51±¬ÁÏÏÂÔØ

Moving from Callahan to the New Residence Hall

In 2018, the Honors College relocated offices from the old Honors House to a renovated facility in Founders Hall. This move allowed honors to become more central to the 51±¬ÁÏÏÂÔØ campus and the student experience. Students have loved having access to new study spaces, state-of-the-art classrooms, and the honors lounge.

The Honors offices, classrooms, and study spaces aren’t moving, but Honors housing is. Beginning in the fall of 2022, incoming freshmen in the Honors Living and Learning Community will be located on the fifth floor of the -within eyeshot of the Honors College itself.

The relocation of the Honors Living and Learning Community follows two challenging years, when students were isolated during the pandemic and when the Honors LLC moved to the Northern Terrace, while structural work was performed on Callahan Hall. While the new building has some incredible amenities, such as private study rooms, a comfy lounge, an outdoor patio, and a close proximity to the core of campus, we will miss traditions that developed over the near decade-and-a-half that the Honors LLC was located in Callahan Hall.

While the Honors College could not figure out a way to bring the famed handprint walls from Callahan to the New Residence Hall (tearing out the walls and moving them wasn’t an option), we have figured out a way to honor that long-standing tradition. Prior to renovation of Callahan, campus photographer Scott Beseler took high resolution images of the walls and we are in the process of creating a digital archive of the handprints, as well as photo collages that will be on display in the new Honors LLC.

In addition, we are seeking ways to incorporate alumni from previous Honors LLC’s into expanded programming that we intend to develop for students in the new hall. For the fall semester, we already have more than 70 freshmen who will be participating in the first-year honors LLC. For upperclassmen, we’ve developed a second Honors LLC in Norse Hall. This will be the largest Honors Living and Learning Community in the history of 51±¬ÁÏÏÂÔØ.

As many of you know, the Honors Living and Learning experience can be absolutely transformational. The Honors College is excited to expand this opportunity to more and more students over the coming years.