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Since the early 1930s, the University of Maine has been able to boast that it had one of America’s oldest Honors Programs. Now, UMaine has a different credential to add, the Honors Program is now the Honors College.
The Honors College was officially recognized Aug. 1, and the re-dedication of the Robert B. Thomson Honors Center in Colvin Hall was held Oct. 26.
More than 100 people attended the event held Homecoming Weekend, which featured speeches by UMaine President Peter S. Hoff, as well as Dr. Clifford Rosen, a graduate of the Honors College, and UMaine’s Provost and Executive Vice President Robert Kennedy.
The Honors College consists of more than 500 students, 250 of them first-year, ranging in fields of study from engineering to geology.
With a student-to-teacher ratio between 15:1 and 12:1, the college not only gives the students a chance to learn in a smaller environment, but also gives professors a chance to get to know their students.
“We have seen an increase of admission double compared to three years ago,” Honors College associate and 2002 graduate Emily Ann Cain said. “By having students enrolled in the Honors College, it gives them a chance to dedicate themselves for a four-year span that most of their peers may not be able to do.”
When plans for Memorial Union were unveiled, the original Thomson Honors Center was a small building located where the Stillwater Canal Co. Pub is now.
The plan was to renovate Colvin Hall into the headquarters for the Honors College, but also to continue using it as a residence hall for Honors students.
“The transition we have gone through from being an Honors Program to an Honors College has been a good one,” Honors College Director Charles Slavin said. “When we made the transition, we placed as much thought into the difference between the two as possible. With former students, such as Emily and Sara [Paul, another Honors College associate] as advisers to our students, it gives instant credibility in knowing that making it through the program can be a successful goal just by hearing what those two have to say.”
The Honors College is open to first-year students based on a profile displaying their academic achievements in high school ,as well as standardized test scores. The college works with the Admissions Office to select candidates.
Inside Colvin, some of the rooms, such as the television lounge, as well as some of the offices located inside the building are named after professors who taught at UMaine.
“The thing about the Honors College is that it goes way beyond text,” Cain said. “Everyone comes from a different plane of life, and their perspectives are different and are all equally important and accepted. The more you learn shows how much more there is to know.”
