weeks in October and November. M. Mistral will also, as is usual for DeRoy professors, give a public lecture which will be the focus of our Parents’ Weekend activities.

In 1981, the Helen L.

DeRoy Visiting

Professorship in Honors

was established to

support the University’s

Honors Program. The

Honors Program selects

distinguished visitors,

with preference to those

outside the academy, for

this prestigious position.

Past DeRoy Professors have

included former British Prime

Minister Edward Heath,

Pulitzer Prize-winning

journalist James Gleick, NSA

official Clinton Brooks, and

singer-songwriter Dick Siegel.

2 2

3 10

[Jeri Preston] It’s a challenge: find a speaker who’s engaging enough to capture the attention of

hungry students on topics both relevant to fields of study and current at the university, local and nation-

al level, to deliver a juicy bite of information over lunch. The 2012-2013 season of Lunch with Honors

(LWH) displays both broad interests and an attention to trending news.

Students learn of LWH through our weekly newsletter, This Week in Honors, as speakers come availa-

ble. Although there’s no denying the attraction of a great lunch catered by local Ann Arbor restaurants,

students come for the Honors’ benefit of rigorous examinations of powerful subjects.

Here’s a brief list of last year’s LWH experience.

WHERE CAN YOU GO WITH AN HONORS RESEARCH GRANT?

Advisor Henry Dyson received an email in June from Honors Grant recipient, Mandy Bromilow: “Hi, Henry! I just thought I’d send you a couple of pics from my time in South Africa, so far, to say thanks for all your help! I’m having a great time and I’m getting some data.” Here’s a look at the ‘data’ she mentioned from a shark dive!

has worked with numerous advo-cacy groups on campus and in Ann Arbor and plans to pursue a career in child welfare, human development, and public health. Ben has put his senior year on hold to study in Cape Town, South Africa as a Miller-Sidgwick Interna-tional Exchange Scholar.

Tessa Adzemovic , an-other Ann Arbor native, won a $10,000 grant from Kathryn Davis Projects for Peace, a national

organization that funds “immediate initiatives that will bring new think-ing to the prospects of peace in the world.” Tessa is spending this year working with the Rebecca Davis Dance Company (RDDC), a group that uses children’s dance pro-grams to bring about reconciliation in post-conflict and post-genocidal regions. Tessa spent the summer working with RDDC in Rwanda and will spend part of this year developing a program in Bosnia-Herzegovina while applying to medical school for next year. The Honors Program is extremely proud of all our scholarship appli-cants and winners for their out-standing accomplishments, both inside and outside the classroom.

2013 Awards Ceremony in the Michigan League Hussey Room. Photos: J. Turkovich

(Continued from p7)

Raymond Strobel from Spring Lake, MI, is a chemistry major studying the oxidation of Carbon-Hydrogen bonds in Prof. Melanie

Sanford’s lab. Ray was also awarded one of the Otto Graf Scholarships for top juniors in the Honors Program this year. In addi-tion to his scientific pursuits, Ray serves as the operations manager for the Men’s Glee Club, one of U-M’s oldest institutions celebrating its 152nd anniversary this year, coordinating the group’s trips to China and Cuba.

The Harry S. Truman Scholar-ship supports undergraduate and graduate school costs for students planning a career in public service who show outstanding potential for leadership in their chosen fields. It consistently ranks among the most selective and prestigious American scholarships. This year we are pleased to have three finalists for the scholarship.

Molly Logue, an Ann Arbor native, is majoring in Honors mathe-matics and plans to pursue a PhD in math educa-tion. She is the program manager

for U-M’s Math Circle, which offers tutoring and enrichment to math students in Ann Arbor public schools.

Zeinab Khalil, from Toledo, OH, is a double major in International Studies and Mid-dle Eastern and North African Studies. She is

also the president of U-M’s Muslim Student Association. Zeinab plans to pursue a career in foreign diplo-macy and academia.

