In mid-October, students and faculty members of the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program were notified via email that the program would be terminated after the graduation of the Class of 2021. Although the decision came after “several years of deliberation about the future of the Honors Program,” many students were shocked and saddened not only by the decision, but by the fact that many students felt as if they were not consulted on how they viewed the Honors Program and how it has positively or negatively affected their Boston College experience. Although students were told that the decision came after speaking with students, I have yet to meet a single student in the Honors Program who knew that this decision was coming—or was even in the realm of possibility.
However, despite a unified push by students to fight the closing of the program, it has been made clear that no student efforts will change a decision that was made long before the students were even notified. A few weeks have passed since the initial letter sent by Dean Kalscheur, and while emotions are still running high surrounding the unexpected closing of the program, Honors students should now focus their energy on holding the University accountable on their promise that no professors would lose their jobs after the closing of the program.
While some faculty in the Honors Program also teach in other departments, there are a number of faculty members who have dedicated their teaching and research solely within the Honors Program. For the honors faculty members who are based out of other departments (such as history or English), the transition into teaching full-time in their respective departments is fairly straightforward. However, for those professors who teach full-time solely within the Honors Program, the transition is not as clear.
Those professors who teach solely in Honors should without a doubt be guaranteed positions within the 4-year Perspectives Program. The existence of the Perspectives Program, as described in the email from Dean Kalscheur, provides BC students with a similar “interdisciplinary great books program with an integrative approach to the liberal arts, grounded in the Catholic intellectual tradition.” Therefore, full-time Honors Program professors have the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to serve as full-time professors within the Perspectives Program.
The professors in the Honors Program have truly dedicated their careers to their students’ academic and personal development. The closing of the program should not by any means lead to any professors having to substantially change the focus of the courses they teach. Guaranteeing Honors Professors positions within the Perspectives Program makes the most sense, especially since a former Honors Professor will now be in charge of the Perspectives Program.
Professors in the Honors Program have spent years perfecting their curricula and teaching styles, and current Honors students have benefited greatly from their knowledge, kindness, and passion. I urge the University to stand by its word and act justly in guaranteeing full-time employment for all Honors professors.
Solina Jean-Louis, MCAS ’18
Beckett Pulis, MCAS ’19
Rachel Piccolino, MCAS ’18
Maggie Stern, MCAS ’18
Nicole Menkart, MCAS ’20
Sungjoon Park, MCAS ’18
Arturo Balaguer, MCAS ’21
Noella D’Souza, MCAS ’20
Wendy Lu, MCAS ’20
Katelyn Goglia, MCAS ’21
