In late October, faculty, students, and staff from the Honors College traveled to Arizona for the 2011 annual National Collegiate Honors Council conference. The conference was ideally situated in downtown Phoenix, where, in between conference presentations, the group could squeeze in trips to local downtown eateries, including the legendary Pizzeria Bianco, where the group enjoyed the “best pizza outside of Italy,” and Portland’s, which hosted an exuberant Honors alumni group for dinner. 

Presentations by the University of Houston group included “Beginning in Honors,” an annual teaching workshop for new deans and directors, conducted by Dean Bill Monroe and Honors founding dean Ted Estess. Human Situation coordinator and faculty member Dr. Richard Armstrong took part in a thought-provoking panel on academic honesty and integrity with Honors administrators from institutions across the country. 

Sophomore Katie Teeters, senior Diego Lopez, and Brenda Rhoden, director of student affairs, gave an exceedingly well-received presentation on the College’s successful first-year mentoring program (now in its second year; read story); while Sarah Bhojani, admissions counselor, and Jodie Köszegi, assistant dean, introduced fellow delegates to the College’s new opportunities for mid-career Honors students (read story). Creative Work students Megan Harrington and Kristen Flack debuted their 12-minute film chronicling the evolution of the Artists and Their Regions class and retreat. Dr. John Harvey, director of the Center for Creative Work and the course’s instructor, described the film as “an inspiring combination of cinematography and story.”

In keeping with the experiential learning component of the conference, the Honors group journeyed to the Grand Canyon and enjoyed a guided tour of the Musical Instrument Museum with Justin Karim (’06, Marketing), director of operations for the MIM. Among the displays were the piano on which John Lennon composed “Imagine,” the world’s tallest bass (18’ tall), heritage displays of instruments arranged by country of origin, and the MIM’s famous air guitar display. 

Diego Lopez described his time at the conference this way: “To come here and share with other schools my Honors experience, and my wonderful experiences as an Honors College mentor, has been truly rewarding. Visiting another Honors campus [Barrett, the Honors College at ASU] and being part of a broader honors community has only reinforced my belief in how lucky we are to have the Honors College at the University of Houston.”