Ben Rogers, also a native of Ann Arbor, is majoring in Psy-chology and mi-noring in Applied Statistics. Ben

Kudos to Honors Scholarship Winners Kudos to Honors Scholarship Winners

This fall, we kicked off with wall-to-wall seating! During the first week of classes, students

enjoyed the band Pearl and the Beard (photo: bottom left), brought to us by Alum Jeff May (Fleming

Artists). One week later, Alum Ken Buckfire visited with somber words about the restructuing of

Detroit’s debt. Stay tuned on the website for more LWH events (www.lsa.umich.edu/honors/events).

LSA HONORS Director Timothy A. McKay Associate Director Donna Wessel Walker Assistant Director Gayle Green Senior Advisor Henry Dyson Academic Advisor John Cantú Office Manager Vicki Davinich Academic Auditor Jacquelyn Turkovich Communications| Student Services Jeri Preston Program Assistant Emily Brehob Faculty Advisor Margaret Lourie Honors Preceptors Sarah Biel Mary L. Shelly Mageski Elizabeth Young Contact Information LSA Honors Program 1330 Mason Hall 419 S. State Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1027 Phone: 734.764.6274 Email: [email protected] Web: www.lsa.umich.edu/honors Regents of the University Mark Bernstein, Farmington Hills Julie Donovan Darlow, Ann Arbor Laurence B. Deitch, Detroit Shauna Ryder Diggs, Grosse Pointe Denise Ilitch, Birmingham Andrea Fischer Newman, Detroit Andrew C. Richmer, Detroit Kathrine E. White, Ann Arbor The University of Michigan, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University of Michigan is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, height, weight, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions. Inquiries or complaints may be addressed to the Senior Director for Institutional Equity, and Title IX/Section 504/ADA Coordinator, Office for Institutional Equity, 2072 Administrative Services Building, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1432, 734-763-0235, TTY 734-647-1388. For other University of Michigan information call 734-764-1817.

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Research Grant: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Behavioral Study of White Sharks in S Africa

Greetings from Honors!

This summer I had the pleasure of working with our fourth cohort of Honors Summer Fellows, students who spend the summer between their junior and senior years work-ing full time on their senior thesis projects. Our 28 Fellows formed an extremely interdisciplinary group, studying subjects ranging from the surface area of suspended sedi-ment grains in glacial meltwater to the reading habits of farmers dur-ing the Scottish enlightenment. I met with this group for a few hours every week to discuss research across the disciplines, meet with groups of faculty members, and learn how to accomplish some-thing truly independent and origi-nal. All summer long, the Fellows also meet with incoming students during their orientation, sharing their excitement about their re-search. They put a friendly face on the thesis process, which to an eighteen-year-old appears awfully daunting.

Thanks to the extraordinary support of our alumni, fundrais-ing for the HSF program has been going well. We are now more than halfway toward our goal of building an endowment for the program.

A letter from the Director

First Year Book: Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do [Gayle Green] Claude Steele

has been called “one of the

few great social psychologists”

and the research that evolved

into his book, Whistling Vival-

di, is one of the reasons why

that praise rings true. Steele

explores research into the

phenomenon of stereotype

threat—the tendency to ex-

pect, perceive, and be influ-

enced by negative stereotypes

about one's social category,

such as one's age, sex, sexual

orientation, ethnicity, profes-

sion, nationality, political affili-

ation, mental health status,

and so on. The book allowed

our incoming class to delve

deeply into this important topic

and explore how stereotypes

influence our interactions with

other people, as well as impli-

cations of this for society at

large. We were fortunate to

bring in two faculty speakers

to discuss this book for our

Honors Kick-Off event: Profes-

sor Denise Sekaquaptewa and

Professor Stephen Garcia.

They brought wonderfully

diverse insights into our read-

ing of this illuminating text. We

received overwhelmingly posi-

tive feedback on the book from

students and faculty alike, who

felt that the book engaged

students with important

themes that would remain

relevant for students as they

progress through their lives.

