Honors Week History

“Why doesn't the University ever recognize an individual for his academic achievements until he is ready to graduate and receives a University medallion if he is summa cum laude?”

This question was asked by a Phi Eta Sigma officer to Dr. Ormsby L. Harry, former Assistant Chancellor for Student Affairs. Dr. Harry, who was Phi Kappa Phi Secretary during the year 1972-73, presented the suggestion that perhaps the group could help coordinate Honors Week to give recognition to outstanding students for their academic achievements as they earned them.

In November of 1972, a Steering Committee was established under the sponsorship of Phi Kappa Phi, its President, Dr. Roma Hoff, and its Secretary, Dr. Ormsby L. Harry, to plan an Honors Week at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. In 1990 the Steering Committee added a student co-chair. All scholastic honor societies on campus were invited to send a representative to serve on the Steering Committee.

The week of April 9 through 14, 1973, was designated as Honors Week. All participating groups were invited to sponsor programs with speakers whose subjects dealt with the value of good scholarship, and the groups were urged to incorporate their initiation of new members into the week.

The week culminated in an Honors Banquet on Saturday, April 14, 1973 attended by approximately 450 students, faculty, parents and friends.

The format for the week has continued throughout the years, with growth in the number of sponsoring groups. The original five groups have increased to 34 with over 1,500 members. In 2001, a record number of over 700 persons attended the banquet.

EVENTS OF THE WEEK
Programs presented by participating groups during the week have varied greatly. Most prominent are speeches by faculty and visiting lecturers, but such diverse programs as a slide program, panel discussions, and symposiums have been held. Since 1975, Mortar Board has sponsored a “Last Lecture Series” by a faculty member, and Sigma Delta Pi has held its “Juegos Florales,” a poetry reading contest in Spanish and English. Kappa Mu Epsilon’s Math group often has a yearly event as do several other honor societies; Kappa Delta Pi has held Professor of the Year Voting, Order of Omega has sold “An Apple for Your Favorite Teacher,” SOPHS has an Annual Telethon, and Omicron Delta Epsilon holds a Faculty Debate. Since 1973, both Phi Eta Sigma and Phi Kappa Phi have planned their initiation of new members ceremonies to coincide with Honors Week since 1973, and several other groups have joined in that tradition since then. As many as fifteen groups have held initiation ceremonies during Honors Week. Several groups have held their national chartering ceremony throughout the years. The inauguration of the Chancellor, Dr. M. Emily Hannah, was incorporated into 1971 Honors Week, with several thousand students, faculty, staff and guests in attendance at the University Arena.

BANQUET
Throughout over thirty-five years of the existence of Honors Week, the banquet program has remained essentially the same. Each of the Honor Societies present is introduced, and the members acknowledge the introduction by standing. Student speakers present the keynote speech, the “Salute to Scholarship,” the meditation, serve as Toastmaster, and give introductions of the various speeches including the keynote speaker. Entertainment has varied from vocal soloists and Alpha Lambda Delta vocal trio, piano soloists, a Jazz Trio, string quartet, to a brass quintet. Many entertainers are members of Honor Societies.

COMBINED RECEPTION
A combined reception was first incorporated into Honors Week on Saturday, April 21, 1990. Sponsored each year by the Alumni Association and various honor societies, this reception is an informal gathering for families, faculty and friends of students being initiated into honor societies. It continues to be enjoyed by all who attend.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Keynote speakers have included Eau Claire County Judge Thomas C. Barland in 1973, Chancellor Leonard Haas in 1974, Vinson R. Simpson, Jr., President of Trane Company, La Crosse in 1975, and Dr. Archie Solberg, Executive Director of The Honor society of Phi Kappa Phi in 1976. In 1977, a student keynote speaker was used for the first time. The Steering Committee appointed a subcommittee to set up criteria for participation in the contest and to judge the speeches. It was decided that to be eligible to enter the contest, the student had to be a member of a recognized UW-Eau Claire Honor Society. The theme of the address was to be related to the recognition of outstanding scholarship and was to be 15 to 20 minutes long. Written speeches were then submitted to the Speakers Committee who selected the four they deemed best. Those four students were then invited to present their speeches before the entire Steering Committee, and voting was conducted by paper ballot. Monetary awards are presented for first place and for each of the runners-up.

AWARDS
As in the first year of Honors Week, participating groups are invited to present their scholastic awards at the banquet.  From the inception of the Honors Week program, only scholastic recognition has been given.  Every request for awards not related to outstanding scholarship has been denied.  Alpha Lambda Delta and Phi Eta Sigma annually present certificates to their senior members who have maintained a 3.5 or higher grade point average for their four years of attendance at UW-Eau Claire.  They also present a book award to the senior achieving the highest grade point average.  Other awards include monetary awards given by Sigma Delta Pi to the winners of its poetry competition and essay contests, Phi Kappa Phi’s National Graduate Fellowship Award and the Eau Claire Chapter Award, and scholarships presented by Accounting and Finance, the Biology Department, History Department, Math Department, College of Nursing & Health Sciences and Sigma Theta Tau Awards, Sigma Tau Delta Outstanding Service Awards, and Sigma Gamma Zeta II Award.  New in 1997 was the Roma Hoff Outstanding Honor Society Adviser Award to be presented to an adviser of an honor society in recognition of leadership and support to the honor society and service to the University.  This award was meant to complement the annual Ormsby L. Harry Scholarship presented to a student member of the Honors Week Steering Committee.  In 1977 the “Outstanding Senior Award” was initiated.  Seniors with a grade point average of 3.5 or higher are nominated by academic departments representing each major for nomination of those students they believe to be worthy of the Outstanding Senior recognition.  Those nominated are asked to submit a questionnaire to the Office of the Student Development & Diversity listing their participation in campus organizations and all honors, awards and scholarships which they have received while in attendance at UW-Eau Claire.  Students declared to be Outstanding Seniors are recognized at the Honors Banquet.  In 1988 the George T. & Clayton T. Piercy Scholarship was added.  This scholarship awards $4,750 to a junior student for expenses during his/her senior year.  This scholarship requires a 3.8 or higher GPA and exemplifies excellence in performance in and outside the classroom.

TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE
Honors Week and the Honors Banquet have become part of the rich tradition of UW-Eau Claire.  It serves to recognize those individuals who have come to exemplify the university motto of excellence.

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