Southeast pilots honors program

Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College will offer the first course in a new Honors Program during the Fall 2010 semester, according to program coordinator Robert Gipe.

The course, Introduction to Contemporary Thought, will be part of a program for qualifying students throughout Southeasts service area. The Honors Program is designed for students with interests in the humanities and social sciences who are looking for intellectually challenging courses and who are interested in forming community with like-minded scholars. The program is open to all students regardless of major or course of study and will be integrated into the colleges associate degree programs. The Program will include guest speakers, accelerated classes, travel, and community-based learning.

The 2010-2011 academic year will be a pilot year for the program, during which students and faculty will work together to design the program and create the best possible learning community within the program. Classes offered through the Honors program during the Fall of 2010 and the Spring of 2011 will be open both to incoming freshman and returning Southeast students.

Gipe, a professor in the Humanities Division at Southeast, will coordinate the program from Harlan County. Other Southeast faculty who will be teaching in the program include Professor of Sociology Sue Greer-Pitt and Professor of Mathematics Zelma Forbes on Southeasts Whitesburg campus and Professor of English Robin Haggerty on the Middlesboro campus. Interested students can contact any of these faculty members for more information about the Honors Program. Gipe can be reached at (606) 589-3130 or robert.gipe@kctcs.edu.