Jerry Herron said he will incorporate discussions of Houston into the Human Situation curriculum to differentiate and give perks to honors students, if he is appointed as The Honors College dean.
"Those colleges in Austin and College Station are burdened by not being in this metropolis," he said. "It enriches the experience of honors students."
Herron, dean of the Irvin D. Reid Honors College and professor of English at Wayne State University, was questioned by members of the UH campus at an open forum Thursday in The Honors College Commons.
Herron said he wants to give more perks to recruit students into The Honors College.
"We want to use the professional assets of our campus to recruit students," he said. "At Wayne State, we give honors students full scholarships and approved them for admittance into our graduate schools."
National Merit scholars are essential for The Honors College, Herron said.
"National Merit perks are important for gaining the attention of the high achieving," he said.
Herron said National Merit Scholars would gain the college attention and increase discussion levels in classrooms.
At Wayne State, Herron offered National Merit Scholars laptops, full scholarships and $25,000 study abroad fund.
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs in the College of Engineering David Shattuck asked how Herron would address engineering professors who don’t want their students to take the Human Situation course at The Honors College because of overlaps between engineering courses and the mandatory entry-level honors class.
"I would try to work it out," Herron said. "I would try to foresee the complexities in the overlap between the engineering and honors degrees."
Mary Martin, an English and psychology junior, asked how Herron planned to raise funds for the college.
Herron said previously at Wayne State he was able to solicit financial aid and scholarships for recruitment events for incoming honors students.
Other honors students offered various opinions about Herron.
"I was not impressed," chemical engineering sophomore Nicholas Chase said. "He seemed to dance around issues."
Herron’s qualifications include turning Wayne State’s Honors Program into an Honors College, which, he said, was modeled partly after UH’s.
"When I got the job to turn the Honors Program into a college, I began to look at other colleges," he said. "The first person I talked to was Ted Estess."
Competing candidates John Kirby, Department of Classics chair and professor of classics at the University of Miami, and William Monroe, Executive Associate Dean of The Honors College and English professor, will speak at open forums from 3 to 4 p.m. on, Friday and Tuesday, respectively, at the Honors College Commons.
