Honors College Selects New Dean ... for a Day

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Honors freshman Andrew Palmer and Dean Lynda Coon will swap places on Oct. 3.

On the morning of Oct. 3, honors freshman biology major Andrew Palmer will sip his coffee at a stately wooden desk, framed by the light filtering in through his own private oriel. His gaze will sweep past stunning views of Old Main, across shelves upon shelves of books on medieval history and take in the religious figurines and potted plants that decorate every surface in the room. This corner office in the Honors College wing of Gearhart Hall is his … for the day.

The Bodenhamer Fellow was selected to serve as the Honors College Dean for a Day because, according to permanent dean Lynda Coon, "He is an awesome student, and he made a great video. He ran with the spirit intended." She went on to call Palmer "fearless, dauntless, intrepid, indefatigable."

After all, Dean Lynda Coon wouldn't lend her office to just anyone; the students vying to be Dean for a Day were faced with a rigorous application process that involved two essays, a one-minute campaign video and a faculty recommendation.

Palmer's day as Benevolent Overlord will include meetings with top administrators on campus. He will begin the day speaking with Chancellor Joe Steinmetz about issues important to honors students, followed by a meeting with Provost Jim Coleman. He will lunch with Honors College staff, meet with honors program directors and hold open office hours from 1:30-3:15 p.m. Honors students and faculty are encouraged to visit during this time with questions or comments for the student dean.

The schedule might be daunting for some, but Palmer feels up to the challenge. "I'm excited to meet everybody in the Honors College," he said. "It will be good to see how the organization works from the inside." After his stint as dean, he feels he will be more comfortable speaking with staff and using the resources available in Gearhart Hall, and hopes to promote this feeling among his fellow students. Dean Coon agrees that the swap will benefit the student body: "It will be a great experience for students to see one of their own running the show."

But don't think Dean Coon is getting the day off! In exchange, she has agreed to tackle Palmer's Tuesday classes, which include honors calculus I and sociology. "It will be a great retraining," she said. "It's always good to go back into the classroom when you're a teacher, because the [student] perspective always dims. I think more faculty should do that." And as a scholar of medieval history, she also expects Palmer's STEM courses to be a bit of a stretch. "I shall try to take good notes," she vowed.

On Oct. 4, Student Dean Emeritus Andrew Palmer will resume his duties as freshman biology major, and Dean Lynda Coon will reclaim ownership of her books, meetings and corner office.