UK Honors Students Connect With Faculty

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 10, 2015) — While enjoying hors d'oeuvres and homemade "mocktails" such as Perspicacious Punch and Nifty Nerds, University of Kentucky Honors Program students greeted and socialized with UK faculty members at the second annual Honors Faculty Dinner Jan. 29 at Central Hall II. This popular event marks the largest Honors event of the spring semester, giving students an outside-of-the-classroom opportunity to get to know UK faculty. 

“The hallmark of a superb Honors Program is a talented and engaged faculty, and the greatest success for Honors students lies in having a sustained professional relationship with this faculty," said Diane Snow, interim director of the Honors Program. "The annual dinner is just one of the ways the UK Honors Program supports this important relationship. It provides a relaxed environment for students and faculty to interact, learn about one another, and develop points of contact that underlie future communication and intellectual growth."

After a brief welcome from Snow, the students and faculty enjoyed dinner while their conversations continued. 

"I've had several classes where you barely know the professor, and they don't really know you, so you're just another face in the crowd," said Patrick Allen, a second-year junior double majoring in accounting and finance. "When I'm doing things like this, where I don't just see them in the classroom but at a dinner, I just feel a better connection with the program and my Honors faculty."

The event was organized by Honors Program staff, as well as Honors peer mentors and resident advisors who are significantly involved in planning events and coordinating programs. Sarah Caton, a junior peer mentor double major in Spanish and Gender and Women's Studies, helped plan the dinner and bring in faculty. 

"This year we tried to invite more Honors faculty but also faculty outside the department that might be interested in eventually teaching an Honors course," Caton said. "Students have the opportunity to invite professors to attend, so they may nominate somone they've had in class, or anyone they think has been an outstanding Honors professor. This is a great way to make connections for letters of recommendation or any kind of professional relationship they want to build with faculty."

Allen said events like this are what attracted him to the Honors Program, and ultimately UK, because they create a smaller community within the larger university. 

"I'd probably not be at UK if it was not for the Honors Program," Allen said. "During my high school career I had so many opportunities, and that's what the Honors Program has also given me. I can walk through these doors and see these faculty members everyday, rather than just seeing them during office hours. They actually know me."

The Honors Program is part of the Academy of Undergraduate Excellence within the Division of Undergraduate Education at UK.