Kristine Miller Receives National Collegiate Honors Council Fellows Award

Kristine Miller, professor in the English Department and executive director of the USU Honors Program, received a National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) Fellows Award on November 1. According to the NCHC website, the Fellows Award “recognize(s) educators who have a significant record of commitment and service to the honors community.” Candidates for the award are considered based on their leadership, scholarly activity, participation in honors events, recognition at their home campus, assistance provided to other honors programs, and demonstrated commitment to furthering honors education.  

Miller was nominated for her outstanding contributions to honors education both at USU and nationally. “I have served a three-year elected term on the NCHC Board of Directors and then as a co-chair of the Publications Board, which oversees NCHC’s monographs and journals. As a past Board of Directors member, I have also been asked to serve on the organization’s overarching Governance Committee,” Miller says. “Recognizing that the flexibility and learner-directed approach of the USU Honors Program’s curriculum is both unusual and valuable, I have also published a book-length project and a number of articles featuring USU Honors.” 

The NCHC Annual Conference was held in Kansas City, Missouri, and Miller said it was a great opportunity to network with faculty and students involved with honors programs from around the country. There, she received the Fellows Award, which she says serves as a reminder of her “responsibility to work with colleagues, both here at USU and across the country, to communicate with students, parents, and the public about the value of higher education and the role that high-impact experiential-learning opportunities play in preparing the next generation to make a difference and to shape the future.” 

For Miller, honors education is a tool for passionate students to make the most of their time in college. “For me, the ultimate goal of directing the University Honors Program has always been to try to scale high-impact educational experiences for all Aggies,” she reflects. “That work is challenging and ongoing, and its real reward has been supporting motivated faculty and students as they collaborate, innovate, and grow at USU. It was both a surprise and a delight to be named an NCHC Fellow for doing work that I love and that I hope supports the ideas and dreams of others.” 

Congratulations, Kristine, for this outstanding accomplishment! 

Photo credit: Chandler Michael Culotta