Kevin Neu, MCAS ’18
Shannon McNall, MCAS ’18
Jason Kauper, MCAS ’21
Rose Mahoney, MCAS ’20
Caroline Ring, MCAS ’20
Marisa Romanelli, MCAS ’20
Sonia Radu, MCAS ’20
Marissa Hollyer, MCAS ’19
Ziyu Fan, MCAS ’20
Hung Tran, MCAS ’19
Addie Mickelson, MCAS ’20
Henry Pawelczyk, MCAS ’19
Grace Cornelius, MCAS ’18
Michaela Chipman, MCAS ’19
Kyle Wiant, MCAS ’20
Justin Hsieh, MCAS ’19
Maria Khoudary, MCAS ’19
Eric Zhao, MCAS ’20
Yi Zhu, MCAS ’19
Lauren Pacewicz, MCAS ’19
Margaret Andersen, MCAS ’19
Christopher Ratigan, MCAS ’18
Jackie Farnham, MCAS ’21
Sarah Hansman MCAS ’18
Jonathan Bailey, MCAS ’20
Claire Greydanus, MCAS ’21
Jeong Yeon Cho, MCAS ’20
Andrea Wisniewski, MCAS ’18
Caleb Oh, MCAS ’21
Mollie Clark, MCAS ’20
Anna Fedoryk, MCAS ’21
Nancy Yone, MCAS ’20
Thomas Toghramadjian, MCAS ’19
Allison Chowdhury, MCAS ’18
Benjamin Hagaman, MCAS ’21
Megan Faricy, MCAS ’20
Emily Zhao, MCAS ’19
Bridget Sheridan, MCAS ’19
Anne Haws, MCAS ’19
Rachel Moon, MCAS ’19
Michael Planich, MCAS ’20
James Grimaldi, MCAS ’21
Jeesoo Chung, MCAS ’20
Michael Proietta, MCAS ’19
Wantong Wei, MCAS ’20
Kiran Khosla MCAS ’19
Erin Lade ’21
Hayley Kunkle MCAS ’20
Gabriella Resnick, MCAS ’21
Kayla Fernando, MCAS ’18
Lauren Kobylski, MCAS ’18
Michelle Kang, MCAS ’18
Alexandra Russell, MCAS ’20
Pranav Parikh, MCAS ’20
Hannah Ladesic, MCAS ’18
Ashleigh Pavlovic, MCAS ’18
Kirstan Brodie, MCAS ’18
John Marvin Sipp, MCAS ’18
Hannah Ervey, MCAS ’20
Armin Mahabadi, MCAS ’19
Miranda McDonald-Stahl, MCAS ’20
Pei-Ling Lee, MCAS ’19
Derek Xu, MCAS ’19
Brandon Muniz, MCAS ’18
Matt Eckstein, MCAS ’19
Hailey Weiner, MCAS ’18
Jim McCoy, MCAS ’21
Molly Newcomb, MCAS ’18
Ryan Wexler, MCAS ’20
Rio Kate Bradley, MCAS ’18
Cole Tamburri, MCAS ’20
Murphey Harmon, MCAS ’18
Jacob Ciafone, MCAS ’18
Max Calleo, MCAS ’21
Alexis Sabbaghian, MCAS ’20
Sabrina Black, MCAS ’19
Robert Yeager, MCAS ’18
Grace Eisenbiegler, MCAS ’18
Cecilia Christman, MCAS ’19
Claire Jasper MCAS ’18
Kylene Ingram, MCAS ’21
Yueming Chen, MCAS ’20
Lucas Voli, MCAS ’18
Amalia Riegelhuth, MCAS ’21
Natalie Hone, MCAS ’21
Yuzhou Wu, MCAS ’20
Mia Terracino, MCAS ’18
Lilah Wilfong, MCAS ’21
Jessica Grodovich, MCAS ’21
John Wagner, MCAS ’18
Tia Rashke, MCAS ’19
Ali Debasitis, MCAS ’18
Michael Bacon, MCAS ’21
Anna Peterson, MCAS ’21
Dylan Heberle, MCAS ’20
Marie Peduto, MCAS ’18
Erin Getty, MCAS ’18
Natalie Mase MCAS ’19
Garrett Reynolds MCAS ’20
Danielle Gaudet MCAS ’18
Annemarie Arnold MCAS ’21
Alexandra Steigmeyer MCAS ’21
Trevor Hale, MCAS ’21
Sherty Huang, MCAS ’20
Ciara Bauwens, MCAS ’19
Zachary Packer, MCAS ’18
Emily Ye, MCAS ’18
Elaina Gray, MCAS ’18
Art Hidalgo, MCAS ’19
Sydney Kim, MCAS ’20
Genevieve Manning, MCAS ’19
Patrick Fahey, MCAS ’21
Caroline Galliano, MCAS ’19
Fuyu Gao, MCAS ’18
Isabella Turco, MCAS ’20
Catherine Serratelli, MCAS ’20
Brian Bouchard, MCAS ’18
Alex EIshingdrelo, MCAS ’20
Ryan Kauper, MCAS ’21
Jessica Alongi, MCAS ’19
Geoffrey O’Malley, MCAS ’21
Gregory Bormes, MCAS ’21
Kayla Walczyk, MCAS ’18
Dorothy Peng, MCAS ’19
Camryn Imperiale, MCAS ’21
Amanda Judah, MCAS ’20
Savannah Freitas, MCAS ’20
Jack Kessler, MCAS ’18
Brendan Curry, MCAS ’21
Alexander W. Sudyn, MCAS ’18
Christopher Povinelli, MCAS ’20
Caroline Monnes, MCAS ’19
Bill Gallagher, MCAS ’20
Roisin Reilly, MCAS ’19
Ben Dewhurst, MCAS ’21
Kate Peaquin, MCAS ’20
Woomin Shim, MCAS ’21
Mackenzie Hulme, MCAS ’19
Shannon Park, MCAS ’20
Featured Image by Zoe Fanning / Heights Editor