Honors Prize Recipients

for Goldstein, Hayden,

Mill, Karle & Nirenberg

Since 2002, the Honors Program has given awards to outstanding graduating seniors with generous support from the Goldstein family: Ellen, Joseph, Paul, and Laura. The Goldstein Prizes reward excellence in nine areas: humanities, creative arts, physical sciences, life sciences, mathematical sciences, social sciences, public policy and service, humanitarianism, and teaching. Each prize is named for distinguished U-M alumni and associates in these areas.

The Robert Hayden Prize for Humanities went to Brad Schwartz, a double major in History and Screen Arts & Culture, for his thesis entitled “War of the Worlds Letters: Orson Welles, Fake News, and American Democracy in the Golden Age of Radio.” This August, a short film that Brad wrote premiered at the Traverse City Film Festival; and he has been hired by PBS to co-write an episode for their American Experience series on the War of the Worlds broadcast.

The Arthur Miller Prize for Creative Arts went to Joshua Duval in the English Creative Writing Program for the beautiful portfolio of poetry he submitted as his thesis project.

This year we have two Jerome and Isabella Karle Prizes in the Physical Sciences because there was simply no way to leave out either of these two remarkable students. Jonathon Hunacek double majored in Computer Science and Physics who has done absolutely amazing work for the BigBOSS project studying the amount of dark matter in the universe. This fall he will be in the PhD program in Astrophysics at Cal Tech. Benjamin Levin, a double major in Chemistry and Mathematics, did equally impressive work in Prof. Neil Marsh’s biochemistry lab. Ben is now in the PhD program in Chemistry at Harvard.

The Marshall Nirenberg Prize in Life Sciences went to Rebecca Gleit, studying Mathematical Biology, for her models of neuronal populations in the transition between REM and non-REM sleep. Rebecca is now in Milwaukee with Teach for America.

of example careers, each a demonstrating how a UM student turned their degree into a life. Many thanks to those of you who have already taken the opportunity to share your path; if you haven’t, please consider signing up. This year we’ve begun a series of alum-ni portraits, released occasionally online through our website and various social media outlets. We’ve also established an alumni bookshelf at the center of the Hon-ors Office which we’re gradually filling with titles written over the years by our graduates. This summer I came to the end of my first five year term as the Director of the Honors Program. I feel unreasonably privileged to have had this opportunity, the highlight both of my intellectual life and my career. I’m happy to say that I have signed on for an additional three year term, and look forward to leading the pro-gram through the summer of 2016. Many thanks to all of you for your continued dedication to and support!

Cheers! Tim McKay

Featured top: 2013 Graduation & 2013 First-year Kick Off. Photos: J Turkovich. Inserts: HSF Talks 2013 (left) & HSF Retreat 2013 (right). Photos: B Moreland.

While summers in Ann Arbor are lovely, early fall has always been our most exciting season. Return-ing students trickle back to cam-pus, followed by a flood of incom-ing freshmen, and suddenly we’re off – doing what we were meant to do. This fall seems special and unusually vibrant. Honors housing has moved to West Quad, a tem-porary shift to accommodate a major renovation of South Quad. We’ve only moved a few hundred yards north, but it feels like we’ve taken the program on the road. Honors Kickoff took over the stage at the Power Center, turned Palmer Field into a tent revival for academic argument over Claude Steele’s Whistling Vivaldi, then released 450 Hon-ors Freshmen on a photo/video scavenger hunt across campus. Harry Potter duels staged in the Law Quad were especially pop-ular. Our first Lunch with Honors this year packed more than 90 students into our office for a rol-licking live performance from New York City Trio Pearl and the Beard. This great opening week was capped off with record crowd at Michigan Stadium under the lights watching our football team defeat the Fighting Irish in their last Ann Arbor visit. This fall, we’re turning our atten-tion to our alumni as well. Our Honors Alumni LinkedIn group now has more than 2000 mem-bers. This group provides an op-portunity for personal and profes-sional connections between alum-ni new and old. Your careers, as outlined on LinkedIn, provide our current students with a rich array

