University Honors Program announces new faculty appointments

LAWRENCE — The University Honors Program has named a new associate director and selected three new Honors Faculty Fellows to begin in the fall semester. 

Thom Allen, assistant professor of the practice in the School of Public Affairs & Administration, will now serve as the program’s associate director, supporting the honors first-year seminars and facilitating faculty engagement in the program. 

Since joining the program last fall as the Jeffrey B. Weinberg Honors Faculty Fellow, Allen has applied his professional expertise to Common Cause, the program’s cultural literacy and social justice symposium, and contributed to program activities and student recruitment events.

Allen has also become an energetic advocate of the program’s home, Nunemaker Center, coordinating campus partners for a pollinator-friendly re-landscaping of Nunemaker and incorporating the building into a spring design planning course. 

Allen sees effective partnerships and interdisciplinary connections as key to his continued work in the program. 

“I am filled with gratitude to serve in this new position and excited to continue fostering the rich intellectual curiosity generated within the honors program through our unique community collaborations,” Allen said.  

The program also has extended three-year appointments to three new Honors Faculty Fellows:   

• Tracey LaPierre, associate professor of sociology, Patrick Malone Honors Faculty Fellow 
• Najarian Peters, associate professor of law, Linda D. Ferrell and Richard C. Tombari Honors Faculty Fellow
• Paul Scott, professor of French, Jeffrey B. Weinberg Honors Faculty Fellow .

Their addition brings the total number of Honors Faculty Fellows to 13. Representing the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences as well as five of KU’s professional schools, this cohort provides students with connections to scholarship and interdisciplinary research opportunities, as well as avenues to campus and community involvement. They also serve as mentors to students as they navigate their time in the program and participate in honors programming.  

“Honors faculty fellows form a critical part of students’ network of support by helping them identify resources and opportunities that deepen their learning,” program director Sarah Crawford-Parker said. “With their range of disciplines, we look forward to seeing how our newest faculty fellows help shape the direction of our academic and co-curricular programs.”   

KU faculty members seeking more information on honors involvement can visit the faculty page on the program’s website or contact Allen to discuss curricular and co-curricular opportunities within the program.  

Photo: Honors Faculty Fellows and program leadership pose for a group picture. Front row, left to right: Stephanie Zelnick, Sarah Crawford-Parker, Paul Scott, Kyle Camarda and Thom Allen. Back row, left to right: Tracey LaPierre, Katie Batza, Najarian Peters, Nilou Vakil, Yvonnes Chen. Not pictured: Darren Canady, Mary Klayder and Nathan Wood.