Is Chatham’s Honors Program for You?
Kiera Baker '25, fourth from right, stands in front of the U.S. Capitol during a trip to Washington, D.C. with Chatham's Honors Program. (Sean Nonnenmacher)
Who should apply to Chatham University’s Honors Program? Assistant Professor of Humanities Allie Reznik ’11, director of the program, said they’re looking for students who are curious, care about getting good grades, and think about the world in holistic ways.
“Everything that you’re interested in … the honors program has the resources to support you to take those interests to the next level financially, personally, and professionally,” said Reznik.
“It’s not going to be like a stereotypical honors program, where you take this class and you check this box,” said Kiera Baker ’25, a student in the program. “It’s more of a program where you get to tailor your experience to things you’re interested in.”
Students are encouraged to apply by the start of their first year, but undergraduates who have at least four semesters remaining at Chatham can also join. Here’s what they can expect from the experience.
Cultural outings
First-year students attend a cultural outing at Contemporary Craft, an art space in Upper Lawrenceville.
In 2023, the program explored an exhibit featuring artistic responses to climate emergency. “It was very interdisciplinary, so we were thinking about visual art, but also these artists took scientific data and information to create the art,” Reznik said. The exhibit was followed by a hands-on arts and crafts activity.
This year, the program is scaling it up. In January 2025, Chatham’s president, Rhonda Phillips, and other staff and faculty will join the program at Contemporary Craft for an exhibit on Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging. Tours of the exhibit will be followed by Japanese catering and a communal, hands-on experience of related crafts there.
Participants in the 2023 Carson Conference. (Lirit Gilmore)
A research symposium
Students in the program submit a research proposal during their second year at Chatham. The proposal should pose and answer a question. Reznik said the process, which includes feedback sessions with alumni, helps students begin to think about research and how to fund it.
“It’s like an incubator in which to test out these skills, and be introduced to these skills, in a low-stakes environment,” Reznik said.
The grant recipients are announced at the Carson Conference. (Reznik, an alum of Chatham’s Scholars Program, the Honors Program’s predecessor, spearheaded the conference.) Baker had a chance to present at that conference in fall of 2023. The theme was “Facing the Horrors.” Her project looked at masculinity and femininity in war, exploring the question of whether male or female political leaders were more likely to start wars.
“It’s definitely something I could do more research on and expand on more, if I had more time,” said Baker.
The skills developed by doing research and applying for research funding help prepare students for graduate-level research, but they also build professional skills by teaching students how to pose questions and acquire resources to solve problems.
National conferences
“We in honors are invested in supporting students financially to go to conferences to meet with students from around the country,” Reznik said. Interested students are invited to apply for the National Council for Undergraduate Research. Their national conference is in Downtown Pittsburgh this spring.
“We will pay for their registration fee to attend,” Reznik said. “They can go and learn what other universities and schools are working on, what they’re researching, and students can share their research and network with faculty and students from across the country.”
The program is also supporting students who want to attend the Northeast Honors Council Conference in Harrisburg this spring. All costs will be covered, Reznik said.
Students from Chatham and the University of Pittsburgh sit during a tour of Gettysburg National Military Park this summer. (Sean Nonnenmacher)
Trips and more
Between academic pursuits, volunteer work, and other activities, there’s always something to do in the Honors Program, Baker said. This summer, that included a trip to Washington, D.C. alongside students from the University of Pittsburgh.
“We got to go underneath the street to go into the Capitol and went through so many security checkpoints,” said Baker, who majors in political science and women and gender studies. “That morning, we were supposed to have a group photo on the Capitol steps, [but] we got bumped so the president could talk. That’s pretty cool!”
While in D.C., Baker attended a lecture, participated in a simulation of a diplomatic crisis, and had lunch with the chaplain of the House of Representatives. On the final day, they took a bus to Gettysburg, where they toured the Civil War battlefield with retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Benjamin C. Freakley and former Ambassador Michal C. Polt.
“Those are two people who, as an undergraduate student at a small liberal arts university, you wouldn’t think you’d get to pick their brains,” said Baker.
Learn more about the honors program at chatham.edu. Interested in applying? Reach out to Allie Reznik at a.reznik@chatham.edu