[Henry Dyson] Through generous donations from our alumni, the Honors Program is able to cele-brate the accomplishments of our most outstanding students by offering prizes for excellence in different fields. These awards are presented each year at a special awards ceremony on the Thursday before Commence-ment. The Virginia Voss Awards were the first awards given to Honors seniors, and in some ways the award has expanded its influence by inspiring the gifts of others so that more students can be recog-nized for the superb work they do. Virginia Voss graduated from UM in the mid-50s with a major in journalism, and went on to Made-moiselle Magazine where eventu-ally she became the college edi-tor. An accomplished pianist, she was known for her love of writing and of life itself, but she died very prematurely. She is remembered here in the awards.

Because Virginia Voss made her name in journalism, we are always thrilled when we have a number of strong candidates in this field, as we did this year. Jennifer Xu, the recipient of this year’s award in journalism, rose to the top of this competitive field through the quali-ty of her writing, the range of her journalism, and the sheer scale of her work. She has more than 100 by-lines to her name at the Michi-gan Daily, and has served as re-viewer, reporter, columnist, and senior editor before working her way up to Editor in Chief of the Michigan Daily Magazine. One of the pieces she submitted for the Voss contest will be published in the Michigan Alumnus in June. Jennifer completed a double major in Honors English and Neurosci-ence and is attending Michigan Medical School this fall.

This year’s winner in the creative writing category were Paula Guro and Caitlin Kiesel. Paula is a dual degree student in both LSA (English: Creative Writing) and the School of Music, Theatre and Dance (Music Performance: Trum-pet). Like her music, Paula’s sto-ries are a performance: beautifully crafted, carefully poised, they ex-plore relationships with sensitivity and uncover the significance of mundane events and everyday encounters, the surprising, ironic

depths below appearances. Caitlin came to Michigan four years ago knowing she wanted to be a writer, and has stayed on that path throughout her undergraduate career. She explores relation-ships between people, and also between people and the places they live in and travel to, from the bayous of Louisiana to the coal-fields of West Virginia. Caitlin was also a winner of the English De-partment’s prestigious Hopwood Award. In the category of academic writ-ing, we selected five win-ners. Celeste Carruth graduated with a dual degree in LSA (Honors Physics) and the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance (Music Perfor-mance: Violin). Her thesis, entitled “Monte Carlo Study of a Level II Trigger Cut for the KOTO Experi-ment” was a model of lucidity in this complex field. This fall Ce-leste is starting the PhD program in physics at the University of Wis-consin - Madison. Julia Field completed an Honors concentra-tion in Anthropology, with a minor in Urban Studies, and thesis enti-tled “Blight and Redevelopment: Organizations Respond to Detroit’s Deteriorating Landscape.” Julia is now in the Dominican Republic with the Peace Corps. Meredith Luneack double majored in Politi-cal Science and Program in the Environment. She combined per-spectives from both fields in her thesis, entitled “The Mountains Die So We May Live: An Analysis of the Nuanced History of Conserva-tion from Multiple Perspec-tives.” Laura Torp’s thesis for the English Department, entitled “So Strange Things So Probably Told: Epistemic Consequences of Scien-tific Discourse in Lunar Travel Narratives,” was so good that one of her faculty recommenders re-peatedly misspoke by referring to it as her “dissertation.” Laura also completed an academic minor in Biochemistry, but plans to pursue graduate work in English and work in the publishing industry. Mary Walle completed an Honors con-centration in History and a minor in Community Action and Social Change. Her senior thesis was entitled “The Blood Stops Here: Democratic Citizenship, Faith Communities, and the Question of Human Rights in Detroit's Sanctu-ary Movement.” A student leader in many social justice groups on campus, Mary is now in New York

working with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.

