Honors program welcomes two new directors

With Phil Barker leaving at the end of the spring semester, the Morris-August Honors Program will now be led by co-directors Kirk Sanger and Emily Sharpe, who report to Assistant Vice President of Academic Engagement Celia Rabinowitz, marking a shift from the program’s single-director model that administrators say will strengthen the program, even as some students point to communication gaps during the transition.

Sanger said the shift will benefit the program, noting that “there’ll be two of us, plus the VP, who is also really involved now,” referring to Rabinowitz. “The reporting structure has changed a bit.”

However, some students said the transition has not felt as clear from their perspective.

Bee Wilkinson, a graduating senior in the Morris-August Honors Program, said she first learned of Barker’s departure through LinkedIn rather than an official announcement.

“We only found out because Phil [Barker] posted something on his LinkedIn, and we’re all connected with him,” Wilkinson said. “We were shocked. It was kind of like a plunge of cold water.”

Wilkinson said a formal announcement came later, and communication became more transparent.

Sanger said the transition is largely due to timing, as leadership positions rotate out every three years and the previous director moves on.

“The three of us have already started really bonding around what we can do to keep growing the program [and] what can we do more to really try to bring it forward for the next decade or so,” he said. “It’s a three-year appointment, so it may have come up anyway that leadership would change. I do know he [Barker] had been advocating for it to be a co-directed position just because of the workload.”

Sanger added that student input will remain a priority, noting, ”We want students to have some influence into the program, like I said, the student advisory panel would be a good place for them to do that.”

While Sanger said the transition will strengthen the program, some students say communication and visibility have been ongoing concerns.

Amanda Rotigliano, a senior majoring in history and legal studies, said she has noticed less disclosure to students within the Morris-August Honors Program.

“There’s been less communication. Usually, there’s an end-of-semester event, and I haven’t heard anything about that,” she said. “The honors Canvas page has also been quieter than usual.”

Rotigliano added that the changes may partly be due to staff adjusting to new roles.

Beyond communication, Wilkinson also questioned the program’s visibility on campus, saying many students are unaware it exists.

“I think the reason why the program has such low numbers is because not many people know about it,” she said.

Despite these concerns, students emphasized the valuable experiences the program offers, particularly through its interdisciplinary courses and global engagement opportunities.

Rotigliano said the program’s smaller, discussion-based classes allow students to engage more deeply with material outside their major.

Sharpe explained that some aspects of the leadership transition were “beyond [her] purview” at this time, as she and Sanger will continue stepping into their roles during the transition.

“Dr. Sanger and I are not officially the co-directors yet. This is a transition period,” she said.

Sharpe added that the new structure will allow for more support, giving students “more than one person who they can reach out to” for guidance.

As new leadership takes over, students say improving communication and increasing awareness will be key as the program looks to grow under this new structure.