26th Annual J. Harry and Anna Jeanes Academic Honors Week to Take Place April 16-20

April 16, 2018
Ben Aguinaga

Baylor graduate Ben Aguinaga, B.A. '12, will give the Honors Week keynote address on "Keeping Your Education."

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WACO, Texas (April 16, 2018) – The 26th annual J. Harry and Anna Jeanes Academic Honors Week will be held April 16-20 to recognize and celebrate the rigorous undergraduate honors program at Baylor University. The week will consist of the Academic Honors Convocation, senior research presentations and a banquet for Honors Program and University Scholars Program seniors and their mentors.

“Honors Week has been around for many years, but in the last decade or so it has expanded in scope as the number of seniors finishing an honors thesis has increased greatly,” said Thomas Hibbs, Ph.D., dean of the Honors College. “With thesis presentations occurring all week, a senior banquet and an Honors Convocation, which now includes departments, schools and colleges across the entire university, this is a week to celebrate the remarkable academic achievements of so many Baylor students. We laud in a special way the high level of student scholarship and research undertaken by many of our undergraduates.”

Many Honors Program seniors will present overviews of their thesis research in sessions held in Alexander 115, Honors Residential College, 1413 S. Seventh St. Senior presentations are open to interested Baylor faculty and students. Presentations are publicized in and around the Honors College suite, in the Honors Residential College and on the Honors College website.

The banquet for seniors and mentors in the Honors program and University Scholars Program will take place at 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 18, in Barfield Drawing Room, Bill Daniel Student Center, 1311 S. Fifth St. This event, by invitation only, will celebrate student’s achievements by giving graduating seniors an opportunity to thank their mentors, briefly explain their thesis and mention their plans for post-graduation. Alex Kostadinov, Baylor graduate student in piano performance in the School of Music, will provide music as guests arrive and enjoy their dinner.

Honors convocation will take place at 2 p.m. Friday, April 20, in Barfield Drawing Room by invitation only. Kostadinov will provide the opening prelude and President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D., will welcome attendees and give the invocation. Hibbs will provide opening words and Baylor graduate Ben Aguiñaga, B.A. ’12, who was recently selected to serve as a law clerk to United States Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, will give the keynote address on “Keeping Your Education.”

“The Honors College challenged me to be a better reader, a better thinker and a better writer,” Aguiñaga said. “And by their kindness, sincerity and humility, my mentors in the Honors College have challenged me to be a better person. For me, then, the Honors College was a one-stop shop for mentorship on all the crucial aspects of life, and I am grateful to the Honors College for its support.”

Wesley Null, Ph.D., vice provost for undergraduate education, will recognize Phi Beta Kappa inductees as a group for their accomplishments, along with the Zeta chapter president, Frank Mathis, Ph.D. Next, outstanding students from departments within the College of Arts & Sciences, the Honors College, the Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences and the Schools of Business, Education, Engineering/Computer Science, Music, Nursing and Social Work, along with their respective department chairs/program directors and deans, will be recognized.

The program will conclude with the presentation of the Cornelia Marschall Smith Outstanding Professor of the Year Award by Null, an award given annually to a Baylor faculty member who makes an exceptional contribution to the learning environment at Baylor through teaching, research and service. A reception for all attendees will follow the Convocation.

For more information, visit the Baylor’s Honors College website.

by Brooke Battersby, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.