John P. Kennedy, an alumnus of the Honors Program, has provided two generous gifts to acknowledge and support excellence in writing and scholarship, each in honor of one of his parents. The Patricia Kennedy Award, named in honor of Mr. Kennedy’s mother, is given with preference for students work-ing in English literature or women's issues. This year the Patricia Ken-nedy Award was given to Kaitlyn Delbene, a double major in Eng-lish and Italian who wrote her the-sis on the Clerk’s Tale in Caucer’s Canterbury Tales. Kaitlyn found previously unknown or unused sources to describe the social and political role of the Clerk, and so analyze his authority in his narra-tion and to establish that "patient Griselda" actually demonstrates "prudence," one of the seven car-dinal virtues associated in Renais-sance political writing with princ-es. The originality of her analysis in this much-discussed area of English literature, as well as her extraordinary use primary source material, earned highest praise from her faculty recommenders.

New this year is an award in honor of Mr. Kennedy’s father, Dr. John J. Kennedy, which acknowledges and supports excellence in poetry, creative writing, and scholarship about literature for an outstanding student in the Honors Pro-gram. We were delighted to give the inaugural John J. Kennedy Award to Emily Martin, a student whose work exemplifies the spirit of this new prize. Emily double majored in Neuroscience and Hon-ors Spanish. Her thesis, “El Qui-jote de América: Juan Montalvo y su obra Capítulos que se le olvida-ron a Cervantes” is translation and analysis of a 19th century Ecuado-ran novel. Her translations of Mon-talvo’s novel are remarkable. She has captured Montalvo’s voice and rhythms; she has even caught the echoes of Cervantes’ thought and rhythms on which Montalvo’s novel is built. Her translations are so good, so apt, that they spring from the page: witty, elegant, and smart. In addition, of course, to being painstakingly accurate, as is the scholarship on the author and work that introduce her translation.

2013 Honors Program Awards 2013 Honors Program Awards

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Endings & Endings &

BeginningsBeginnings

News from the

Honors

Community

[Nate Wood, HRA] In a whirl-wind of new classes, friends, discoveries, and achieve-ments, Honors Resident Advi-sors (HRAs) and residents flew through two fun-filled semes-ters jam-packed with activities. With a variety of both high-attendance and high-impact events, programming for the 2012-2013 school year was a roaring success. Here are some highlights. Professional Sports Outings: In September and February, HRAs transported residents to Detroit for a Tigers and Red Wings game, with support from alumni gifts. For many, espe-cially out-of-state students, this was a formative first experi-ence in Detroit. For others, the trips were an opportunity to extend cherished childhood memories with family into the college experience with friends. We look forward to continuing such extracurricular excursions into the future. University Musical Society (UMS) Performances: Like our residents and Honors Community at large, HRAs are passionate about culture and the arts. One of the best means to investigate these interests on campus is through UMS. Over the past year, Hon-ors subsidized tickets for the timeless Handel’s Messiah, as well as for performances by world-renowned artists Angel-ique Kidjo, Murray Perahia, and Yo-Yo Ma, among others. This year, we look forward to seeing Joshua Bell.

Program notes from an HRA

Honors Recipients for

Goldstein Prizes:

Smale, Sahlins, Ford,

Wallenberg, and Fine

Charles Stibitz won the Stephen Smale Prize for Mathematical Sciences. Charles emerged from a field of absolutely stellar graduates from the Math Department this year including winners of multiple national scholarships (Goldwater, Astronaut, Churchill); REU, NSA, and NSF fellowships; candidates who are now in PhD programs at Harvard, MIT, Stanford, and Chicago. Charles himself will join the storied PhD program in Mathematics at Princeton this year.

The Marshall Sahlins Prize for Social Sciences was awarded to Austin Kozlowski in Sociology for his research on agroeconomics in Nepal. Austin is continuing his research in Nepal this year with U-M’s Institute for Social Research and applying to Sociology PhD programs for next fall.

Leah Burgin, an Honors Anthropology major and Museum Studies minor, won the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Public Policy for her thesis entitled “Managing Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary.” Her thesis reviewed the management plans for underwater heritage sites in Lake Huron, carefully balanced the interests of multiple stakeholders, and offered a model of heritage decision-making strategies. Leah is now enjoying a fellowship with the Shelbourne Museum in Vermont.

