Honors Program

This scholarship has been established by Nancy Chisholm ’90 to provide scholarship assistance to Western Colorado University students. This scholarship was created to inspire academic and athletic achievement at the highest levels at Western Colorado University, which are personified by our intercollegiate athletics student-athletes studying in the Honors Program.

Eligibility

• Athletics: A member of one of the intercollegiate athletic programs.
• Class Standing (after completion of current spring semester): Applicants must be full-time continuing students at Western.
• GPA: 3.0 or higher; applicants must be currently enrolled in the Honors Program.

Selection Committee

Recipients will be selected by a committee consisting of the Director of Athletics and Director of the Honors Program in consultation with the Office of Student Financial Services.

Award 

$10,000 for 2021-2022 to fund two $5,000 scholarships

Description

The Western Presidential Honors Scholarships, established by the Jack and Marilyn MacAllister Foundation, are elite scholarships awarded to Western’s highest achieving and most deserving students, celebrating the ideals of academic excellence and service to the campus and community. Recipients of the Scholarships will be members of the Western Colorado University Honors Program. Each year two new Presidential Honors Scholarships of $2500 will be awarded to two incoming freshmen. In addition, all continuing Honors students may apply for Presidential Honors Scholarships. The following information provides due dates, criteria, and how to prepare your application.

Incoming Applicants:

Eligible candidates should have a high school, transfer, or Western Colorado University grade point average of, at minimum, 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. Candidates must also demonstrate leadership qualities or experience and a commitment to intellectual inquiry and academic challenge. Incoming candidates should submit the following:

• A cover letter explaining why you want to be a part of Western’s Honors Program and demonstrating with concrete examples how you have engaged two of our five program values (see below) in your academic or personal life;
• Two sealed letters of recommendation from teachers, guidance counselors, professors or academic advisors which address the student’s accomplishments and suitability for a college Honors Program;
• A copy of your most recent educational transcript;
• A resume of your qualifications, accomplishments, service, extra-curricular activities;
• Any other documentation that would be helpful in evaluating you as a candidate for this Scholarship.

Program values:

• The Good: While scholars may debate the "Form of the Good," the Honors Program at Western sees it as deeply connected to the purpose and values of a Liberal Arts and Science education. We seek to create opportunities for our students to develop into virtuous, knowledgeable and articulate citizens for whom the pursuit of knowledge is integral to human development.
• Citizenship and Community: We seek to create elite learners without elitism and a cohort of students who learn to develop the deep connection between higher education and citizenship within a supportive academic community. Our community members are highly motivated students, faculty and staff who share an intellectual curiosity about the world around them.
• Interdisciplinarity: Honors courses are designed to promote cross discipline exploration and discovery. You will find students and faculty of a multitude of majors and interests in Honors classes, providing an extremely fertile and complex environment for discussion and analysis.
• Risk taking and autonomy: While our program demands high academic achievement, it does not mean our students play it safe academically. Honors at Western encourages students to take the initiative in the ownership of their education experience. Honors courses present students with opportunities to think for themselves free from internal or external constraints on intellectual inquiry. We encourage students to take the initiative in their own education and support them in developing the resiliency needed when stepping out of one's academic comfort zone.
• Social intelligence: It is not enough to be the "smartest one in the room" if you lack the intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence to communicate your ideas and listen to the ideas of others. Our program and its educational opportunities encourages students to develop the capacity to negotiate and navigate complex social and intellectual environments so that Honors students are not just "the smartest ones in the room," but the most effective communicators and collaborators in the room.

Applications are MUST BE RECEIVED BY JAN. 27th of the year of application and should be submitted to:

Western Colorado University Honors Program Dr. Kelsey L. Bennett, Honors Director The Presidential Honors Scholarship Program Taylor Hall 110A Western Colorado University Gunnison CO 81231 970.943.7021

Continuing Applicants (current Western Honors students):

Note that continuing Honors students do not need to have been awarded a previous Presidential Honors Scholarship to apply. Five Presidential Honors Scholarships of $3,000 each will be awarded to five continuing Honors Students in good standing in the program. Each Presidential Honors Scholar will serve in a leadership position on the Honors Student Advisory Board (SAB) for the coming academic year. Officer positions include President, Vice President, Communications Coordinator, Service & Academic Leadership Committee Chair, and Social & Community Development Committee Chair. Officers will be determined by a majority vote among recipients. Attempts will be made to maintain a balance of majors and class standing within the group, although preference will be given to applicants actively involved with SAB, through planning and participating in Honors extracurricular activities, either as standing officers or as committee members. All officers are expected to work together to uphold and advance the mission of the SAB: “to bring social connectivity and community involvement to the Honors Program and to be the student face of the program to the campus at large as its selected representatives. We serve as an inclusive and multi-disciplinary positive peer resource for the Honors community that represents diverse areas across campus.” Continuing candidates should compile and submit the following in one packet, hard copy:

• A copy of the student's most current Western transcript (minimum 3.0 GPA required);
• A letter addressed to the Western Colorado University Foundation Scholarship Program Committee addressing the following:
  • What value should SAB add to student life in the Honors Program;
  • Evidence of Honors leadership abilities through planning and participating in Honors extracurricular activities during the current academic year;
  • Your plan for continuing to demonstrate leadership and Honors community-building activities into the coming academic year;
  • Your detailed plan for completing the Honors Program;
• One sealed letter of recommendation from a faculty member which addresses the student's accomplishments and suitability for a Presidential Honors Scholarship. The faculty member need not currently be teaching in the Honors Program.

Applications for continuing Honors students are DUE BY MARCH 11 of the year of application and should be submitted in hard copy to the Honors Program Director, Taylor Hall 110A. It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that the hard-copy application has been received. Officer positions:

• The President calls and conducts meetings, facilitates communication between SAB, the Director of the Honors Program, the Honors Council, the CALL/HNRS administrative assistant, and the greater Honors student body;
• The Vice President maintains the budget with financial discipline and keeps records;
• The Communications Coordinator accommodates the growing and fast-paced social media and communication needs of the program to connect SAB initiatives with the existing and prospective Honors communities as well as to the greater campus community;
• Both the Service & Academic Leadership Committee Chair and the Social & Community Development Committee Chair take the lead with event coordination by communicating and facilitating event ideas and proposals within their respective areas to the rest of SAB.

For a detailed list of officer position descriptions, contact the Director of the Honors Program. The Western Colorado University Foundation Scholarship Program Committee will make selections within a few weeks of the closing deadline. Notification of award recipients will follow shortly thereafter.