Feature CULTIVATING TOMORROW’S LEADERS THROUGH HONORS EDUCATION

By

Ihave never run a marathon. However, one thing I have observed and long admired about marathon runners is that they train together, as a group, knowing they may be racing together and possibly against each other. But running groups are not inherently about competition, they are about individuals with similar drives and similar interests working together to each achieve their own personal goals. The exposure to the experience leads these individuals to push themselves in ways that never occurred to them, or they never thought possible.

In retrospect, this was my vision when at dinner so many years ago, Dr. Spence and I discussed the future growth of WAU. As we discussed several possibilities, I had this idea that developing an honors college would allow WAU a mechanism toward a dual mission; one focusing on the school at large and the other to further enable and enrich high achieving students. This would be the first and only such honors college in Adventism globally, and it could attract and educate high-achieving students as well as those students who wish to become high achievers. Since the Honors Program was already established, I suggested that WAU invest further in that program to transform it into a formal Honors College that could expand its learning environment to further cultivate those students with endless potential. By the end of dinner, we both agreed that it was a plan worth exploring.

Dr. Spence, following several internal discussions and engaging Provost Kinsuzu with the idea, fully agreed to the concept and together the leadership supported transforming the Honors Program into the Honors College.

The transformation has been incredibly smooth, thanks to Professors Bradford Haas and Dr. Jonathan Scriven, who truly took the idea and ran with it. They ensured that high-achieving students already part of the Honors Program would have a greater sense of belonging to a college. And those students not in the Honors Program, but who have the potential to be high-achieving and for whatever reasons have not yet launched, can experience the enabling and supportive environment of the new Honors College and push their boundaries to be great achievers.

I have had the pleasure and honor to stay abreast of the tremendous progress thus far while serving as chair of the Honors College advisory board. It has also been my pleasure to meet and interact with several Honors College students, including one who spent time doing a research internship in my laboratory.

As educators we must continue to build educational environments that cultivate the strongest students and ensure these students can achieve their fullest potential and maximally contribute to our society and communities. I look forward to the continuing success of the Honors College at Washington Adventist University and to the future leaders it produces.

E. Albert Reece, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., F.A.C.O.G., is Dean Emeritus and former University Executive Vice President of University of Maryland School of Medicine, Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Endowed Professor and Director of the Center for Advanced Research Training and Innovation.