The Raoul Wallenberg Prize for Humanitarianism went to Savannah Sisk in Sociology. Her thesis, entitled “It Was a Moral Battle in Me,” offered a wonderfully nuanced look that the ways that self-identified non-disabled persons interact with those who are visibly disabled. Savannah is now pursuing a masters in Occupational Therapy. Nicholas Triantafillou won the Sidney Fine Prize for Teaching for many contributions to the U-M Math Circle (a program that offers enrichment programs to middle and high school math students), his exemplary service as a course assistant in the Mathematics Department, and for the outstanding Honors 135 minicourse on “Game Theory” that he taught for first-year students in the Honors Program. He is featured on this page in the Scholarship article.

final musical was paired with a pre- and post-show dialogue in which the performance’s con-tent was discussed in the con-text of religious minorities. Through partnerships with Michigan Hillel and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the event had an astounding 80 student partici-pants and was honored with Michigan Hillel’s prestigious Program of the Year Award. While it’s fun to review high-lights, the true pleasure of Honors Housing is its commu-nity. With over 75 events last year involving hundreds of residents, Honors Housing is the place to be.

Featured: Honors Ball (top). South Asain Culture Event, Canoe Trip, Hon-ors Ball, On the bus to Billy Elliott @ Wharton Center, S Quad Party, Squady & Residents, (left). Iron Chef Competi-tion (above).

Pre-Professional Series: Honors students are serious about school, career prepara-tion, and planning for the fu-ture. For those considering the pursuit of a professional de-gree or post-graduate educa-tion, we strategically designed student panels with question-and-answer sessions, résumé and application workshops, standardized test instruction, and facility tours. Our residents received all the information they were seeking for busi-ness, law, public policy, and medical school applications. Student response was over-whelmingly positive. Ann Arbor Culture Events: Through collaboration between the Honors Program and local area businesses — such as Shakolad, the Grand Traverse Pie Company, Planet Rock, and Roos Roast — students journeyed outside campus in Explore Ann Arbor. These edu-cational and experiential events are expanding in 2013-14 to include Explore Detroit. Musicals and Religious Mi-norities and the Book of Mormon: Honors students go crazy over musical theater! To quench their thirst, we keep a river of musical events flowing. Last year we took residents to Billy Elliot, Hairspray, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Sunday in the Park with George, Little Shop of Horrors, and — as our flagship, end-of-the-year-event — The Book of Mormon. In what ended up being the most successful Honors event in recent memory, the trip to see this

[Henry Dyson] Following a ban-ner year in 2011-12, Honors stu-dents continued to perform very well in national scholarship competitions in 2012-13. For the second year in a row we have both a Marshall Scholar and Churchill Scholar (making three Churchill winners in the last four years), three Goldwater winners, and three Truman finalists. As always the University of Michi-gan ranked among the national leaders in Fulbright applicants and winners. Honors students were well represented in this year’s Fulbright class of 40 win-ners.

Spencer Smith from Holland, MI leads this year’s all-star cast, becom-ing the 16th U-M student to win a coveted Marshall Scholarship since

its founding in 1953. The Marshall provides full tuition plus a gener-ous living stipend for two years of graduate study in the UK. In recognition of the special historical relationship between the US and UK, as well as in continuing grati-tude for the post-war Marshall Plan, the British government funds this scholarship program to enable intellectually distinguished young Americans to study in the UK and to foster an understanding of con-temporary Britain in future Ameri-can leaders. The number of Mar-shall Scholars varies each year with funding, but no more than 40 are selected annually. Along with the Rhodes Scholarship, the Mar-shall is considered the most pres-tigious award an American under-graduate can win. That Spencer should add this prize to his already distinguished list of accomplish-ments comes as no sur-prise. Graduating in 2011 with highest honors in Economics and Mathematical Sciences, Spencer won the Jonathan Ferrando Prize for best undergraduate thesis in the Economics Department. He distinguished himself in an intern-ship at the United States Treasury, developing a website to promote transparency for the TARP pro-gram. After graduation Spencer served as a research assistant for William Gale, co-director of the Tax Policy Center at the Brookings Institute and currently works as a research economist for the Presi-dent’s Council of Economic Advi-sors in the White House. Spencer

will use his Marshall Scholarship to pursue an MPhil in Economics in Nuffield College at Oxford Univer-sity.

