A new strategic plan titled “Forward with Purpose” highlights a new chapter in Temple’s history. Among many exciting new initiatives like advancing research and strengthening university-wide civic engagement, it highlights a plan for a new Honors College.
Compared with the current Honors Program, the Honors College will have more bandwidth to provide resources for its students.
This is something that the Honors staff has been working on for years. Since the creation of the program, an Honors College has always been a natural next step. Now that it has reached this point, Honors Assistant Director of Community Engagement Lizzie Yazvac says this is a sign of growth.
“Temple University as a whole has changed, and the Honors Program needs to grow and evolve with it,” said Yazvac. “I experienced this program as a student, and it changed my life. Now I get to work here and be on the precipice of growing in a more substantial way.”
The college is still in its early stages, so the new content is still unknown. With a student body of 2,000, the Honors Program is not a small group. Staffing is something Yazvac hopes to expand.
“We have six full-time staff members, and hopefully, one day down the line, we can add more,” said Yazvac. “Splitting our current work into several people’s jobs rather than doing it here and there means we can do those things better and on a bigger scale.”
One of these areas that Yazvac wants to expand on is alumni outreach. There is no official time frame for the creation of the Honors College, but it could take years before the resources are fully developed. This means that many, if not all, of the current Honors students might not be on campus by the time the Honors College rolls around. Those who stay engaged with the Honors alumni network will see the College’s results.
“A lot of our alumni had their most impactful experiences with Honors,” said Yazvac. “When you think about where their affiliation lies as an alum, it really is an Honors alum first and foremost.”
Temple senior Peyton Giordano is gearing up to become an alumnus. Since her freshman year, she has served on the Honors Student Forum Board, a place where student representatives from every college share their ideas for the Program with the director, Amanda Neuber. Giordano, who is preparing to go to law school, is excited to see how an Honors College changes the Honors network.
“We go to top universities from Temple and top career fields, and we’ve already been doing that as a program,” said Giordano. “I think as a college we will just expand and be more recognized.”
And there’s a reason that Giordano is so committed to the Honors Program since setting foot on campus. It provided a closer sense of community that is hard to replicate in an institution like Temple with 25,000 students.
“It really gets you involved with the Temple community, with the Philadelphia community, and exposes you to resources,” said Giordano. “It really helped me build my confidence and find my footing, which I was really appreciative of.”
Whether a program or a college, Temple Honors has always been dedicated to serving its student body. Now, Yazvac is reflecting on the monumental nature of this announcement.
“This is the work of 30 years of really dedicated directors who care about this program,” said Yazvac. “I think that’s what this moment exemplifies and represents.”