University of Kansas Honors Program

This fall, our corps of donor-supported Honors Faculty Fellows will welcome five more amazing professors and researchers to its ranks, all of whom will meet our incoming students at Honors Convocation on Sunday, Aug. 23. We're so grateful to have this dedicated cohort guide and mentor students as they move through the program.

Melinda Lewis, who won an International Affairs Advisory Board International Teaching Award in 2024 for her work in Costa Rica, is just one of the may Honors Faculty Fellows who inspire their students (and us!) with their energy and innovation. To learn more about Melinda, read this story from our 2026 edition of the Honoread: https://honors.ku.edu/news/article/melinda-lewis-profile.

We saw some familiar KU Honors faces participating in Center for Service Learning's Trailblazers Mini-Grant and Cohort Program, which provides funding for student leaders to partner with the community and work toward social change in areas like environmental sustainability, youth mentorship and health resources.

Recently, several honors students presented their projects at the 2026 IMPACT Conference at the University of Cincinnati, and 2026 honors graduation speaker (and former Baby Jay) Helen Viloria won the Top Individual Presentation award at the Center for Service Learning's Service Showcase for the creation of a student-run resource closet.

Read more about how these students made a difference in the Lawrence community: https://news.ku.edu/news/article/students-lead-community-minded-service-projects-through-ku-trailblazers-program

🦋 Summer honors intern spotlight: Melany Reyes 🦋

This summer, Melany interned at Monarch Watch, where she developed educational materials for students and teachers about monarch butterflies and their conservation while assisting with monarch care and laboratory tasks.

"Through this internship, I have learned more about monarch butterfly biology, migration, challenges, and conservation efforts. I also learned how important education and community outreach is at Monarch Watch by helping the community discover ways they can help protect monarch butterflies and other pollinators," Reyes said.

"Developing educational materials taught me that effective communication involves both sharing information and presenting it in ways that are clear, meaningful and engaging. This experience also showed me that I enjoy science communication and sharing complex concepts through activities that are engaging and accessible for diverse audiences. I am very grateful to Monarch Watch for the opportunity to be part of their team!"

Congratulations to senior psychology, data science, and political science major Eli Cochrane, who was recently awarded a Portz Interdisciplinary Fellowship! The award, given by the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC), will support an upcoming research project titled, “Exploring Self-Presentational Motives in Conspiracy Belief Expression."

Earlier this year, Eli received KU Honors' Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett Award, which recognizes a rising junior or senior who has demonstrated leadership, innovation, and engagement in the University Honors Program. "My first-year honors seminar instructor, Dr. Yvonnes Chen, was instrumental in my development as a researcher. Taking her seminar, 'Mindfulness in the Modern World,' gave me the skills to reframe my mindset and focus on improving myself as a full person, and the lessons I learned there have ensured I know how to handle the inherent rejection, fear, and uncertainty that comes with a research career," Cochrane said.

"I've always felt supported both academically and personally within KU Honors — the staff does a great job at encouraging students to reach their full potential and follow their passions. When I attend an honors event, I know there will be people there who want to see me succeed and will do all they can to help me."

Eli is the founder of the Kansas Research Collective, a group that supports prospective and current student researchers by providing peer mentorship, support with application and presentation preparation, and a platform to discuss and showcase their work. Students interested in getting involved with Kansas Research Collective are invited to attend the group’s first meeting of the year at 4 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 31 in the Burge Union Forum AB.

We're at the height of the summer, and honors students are in the midst of study abroad trips all over the world. 🌎

Many of these experiences were made possible through the generosity of Arlo and Dixie Schurle, whose transformative global experiences led them to champion studying abroad and create a fund to make it possible for honors students.

To read more about Arlo and Dixie, click here:

Global careers inspire couple’s gift Global careers inspire couple’s gift Dixie and Arlo Schurle represent the University of Kansas while in Braga, Portugal. (Photo courtesy of Dixie and Arlo Schurle.) Mon, 06/29/2026 author Justin Runge Share Share by Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Kansas natives and hono...

Last week, the honors program published a look at the 2025–26 Common Cause program, from the first Student Design Team meeting to May's celebration of the Common Cause-inspired quilts created by honors student Drew Graff.

Though Common Cause experiences took many forms, one constant that made the program possible was the outstanding support and leadership provided by the Common Cause Student Design Team's peer mentors, who guided research groups as they created interactive presentations related to responsible consumption and production. Peer mentor Dami Oguntuase discussed how these projects allowed students to contribute their unique talents and explore sub-topics that related to their interests. “You can tell the people presenting are really passionate about their sections," Oguntuase said.

🔗 Read more here: https://honors.ku.edu/news/article/common-cause-2025-2026

Last fall, students in our program had the pleasure of meeting University Honors Program alumna Margaret Hu, the Davison Douglas Professor of Law and Director of the Digital Democracy Lab at William & Mary (W&M) Law School. Hu had recently published a textbook about emerging issues related to artificial intelligence and law, and she shared her scholarship and thoughts during a student lunch and an evening lecture at the Dole Institute of Politics.

As we prepare for next fall, we hope to welcome more KU Honors alumni like Hu back to campus to tell us about their innovative work. Read more about Hu's visit here:

Honors alumna shares AI law scholarship with honors students Honors alumna shares AI law scholarship with honors students Margaret Hu (second row, second from left) poses with the students of Najarian Peters' (second row, first from left) seminar, “AI Governance and Privacy Law" after a Nov. 6 lunch in Nunemaker Center. Mon, 06/29/2026 author Eli Stock Shar...

On Wednesday, the honors program staff held a planning retreat at the Kansas Museum of History, where we discussed the Your Honors Path programming series and how we can make these four career-spanning events even more valuable and intentional for students. We're so grateful to have had the chance to spend time in, work in, and explore such an inspiring space!

Congrats and best of luck with your internship, Rose! 👏👏🎉

The museum is excited to share that our Summer 2026 University of Kansas Honors Program Intern Rose started with us last week! Rose is a history major at KU also pursuing a Spanish minor. She will be working with Andrew this summer on all things exhibits. We are incredibly grateful to be able to continue this partnership with the KU Honors Program this summer and can't wait to see what Rose shares with the museum!