Ohio Honors Program

We are about 10 weeks away from our eleventh trip across the pond with the Edinburgh: City and Environment study abroad program. Here is a 2011 throwback picture that includes former student and current OHIO Honors Program associate director, Nicole Finnicum (far right), and two of my three kids. Check out the little man’s outfit! Argyle socks and sambas, plaid shorts, and a tie-dyed shirt. Guess who approved that outfit?

Geek rock star moment for Geoff Buckley! I had the pleasure of spending time with Carolyn Finney, author of Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors. It’s a must read for anyone interested in our public lands in the US. Thanks for visiting Ohio University Carolyn!

Hats off to Dr. Chris Fisher, one of our 1804 Scholars faculty fellows, for hosting a wonderful evening recital featuring visiting artists from Ukraine Anna and Dimitri Shelest. Their performance was uplifting and inspiring.

The Honors Tutorial College was proud to sponsor a table at the Martin Luther King, Jr. brunch yesterday. Here, Dean Bross is pictured with representatives from the tutorial, OHIO Honors, and 1804 Scholars programs. MLK once said: “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” Yesterday’s large and boisterous gathering was not just an inspiration but a reminder of the work ahead of us.

Good news OU students! We are extending by a few weeks the deadline for the Edinburgh: City and Environment study away program. Spend four weeks next summer in one of Europe’s most beautiful cities and learn all about urban history, planning, and sustainability! This is a transformative experience! Questions? Feel free to reach out!

December and all smiles. It must be portfolio season in OHIO Honors! Congratulations to senior Ashlyn Sleesman for coasting across the finish line in great form today. That’s her in the middle, flanked by Doug Orr and Geoff Buckley to her right, and Molly Cronin and Nicole Finnicum to her left. Team effort!

OHP students Noah Fox and Hazel Chmiel did a great job presenting at the National Collegiate Honors Council meeting in Kansas City. Our topic was experiential learning and their testimonials were truly wonderful! Working with and spending time with students like Noah and Hazel makes my job so easy!

Beautiful morning for a visit to the Lindy Roosenburg Preserve! OHIO Honors Program students enrolled in HC 2905: Backyard Conservation enjoyed a tour led by instructor Chris O’Bara of The Athens Conservancy. Of course, we could have spent the morning in a classroom but that would have been a less satisfying experience!

What a great day helping Molly Jo Stanley of the Ohio Environmental Council take her OHIO Honors Program class out in the field. We visited the oldest white oak in the state, stopped by Robinson’s Cave where the UMWA was born, listened to alum Michelle Shively tell us about the work of Rural Action, harvested some chicken of the forest, learned about the Baileys trail system, and took a hike at Solid Ground Farm. Experiential learning is what we do in OHP!

So wonderful to see Rachel Martin (HTC Environmental Studies, 2020) headlining an alumni panel at the 50th anniversary celebration of the graduate program in Environmental Studies at Ohio University. Pictured here with my good friend and colleague, Geoff Dabelko, Rachel was a trailblazer at OU and remains an inspration. Now a researcher at CXL/Science Solutions & Systems for Conservation, I’m sure we’ll hear more from her in the future!