Union College Welcomes First Honors Community Students

Brittany Pridemore of Barbourville signs to become an inaugural member of the Union College Honors Community. From left, President Edward D. de Rosset; Brittany Pridemore; Dr. Tom McFarland, V.P. of Academic Affairs; and Dr. Jimmy Dean Smith, Honors Community Director.

Union College welcomed the first members of the Union College Honors Community in May and June and expects to add several more throughout the summer.

The new Honors Community was approved by the Board of Trustees in April. It was added in an effort to nurture those students who “want to find out where their curiosity will lead them,” according to Honors Community Director and Professor of English, Dr. Jimmy Dean Smith.

Union chose to refer to the honors program as a “community” to reflect the shared experiences students and faculty will enjoy. “These students will share special travel opportunities, courses, service, and events,” says Jerry Jackson, Union’s Dean of Enrollment Management. “We also chose the name because our honors students will be actively involved in governing the program.”

Honors Community students will take specially-designated core courses, in addition to courses within their majors that are adapted for the honors program. Throughout their college careers, honors students will work with advisors trained to meet their unique needs.

President Edward D. de Rosset, who has long supported the idea of an honors program, recently announced a new scholarship for Honors Community students. The scholarship is named in honor of Sara W. Combs, Chief Judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, and her late husband and former Governor Bert T. Combs. The Sara W. and Bert T. Combs Honors Scholarship offers up to full tuition for students accepted into the program.

Thus far, incoming freshmen selected for the Honors Community include the following: Jeremiah Back, Paintsville, Kentucky; Nathan Beckley, Clarksville, Indiana; Sarah Dunaway, Beattyville, Kentucky; Desiree Grimm, Middlesboro, Kentucky; Kristina Kirk, Versailles, Kentucky; Austin Maples, Mt. Sterling, Kentucky; Heidi Marsh, Harlan, Kentucky; Sarah Mills, Walton, Kentucky; Natasha Murphy, Whitley City, Kentucky; Kellie Parker, London, Kentucky; and Brittany Pridemore, Barbourville, Kentucky.

For more information about the Union College Honors Community, call the Office of Admissions at 606-546-1657.

June 19, 2007

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