Honors Houses Ignite Student's Imagination
The vision for the architectural design of the John Martinson Honors College (JMHC) Residences appeared one night when Beth McCuskey, the vice provost for student life, saw a full moon rising over time-honored Windsor Halls.
A few years later at the 2016 dedication of the newly built JMHC residences located to the west of Windsor Halls at Third and Russell Street, McCuskey said, “This site made so much sense for our new dream: align our new Honors College and Residences close to the academic core and pay homage architecturally to Windsor.”
That day, McCuskey along with then-Purdue President Mitch Daniels and Rhonda Phillips, former dean of the Honors College, together pressed a button to light the virtual fire of a torch, the College’s icon symbolizing the igniting of a student’s imagination.
However, the fire of the honors programs began in 2005 when various honors programs from many majors across campus were brought together. That led to the creation of the Honors College, Purdue’s first interdisciplinary, residential academic college that welcomed an inaugural class in 2013 and celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. In spring 2022, it was named the John Martinson Honors College in honor of a transformative gift by alumnus John Martinson.
Today, the Honors College has four residence buildings. Originally, it was housed in two buildings, Honors North and Honors South. The two buildings of Winifred Parker Hall built in 2015 and originally named Griffin Residence Halls became Honors College residences in 2022. The year before, the structures had been re-dedicated as Winifred Parker Residence Hall in honor of Purdue graduates Winifred Parker and her sister Freida who successfully worked to integrate the university’s residence halls in 1947.
When the Parker sisters were admitted to Purdue in 1946, Black students were denied access to housing in West Lafayette, which included Purdue’s campus. While their father conducted a campaign encouraging Purdue to modify its policies, the sisters courageously paved the way for their peers and future generations of Black students on campus.
As part of the Honors College, Winifred Parker Hall — the first buildings on campus named for Black alumnae — stand as reminders to all students of the courageous steps it takes to make meaningful change, aligning with the mission of the Honors College to champion diversity and inclusion to create global leaders.
The purpose of the Honors College is to create a vibrant, intellectual and residential academic community of undergraduate scholars, unlike any other on campus, based on four pillars:
- leadership development
- undergraduate research
- community and global experiences
- interdisciplinary academics.
The Honors College is for highly committed learners, pursuing knowledge across all disciplines. Students live, learn and conduct research in the Honors College that is organized by a “House” structure.
Honors Houses
The Honors Houses are intellectual and social communities that enable students and faculty to forge stronger connections with one another. Each House is designated on a floor of the Honors College residential buildings and offers events, activities and camaraderie.
A scholarly faculty fellow leads research, plans events and interacts with the students of each House to create a learning community. Student leaders act as Honors House Scholarly Liaisons between the faculty fellow, a resident assistant and students. The Student Liaison collaborates with the fellow to plan House functions.
The symbolic icons of the Honors College are the forge and the torch. Throughout human history, the forge has been a site of skill, artistry and creativity, where metals are made into innovations. Worked and shaped by the hands of the artisan, metal is crafted into objects of use and beauty. Strong yet malleable, metal is conductive, durable and lustrous. In the Honors College, the mind is like a metal, and the student is the artisan who can become whatever they imagine.
As a nod to the forge and torch, the Honors Houses are named after forgeable metals:
Titanium House
With the highest strength-to-density ratio of any metal, the lustrous titanium is strong but not dense.
Silver House
Pure silver has the highest conductivity of electricity of any element. Plus, it’s also the best reflector of visible light, making it among the brightest of metals.
Copper House
Copper is the first metal used by humans. Its reddish color is unique, and it has a high melting point of over 1,900 degrees.
Palladium House
This silver-white, noble metal is named for the asteroid Pallas, which was itself named after the mythological giant slain by Pallas Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom.
Platinum House
A rare metal, platinum is highly malleable and ductile. Its extraordinary resistance to corrosion makes it one of the noble metals.
Indium House
Indium’s atomic number is 49, which is also the county number for Marion County, where Purdue University in Indianapolis resides. Indium is frequently used in semiconductor-related applications.
House Competition
Each year, the Honors Houses compete for a silver trophy, the House Cup. Throughout the year, an app is used to track points for each student related to attendance at events, achievements and other factors that go toward their total House tally. Rewards are given to the individual student and the House for their engagement with such events as Donuts with the Dean and attending guest lectures. At the end of the year, a House gathering is held and the winner of the House Cup is announced.
Writer: Angie Klink, aklink@nlci.com