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Events

(Click here for our regularly updated Calendar of Events)

Mid-Year Celebration

Each December the Honors College hosts an event for both the first year students and those students and their families who are graduating mid-year. It is a chance to feature the talents of the students and to recognize our mid-year graduates for their accomplishments in research by finishing either departmental or university honors. A very special part of the event is the presentation of the posters from the graduates; descriptions are included in a booklet that presents the abstracts from their published, scholarly work. This poster display is especially important for the first year students to view as they are able to engage with the upperclassmen and see what they are embarking on and will be accomplishing as they continue their successful work ahead.

Students completing the senior honors project graduate with honors in the major. Students who complete the senior honors project plus a series of honors seminars and honors sections of university studies classes graduate with University Honors with Honors in the Major.

The Honors Medallion signifies completion of the requirements to graduate with honors from UNCW and is bestowed on the student by the faculty mentor.

Spring Honors Medallioning

We have a breakfast in May in which the first official graduation weekend event is held for our honors graduates. At this breakfast, we recognize our university and departmental honors graduates. A very special part of the event is the presentation of their posters in an impressive session; descriptions are included in a booklet that presents the abstracts from their published, scholarly work.

The Honors Medallion signifies completion of the requirements to graduate with honors from UNCW and is bestowed on the student by the faculty mentor.

Honors Speakers

The Honors College hosts a "Spring Speaker" each year who brings to the campus an important, scholarly discussion that is current and interdisciplinary. Traditionally, prior to the speaker's arrival, a book group open to faculty, staff, and students is sponsored by the College to engage the community in the topic at hand and enliven discussion, debate, and promote opportunities for inquiry.

In addition to the Spring Speaker, the Honors College hosts speakers in enrichment seminars and co-sponsors speaker series in collaboration with the Upperman African American Center, Arts In Action, Departments, and others as scholars avail themselves to UNCW.

Past Speakers for the Honors College have been: Ms. Minnie Jean Brown Trickey, Dr. Kenneth Miller, Dr. Richard Leakey, Dr. E.O. Wilson, Dr. Sarah Bryson, Mr. Seth Kramer and Dr. David Harrison, Mr. Charles Mann, and Mr. Ralph Nader.

Honors Student/Faculty Teas

The Student Honors Advisory Council with the Honors Scholars Association host Honors Teas twice to three times a semester. These opportunities for students to meet faculty and administrators (and vice-versa) in a social setting allows for exchange of ideas and creation of connections for more engagement.

Family Weekend and Alumni Events

During Family Weekend and Homecoming, the Honors College welcomes our Alumni and students' families to events sponsored by the college! Check the schedules for these great occasions and look for the Honors College's social listed to attend.

Albert Schweitzer Honors Scholars

The purpose of this award is to recognize a person in the Cape Fear area who exemplifies the attributes and ideals of Albert Schweitzer. The UNCW Honors College nominates an individual each year to deliver a lecture to the Honors Freshman Seminar class in the fall semester. This person will also be recognized at that time for his or her contributions to the region or community and named the “Albert Schweitzer Honors Scholar.”

First awarded in 1975, the Albert Schweitzer International Prizes were presented at UNC Wilmington to individuals who reflected Dr. Schweitzer's philosophy of “reverence for life” and who excelled in his areas of expertise, namely medicine, the humanities, and music. Prizes were awarded from 1975 to 1993.

Although the prizes were discontinued, the Albert Schweitzer International Prizes Board of Directors wanted to create a legacy for these awards. In 2002, Randall Library and the UNCW Honors Scholars Program proposed the Albert Schweitzer Honors Scholars Awards to continue the spirit of the Albert Schweitzer International Prizes

Albert Schweitzer

Physician, lover of animals, minister, scholarly theologian, environmentalist, accomplished organist and musical scholar, anti-nuclear activist, philosopher, husband, father, friend -- these are the many facets of Dr. Albert Schweitzer. Born in Germany in 1875, Albert Schweitzer based his personal philosophy on the ideal of “reverence for life.” As a medical missionary, he spent years of his life in French Equatorial Africa, establishing a remarkable hospital in Lambarene, Gabon. Albert Schweitzer received numerous awards for his humanitarian efforts-including the Nobel Prize in 1952 and Britain’s highest civilian honor, the Order of Merit, in 1955.

Gerald Shinn

While at UNCW, Dr. Shinn won numerous teaching awards: Outstanding Teacher of the Year, UNCW Board of Trustees Teaching Excellence Award, Professor of the Year Award (Silver Medal) from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education in Washington, D.C., the UNCW Student Government Association Teaching Award, and the UNCW Distinguished Teaching Professorship. Dr. Shinn also received the O. Max Gardner Award in 1994. It is the University of North Carolina’s highest honor for faculty who have “made the greatest contributions to the welfare of the human race.” To date, Dr. Shinn is the only UNCW faculty member to be so honored.

Dr. Shinn has been recognized for his service to the local, national, and international communities. In addition to establishing the Albert Schweitzer International Prizes, he created the UNCW Museum of World Cultures, the North Carolina Living Treasure Program, the National Living Treasure Program, and the North Carolina Educational, Historical, and Scientific Foundation.

Recipients of the Albert Schweitzer Honors Scholar Award
2002 Gerald Shinn, Ph.D.	Professor emeritus of philosophy and religion, University of North Carolina Wilmington, founder of the Albert Schweitzer International Prizes.
2003 Kenneth White, M.D.	Wilmington physician and board certified plastic surgeon, leader of numerous medical mission trips to the Dominican Republic.
2004 Margaret Weller-Stargell	President and chief executive officer of Coastal Horizons Center, Inc., dedicated to providing crisis intervention and substance abuse prevention outreach services in the Wilmington area.
2005 Susan Dankel (Speech)	General Manager, WHQR Public Radio, dedicated to enhancing the experience of music for the residents of southeastern North Carolina.
2006 Mary Isaac Koenig, S.U.	Humanitarian and committed social activist with St. Mary Social Outreach Program serving the needy of the Wilmington area.
2007 Jock Brandis	Author, film technician, and inventor of the Malin Peanut Sheller, Brandis is also the Founder of the Full Belly Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to designing and distributing unique appropriate technologies to improve the lives of people in developing countries.
2008 Jean Beasley	Founder and Executive Director of the Karen Beasley Memorial Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Hospital.
2009 Don Skinner	Founder and Executive Director of the Phoenix Employment Ministry. Dedicated to finding work for the homeless and near homeless.
2010 Jimmy Pierce	Founder and Executive Director of Kids Making it, a work and skills development program for at-risk youth in the Cape Fear region.
2011 Scott Whisnant	Founder of Cape Fear HealthNet, offering affordable health care to low income area residents.
2012 J. Richard Corbett, MD (Speech)	Wilmington physician and board certified radiologist, member of the Board of the Cape Fear Memorial Foundation that serves health and medical needs of the people of southeastern North Carolina.