National Collegiate Honors Council
The Honors Program is a member of the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC). The mission of NCHC is to further undergraduate education by promoting an atmosphere of academic opportunity and challenge for Honors students and professionals. Each fall, a national weekend conference is held in cities across the US, with driving themes that reflect the chosen location. The conference includes general sessions on honors-related topics, poster sessions and presentations of student projects, and city-as-text explorations. When possible, the Director and several Honors students are able to attend and represent Fordham.
In November 2006 in Philadelphia, Fordham students presented a social justice initiative entitled, “Am I My Brother’s Keeper?” The project grew out of the junior honors course, Ethical Dimensions of Contemporary Social Problems with Dr. Jude Jones (Spring 2006). Nicknamed, "Evil, Vice, and Sin," the course explored human nature and our capacity for evil, vice, and sin. Always present in discussions was the question of responsibility--are we in fact responsible for our fellow man? The class devised a project to study the moral passivity familiarly known as “apathy.” The project’s goal was to both understand and combat apathy through survey research and creating service opportunities for students. Because Darfur is so pressing a global concern, the class devised a passive education program (through flyers) to raise awareness within the campus community of the civil strife in Darfur. To supplement this passive education, Dr. Jones and students organized a lecture through the Social Justice Forum featuring Dr. Amir Idris (African Studies).
2007 Conference Information
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Association of Jesuit Colleges & Universities
In February 2006, honors programs of Jesuit colleges and universities came together for the first annual AJCU Honors Conference. Held at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, the conference was a chance for honors programs to be "introduced" through presentations, discussions, and social opportunities. Each program presented on their history, structure, strength, and challenges. Topics discussed included recruiting, retention, diversity, scholarships, theses, Honors' role in the intellectual life of the university, student issues, mentorships, housing, the future of Honors education, and how honors programs at Jesuit institutions are unique.
In February 2007, Fordham hosted the second annual conference. In attendance were were Boston College, Canisius College, Creighton University, John Carroll University, Le Moyne College, Loyola College in Maryland, Loyola Marymount University, Marquette University, Regis University, Rockhurst University, Saint Joseph's University, Saint Peter's College, Santa Clara University, Seattle University and University of Detroit Mercy. During the student sessions, the students were able to form a council, draft a mission statement, and commit to a social justice project. The conference establised a seven-member board of directors from the Jesuit colleges. William Moccia, FCRH '09 was chosen to represent Fordham on the board. The social justice initiative for the 2007-2008 academic year is Operation Iraqi Children.
2008: Regis College in Denver, CO
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