The Cohen Honors College challenges ambitious students
to develop their talents to create a better future.
The founding College Charter urges students, faculty, and staff to uphold four pillars to form an innovative, intellectual, professional, and transformative community.
In the Induction ceremony to welcome new students, we re-establish an Honors College at Wichita State each year by repeating the words of the Preamble to the Charter that articulates this flexible and ambitious mindset.
We, the students and faculty who value the life of the mind, the execution of good work for its own sake, and the common threads uniting every discipline; who share a passion for rigor over ease, for creativity over uniformity, for debate over compliance, for inquiry over recitation, for knowledge over ignorance, for wisdom over conceit; and who aspire to enlivened minds, to connected understanding, to professional collegiality, to innovative collaboration, to inspired action, to distinguished service, to enriched lives, and to self-determination; do hereby establish an Honors College at Wichita State University.
Preamble to the Honors College Charter written by the Honors Student Council and approved by the Honors Faculty Council - December 2, 2014
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Attracting and retaining academically exceptional and highly motivated students from the Wichita area, the region, the nation, and the world
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Enhancing the recruitment of high-achieving transfer students
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Increasing undergraduate enrollment
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Increasing student-faculty collaboration in teaching, research and service
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Attracting and retaining high-quality faculty and staff
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Creating compelling connections across disciplines and with the greater Wichita community
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Enhancing the academic reputation of the University
- Emphasizing academic rigor along with exploration, creativity, and discovery
- Providing Honors students individualized advising and priority enrollment
- Engaging students in intellectual dialogue and real-world problems
- Facilitating undergraduate research across campus
- Preparing students for top graduate schools, competitive national scholarships, and leadership roles in professional careers
- Supporting interdisciplinary courses and curriculum development
- Serving as a curricular laboratory for faculty to experiment with course design and content
College Councils and Advisory Board
Faculty and student participation in university and college governance is vital to the proper functioning and success of the university. The College ByLaws establish the University Honors College Council and outline college policies and governance structure.
Honors alumni and friends are engaged with college decision making through the Advisory Board.
The University Honors College Council is the governing board and decision-making body for the college. The full council meets at least once each semester and is comprised of the Student Council and the Faculty Council. The University Honors College Council is chaired by the Dean and chaired administratively by the Assistant to the Dean.
The Student Council meets every week on Thursday at 5:00pm in Shocker Hall. Anyone is welcome to attend. To bring an idea or concern to the student council, email honorsstudentcouncil@wichita.edu.
More information and a list of current members can be found on the Student Council web page.
The Faculty Council meets monthly with the Dean. The council serves as the curriculum committee for the college. See the Faculty Council page for a members list including email information.
The external Cohen Honors Advisory Board first convened April 22, 2016 with 9 alumni and 2 honorary members. The board meets twice per year to advise the Dean and helps develop student mentorship and opportunities throughout the year.