UMass Amherst

Tenth Anniversary Celebrations


Commonwealth Honors College celebrated its 10th full incoming class throughout 2009-2010, and honored those who came before us in the University of Massachusetts Amherst Honors Program.

Celebrations So Far


May 14, 2010: Celebration of Excellence. Commonwealth Honors College’s convocation for graduating seniors and their families took place from 2:30 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Friday, May 14th in the Mullins Center. For more information about any of these events, contact alumni@honors.umass.edu or Meredith Feltus, chair of the 10th Anniversary Committee 413-577-0149.

You may also find the Alumni Survey of interest.

April 23-25, 2010: Many alumni, students, parents, and friends joined us for the Commonwealth Honors College Tenth Anniversary Celebrations, All-Honors Reunion, and Daffodil Lectures on Sustainability and the Environment. The Daffodil Lectures on Sustainability and the Environment featured UMass Amherst Distinguished Professor Raymond Bradley, Pace University Senior Fellow for Environmental Understanding Andrew Revkin, University of Florida Professor of Religion and Nature Bron Taylor, and UMass Amherst Professor of Geosciences Julie Brigham-Grette.

Some alumni made it a full weekend, by joining us for our 16th Statewide Undergraduate Research Conference. More than 600 students from across the public higher education system of Massachusetts presented their work on Friday, April 23, 2010 on the UMass Amherst campus.

April 14, 2010: Commonwealth Honors College Advisory Board's chairman, Melvin Howard '57 was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Service Award by the UMass Amherst Alumni Association in a ceremony at the Massachusetts State House. Read about Mr. Howard's service to the University and Commonwealth Honors College here.

May 23, 2009: Commonwealth College Celebration of Excellence (senior ceremony prior to commencement) featured Aaron D. Spencer, former chairman of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education and driving force behind the creation of an honors college for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Mr. Spencer was awarded the campus's Distinguished Achievement Award at commencement.

Sept 4-6, 2009: Welcome Weekend. Commonwealth College held a convocation to welcome the 10th incoming Commonwealth College class on the Friday afternoon of Labor Day Weekend (4:00 p.m., Friday, September 4, 2009).

Fall, 2009: All were invited to read along with the 2,000 students in the Honors Seminar Series. The fall 2009 book was Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie. The book was chosen by junior and senior students who work in a year-long course to narrow a list of 40 books to six before reviewing and presenting their selections to one another and their peers to finally pick two for the coming year. Students look for engaging books that offer a rich array of themes for research and discussion. This is the 17th book in the Honors Seminar Series, previously known as the Dean's Book Course. The Honors Seminar Series offered several events for students and other interested readers.

October 6, 2009: Honors Seminar Series Panel Discussion on Sherman Alexie's Ten Little Indians. Faculty from the Five College Native American Studies Program, and the UMass departments of Anthropology, History, English, and Comparative Literature discussed issues raised by Alexie's Ten Little Indians.

October 17, 2009: Commonwealth College students planted daffodils Homecoming Weekend by the Old Chapel for a gorgeous spring display. With proper care, the daffodils will expand and flourish for many years to come. Draw your own parallels to honors education, and to the environment, which will be the focus of the first annual Daffodil Lectures in the spring, just in time for the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

December 3, 2009: Sherman Alexie, author of Ten Little Indians, spoke on campus to the 2,000 students who read his book. This event was also made possible through the English Department's Troy Lecture Series.

Last updated: April 29, 2010.



APRIL 23-25:
Learn more about the Daffodil Lectures and Honors Reunion events



See the Daffodil Lectures poster