About The Honors College

Welcome to the the Honors College at Oakland University. We create an environment for those who want to achieve, and we support your ambitions. We are ambitious, for the Honors College itself and for you. Around five percent of undergraduates across the United States graduate from an honors college every year - making your time in the Honors College a unique, experience in developing your potential.

Building on our past and looking to your future, you won't just discuss what it is to be the best, you'll show it - through the work we support you to undertake and through the things that you will achieve. You'll also have fun! No one should ever discount the importance of fun and a supportive community in the pursuit of achieving great things.

If you would like to be a member of this distinguished group of students, whether you are planning to be a doctor, an engineer, an artist, a business leader, or you are undecided, call or email us. We’ll arrange a visit that will show you the endless opportunities available to you as a member of the Honors College!

And of course, please let me know if we can be of any additional service!

Graeme Harper, DCA. Ph.D., Dean
The Honors College
(248) 370-4450
[email protected]

In the 1950s Oakland University became the first university in the U.S.A. ever created with that strategic input of honors college students. While over 60 percent of other honors colleges in the United States were created after 1994, we at Oakland have embodied those ideals since our very foundation. In this way, the Honors College here has both a firm foundation and steady vision that is closely aligned with the university’s mission. Drawing on the principles set out by Matilda and Alfred Wilson when they donated their entire Meadow Brook estate to establish Oakland University, the HC provides driven, aspirational and talented young people the benefit of a high-quality education.

In 1977, the first students of a college at OU named “The Honors College" entered Oakland, under inaugural Director Mel Cherno, to further advance the ideals that makes Oakland unique. Since then, The HC has had five Directors and, most recently, a Dean. When Professor Cherno left the program, Robert Howes, professor of history, held the position from 1980 to 1985. Brian Murphy, professor of English, became the Honors College director in 1985 and stayed a record 17 years. Jude Nixon, professor of English, became director in early 2002, and continued the great tradition. Graeme Harper became director in August 2011. In February 2013, Dr. Harper was appointed the first Dean of the Honors College at Oakland University.

Over 40 years now since its own foundation, the Honors College to grow and its students continue to excel – more so every year and in ways that are both remarkable and exciting. Aspiration, Inspiration and Celebration influence our mission, which is supported by the strong pillars of disciplinary and multi-disciplinary innovation, undergraduate research and creative practice, community and community engagement and positive mentorship. 

Since its foundation Oakland University has had a relationship with honors education.

In the late 1950s when the university was being established, and its first curriculum was being created, a group of honors college students from the nation's first honors college - The Honors College Group, as it was called - was asked by the administration to make their recommendations on the Oakland University curriculum and to express their thoughts on how best to support high-performing students. The then Oakland Chancellor Durward "Woody" Varner later wrote to each of the group to thank them for their contribution to the character and direction of Oakland University.

As those early Oakland administrators pointed out, supporting educational excellence is not about elitism, not about rewarding those who hold a privileged position. Rather, it is about supporting those who strive to be the best they can be, who follow their aspirations with determination and with application.

"Honors education", Grey C. Austin points out in a book chapter entitled "Orientation to Honors Education", refers to "the total means by which a college or university seeks to meet the educational needs of its ablest and most highly motivated students" (Austin: 5).

AUSTIN, GREY C. 1986. "Orientation to Honors Education." In Fostering Academic Excellence Through Honors Programs, ed. Kenneth E. Eble. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 

Faculty and Staff Recognition

Many faculty at Oakland University have supported honors education in many ways and over many years.

In recognition of faculty who have made regular and important contributions to honors education, Oakland University has created the Honors Institute. The Institute celebrates those faculty who have made a sustained and lasting contribution to honors education. New members are celebrated each year.

The Honors College Council is the governing body of The Honors College and is made up of a dedicated and diverse group of Oakland faculty as well as select student research interns. Chosen faculty members are generally asked to serve a three-year term on the council while new student members are selected annually. 

The council meets every other month for updates on Honors College events and programs, to approve senior thesis proposals and conduct Honors College business.

The Honors College Board of Visitors was established to assist the Dean in deepening the relationship between the Honors College and alumni, students and the community. 

Current Board of Visitors:

Katie Aleck, SHS '17, SEHS '24,  Chair
DC Armijo, CAS '96
Kirbionne Brakins, SBA '07
Ashley Denard, SBA '09
Erica Head, Student Representative
Aaron Helander, BIS ‘17, SBA ‘20
Isabella Limbert, CAS '24 Secretary
Kathleen McMahon, SECS '82, '89
Lauren Sanchez-Murphy, CAS '07
Sarah Swarz. CAS '15 Vice Chair
Megan Tack, SBA ‘18, ‘21
David Tobin, MD, CAS '13, SOM '17

We are always looking for enthusiastic Honors College alumni and friends to join our board.  If you or someone you know is interested, please contact us at [email protected].

Celebrating human achievement is part of the Honors College at Oakland University. Here we celebrate the work and achievements of our Honors College Honorary Esteemed Fellows. From all walks of life, but with a shared sense of purpose and ambition, the Honors College Honorary Esteemed Fellows embody the ideals of going beyond the ordinary and seeking to make a difference. Scroll down and join with us here in celebrating the achievements of the Honorary Esteemed Fellows of the Honors College at Oakland University.

Jody Williams | Nobel Prize Winner and Honorary Esteemed Fellow of The Honors College. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), the Nobel Women’s Initiative, activist, writer, teacher, Nobel Peace Prize winner.

David Kelley | CEO of design company, IDEO, one of the most significant design and consulting companies in the world. David’s contributions to the field of design are a human-centered methodology and culture of innovation. Winner of the Edison Achievement Award for Innovation, the Chrysler Design Award and the National Design Award in Product Design from the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum

Andrew Motion | Former Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Honorary Esteemed Fellow of The Honors College. Poet, novelist, biographer, in 2009 Andrew Motion was knighted for his services to literature. He was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1999 – 2009.

Jim Simons | Mathematician, billionaire, and philanthropist. Founder of Renaissance Technologies.

John Rink | Honorary Research Fellow. We celebrate the work of Dr John Rink, Professor of Musical Performance Studies, and a Fellow of St John's College, University of Cambridge.

Honors Industry Fellows:

Honors Industry Fellows are members of the business community who wonderfully exemplify honors ideals. These ideals include integrity, support for ingenuity and a belief in innovation, global understanding, a commitment to community, and a desire to make a positive difference in the world.

Gregg Garrett, CEO, CGS Partners

Jeffrey T. Cuthbertson, Cuthbertson Law, PLC 

Supporting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Honors Education.

The National Society for Minorities in Honors (NSFMIH) was founded in 2015 to bring together and advance discussions and action in relation to diversity, equity and inclusion in honors education. The organization holds an annual conference (first held at Oakland University in March 2016), hosted by institutions around the USA, and promotes the wide dissemination of ideas and initiatives related to diversity, equity and inclusion in honors education - through its annual conference, through national and international seminars and electronic events, and through publications. 

Contact/Chair: Dean Graeme Harper, Dean of The Honors College at Oakland University - [email protected]