Honors College Student Organization is a club for Honors College students from every major, and is a great way to build community with other Honors students and faculty. Activities include social and service programs and providing student leadership to important Honors College activities.
Upper Midwest Honors Council is comprised of Honors Colleges and programs throughout the region. The Council holds an annual meeting each spring at a member-host university. South Dakota State University attends each year and engages students and faculty in sharing their classroom, research and program ideas and accomplishments with the Honors community across the region.
National Collegiate Honors Council is the national organization for Honors programs and colleges across the country; it even included international members. The mission of NCHC is To support and enhance the community of educational institutions, professionals, and students who participate in collegiate Honors education around the world. More than 1200 members represent two year and four year public and private institutions in the United states and beyond. The annual NCHC conference is attended by thousands of Honors students and faculty. SDSU representatives attend and participate; it is a wonderful venue through which to learn, network and share ideas for personal, professional and programmatic development.
Leadership Development programming. Honors College helps to coordinate the LEADSTATE program, a leadership development program for college sophomores focused on strengths-based leadership, service and the social change model for leadership development. In addition, Honors sponsors colloquia on leadership, leadership development and systems dynamics workshops.
Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. Honors College helps to coordinate undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activity across campus. This includes organizing the annual Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity Day each spring, and coordinating selection for campus-wide undergraduate research fellowships and the Schultz-Werth paper competition, both of which award students thousands of dollars each year.
Common Read and Griffith Honors Forum Lecture. Honors College coordinates SDSU’s campus common reading program. Recent selections include The Heart and the Fist (Greitens); The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time . Honors also organizes the university’s largest lectureship, the Griffith Honors Forum Lecture, which in recent years has featured the central character of the common read.
Honors College Convocation. A celebration of all things Honors held during the spring of each academic year. The program includes a reception, speaker and awards program honoring excellence in student and faculty service and achievement across a variety of categories. Dean’s List, 4.0 honor roll are recognized. Students who have completed their Honors College general education requirements in the preceding academic year are presented with the Honors College pin.
Hike and Read Retreat. A kickoff to the school year and welcome event for first-year Honors College students, the hike and read involves faculty and students reading a common book or article, and traveling to the Oak Lake Field Station for a day of hiking, reading, canoeing and fun.
First Lady’s Literary Circle. Sponsored by First Lady Marcia Chicoine, ‘Lit Circle’ engages students and faculty in an Honors book club each semester. The Circle gathers at the home of the President and the Dean for food, fellowship and discussions of the powerful texts.