Nicholas Triantafillou will be remembered as one of the Honors Program’s most decorated stu-dents. From Sagi-naw, MI, Nicholas

was a highly recruited student in high school, having already won a number of prestigious math prizes and competitions. He chose to come to U-M as a Shipman Schol-ar over a number of other top uni-versities, including MIT. While at Michigan he won an Evelyn O. Bychinsky and M.S. Keeler Merit Scholarship in the Mathemat-ics Department, the Otto Graf Scholarship in the Honors Pro-gram, a Goldwater Scholarship during his sophomore year (a rare distinction), an Astronaut Scholar-ship, was invited to join Phi Kappa Phi as sophomore and Phi Beta Kappa as junior (another rare dis-tinction). Nicholas also attended prestigious REU programs at Wil-liams College and East Tennessee State University as well as the NSA Director’s Summer Program. His letters of recommendation attest to his distinguished contribu-tions in all of these programs, sev-eral of which led to co-authored publications. On top of all this Nicholas distinguished himself as a teacher and citizen of the Universi-ty, serving as a course assistant in the Math Department, a tutor to high school students through the U-M Math Circle, and an instructor for an Honors 135 mini-course on game theory. To all these accom-plishments, this year Nicholas added a Churchill Scholar-ship. The Churchill Scholarship ranks alongside the Rhodes and Marshall as one of the most pres-tigious and academically competi-tive undergraduate awards. Only 14 scholarships are awarded each year to applicants from 103 select-ed American colleges and universi-ties. The average GPA among this year’s Churchill class was 3.981 and U-M was one of three public universities to have a win-ner. Nicholas is U-M’s 12th Churchill Scholar since the pro-gram began in 1959 at the recom-mendation of Sir Winston Church-ill, who wished that there would always be graduate students from the United States attending the

college that bears his name. (Churchill College is one of the 31 colleges that comprise Cambridge University.) Of Michi-gan’s 12 Churchill Scholars, five have won since 2005, all but one of them coming from the Math Department, a testimony to the continued excellence of their un-dergraduate program. Nicholas will follow his predecessors by pursuing a Masters of Advanced Studies in Theoretical Mathemat-ics, the “Tripos” program, at Cam-bridge. He has already been ac-cepted into a PhD program in Mathematics and Computer Sci-ence at MIT when he completes his Churchill year.

Michigan always does extremely well in the competition for Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship. Estab-lished by Congress in 1986 in honor of the late senator, the Gold-water scholarship is awarded to 300 sophomores and juniors na-tionwide who plan future research careers in STEM fields. Because each school can only nominate four candidates, the competition to be one of the U-M’s nominees is extremely selective. This year we are pleased to have three Goldwa-ter winners out of four nominees, all from the LSA Honors Program.

Elliot Wells, from Loveland, OH, follows a prestig-ious line of schol-arship winners from U-M’s highly ranked undergrad-uate math pro-

gram. The Math Department has had a Goldwater winner every year but one since 2002. Elliot has also won the Evelyn O. Bychinsky and M.S. Keeler Merit Scholarships and will apply to PhD programs in mathematics this year.

Joshua Kurtz, from Traverse City, MI, is a junior studying biochemistry. In addition to his scientific pursuits, Joshua is in-volved in a num-

ber of campus activities and will serve as the president of Circle K, an international community service organization associated with the Kiwanis Club. Joshua plans to apply to MD-PhD programs and conduct research on obesity. (Continued on p9)

Kudos to Honors Scholarship WinnersKudos to Honors Scholarship Winners

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