The Honors Community
Administrative Leadership
Scott Huelin (2009). Director for the Honors Community and Professor of English. B.A. and M.A., University of North Carolina; Ph.D., University of Chicago.
Joy Moore (2007). Assistant Director for the Honors Community. B.A., University of Arkansas; M.A., Denver Seminary; M.F.A., Pacific University.
Anna Moss (2024). Program Coordinator for the Honors Community. B.A., Union University.
Faculty
Justin D. Barnard (2007). Professor of Philosophy in the Honors Community. B.A., Palm Beach Atlantic College; M.A. and Ph.D., Florida State University.
Mission
The Honors Community is a lively intellectual koinonia with transformative effects in its members, and through them, in the University, in the professions, in the church, and in local communities.
What does this mean?
The Honors Community rightly may be called a koinonia, or fellowship, because it is a common bond in a shared endeavor— the ardent pursuit of the truth—and a shared conviction—that all truth leads us to the Truth. As such, our fellowship extends beyond our own place and time to include the Christian intellectual tradition, the collective efforts of the faithful in all places and times to pursue and embrace the Truth wherever it is found.
Two academic programs provide structure and resources for our own participation in this pursuit. General Honors invites faculty and students to inquire rigorously and faithfully into substantial questions of historic and contemporary significance. Discipline-specific Honors programs help students become confident scholars who can insightfully address crucial and complex questions within their disciplinary fields. The common bond of this koinonia is further nurtured through co-curricular events and extracurricular activities which bring together faculty and students from both programs for mutual enjoyment and edification.
The transformative effects of this koinonia are first seen in its members, in whom our common life nurtures Christian virtues, such as humility and hope, and academic virtues, such as wisdom and wonder. These virtues are most visible in their effects: heightened attentiveness toward the world, eager reciprocity toward one another, humble openness toward difference, and deepened joy in the truth. As members of the Honors Community participate in academic, professional, church, and local communities, they carry with them the virtues and fruits of spirited inquiry as gifts to be shared in and with these other communities.
Student Organization
The Honors Student Association (HSA) advises the Directors and plans co-curricular and extracurricular events for the Honors Community. HSA officers are elected for one-year terms at the beginning of each spring semester. All students currently enrolled in either General or Discipline specific Honors, as well as alumni of either program who are still enrolled at Union, automatically enjoy membership in the HSA.