Honors College Staff

Directory Listing

 

Alphabetical Listing

 

Maura Benton, Assistant Director of Development, who joined the Honors College development team in June 2007, helps raise funds to benefit the College. Prior to coming to the Honors College, Maura spent six years in the Eli Broad College of Business Development Office. Before moving to Michigan in 2001, Maura worked as a grant project administrator at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, and in the financial area with investment portfolios at Reams Asset Management in Columbus, Indiana, and Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Maura is currently enrolled in the HALE Masters Program in the College of Education at MSU and holds a bachelors degree in Anthropology from Dartmouth College. As a member of the East Lansing community, Maura is a board member of the East Lansing Children’s Film Festival.

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Katie Cable, as Coordinator of Alumni Relations, works to coordinate and enhance Honors College Alumni events, programs and overall alumni involvement. Katie graduated with a BA in Communication Arts from Ohio Northern University in 2004, and spent four years working in the Alumni Relations office as a student assistant, as well as traveling across the country to alumni events as a student ambassador/performer. After graduation, Katie lived and worked in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she spent two years in political campaigning and association management. Enjoying community involvement, Katie also sat on the Board of Directors of the Girls and Boys Town of Nevada.

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Michael Conwell received a BA in Mathematics from Albion College before teaching high school mathematics and history for several years. He came to MSU as a graduate student and earned an MA and PhD, both in History. He spends his spare time running, bicycling, and reading mystery after mystery.

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Gavin Craig, in addition to academic advising, coordinates the Honors College’s internal scholarship programs including the study abroad awards, and organizes second-year programs such as the Second-Year Seminar. He graduated with a BA in English from Michigan State University in 2001 and is currently pursuing an MA in English Literature. A member of the Honors College and an Alumni Distinguished Scholar, Gavin was an active member of H-STAR and edited an undergraduate literary magazine, The Offbeat, which continues as a publication of the MSU Press.

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Sandi Hewitt Dean, received her BA from James Madison College at MSU, including a secondary teaching certification through the College of Education. She taught in the Kansas City area while earning her MEd in Literacy Studies from the University of Missouri. In addition to academic advising, Sandi serves as coordinator of the Professorial Assistant program and assists with the Honors College Research Seminars. Sandi also works with the Student Athlete Support Services staff in advising Honors College student athletes. She has studied abroad in Denmark, England and Hungary and continues to enjoy traveling. In the Lansing community she serves as a coordinator for Reading is Fundamental and also as a parent trainer/consultant for the MSU PROM/SE (Promoting Rigorous Outcomes in Math & Science Education) program and Lansing Schools. 

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Bess German, Director of Admissions and Student Affairs, has worked at the Honors College since 1997. She has a BA in psychology from Kalamazoo College, a master’s degree in college student affairs from Bowling Green State University, and a PhD in higher education from Michigan State University.   Bess coordinates recruiting and admissions for incoming first year students; handles selection for and maintenance of HC scholarships awarded to new students; leads the student affairs staff in the College; serves as a diversity coordinator for the HC; produces HC publications; and advises several HC student groups including H-STAR, MOSAIC, and the Mowbray Scholars Program.

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Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore joined the Honors College as its Dean in fall, 2007. She came to MSU in 1994 and has had appointments in the Urban Affairs Program, the Department of Political Science and the School of Social Work. Other MSU appointments have included director of the Urban Studies Graduate Program, co-director of the Program in Urban Politics and Policy, and acting assistant dean of the Urban Affairs Program. Prior to coming to MSU, Jackson-Elmoore had appointments at the University of Southern California and the University of Delaware. Her research interests include urban politics and policy, state and local governments, nonprofit organizations, and healthy communities. Jackson-Elmoore’s academic degrees include a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware, a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California, and a doctorate in public administration from the USC.

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Jenni Marsh, Coordinator of Scholarships and Fellowships, coordinates the major nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships for the Honors College and the Graduate School. She advises students applying for these awards, provides feedback on application materials, and shares information about the foundations and their programs to interested students and faculty. Jenni received a BA in Spanish and Natural Sciences from Alma College in 1997, as well as a Michigan secondary teaching certificate. She taught both high school and middle school Spanish and science classes for ten years in the Detroit suburbs before moving to Michigan State University in 2006. She earned an MPA (public administration) from the University of Michigan in 2002.

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Melissa Mattingly joined the Honors College Staff as Admissions Counselor in the fall of 2004 after graduating from Michigan State University with a BA in International Relations and Political Theory & Constitutional Democracy through James Madison College. As an undergraduate she was deeply involved with the Honors College working in the office for three years and serving as an Honors floor resident mentor, member of the Honors College Student Advisory Council, and leader of Honors Students Actively Recruiting. Melissa often provides the initial contact for high achieving students and their families in interacting with the Honors College. She also coordinates the State High School Quiz Bowl Championship that is held annually at the University.

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Kathee McDonald, Director of the Office for Gifted and Talented Education, returned to her alma mater, MSU, after retiring from teaching in area public schools.  During her 26 year teaching career, she taught grades 1 - 12 and served as a Gifted and Talented Coordinator.  Her duties in the GATE Office include coordinating, implementing and conveying information about the various academic and travel abroad programs for academically able middle and high school students.  She also assists students who dual enroll at MSU.

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Andrew McLemore, who joined the Honors College academic advising staff in Fall 2005, helps facilitate many of social and co-curricular activities for the Honors College community in addition to his academic advising duties. As advisor for the Programming Board, Andrew coordinates the Fireside Chats and the annual Stratford trip. He also serves as the musical director for the Spartan Dischords a capella ensemble and advises the MSU Dodgeball Team. Andrew received his BS in physiology in 2003 as a member of the Honors College. A former Professorial Assistant and Mowbray Scholar who was active on Honors College panels and recruiting events, Andrew came to the Honors College from the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine and is a member of the MSU Medical Scholars Advisory Committee.

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Patricia Shropshire received her BS in Zoology from Howard University in Washington, DC. Shortly thereafter she earned an MS in Biology (Parasitology) from The Graduate School at Atlanta University. Her first job was at Atlanta College of Medical and Dental Careers where she taught Bacteriology and Parasitology. She later taught in the Departments of Biology at Spelman College in Atlanta and Temple University in Philadelphia. She moved to the Bay Area in Northern California after her tenure at Temple, to work as a Student Affairs professional at Mills College in Oakland, California. She left Mills as Associate Dean of Students to return to the academy for her PhD. Her work at Mills informed a switch in disciplines from Biology to Sociology. Her areas of concentration in Sociology are Race, Class and Gender; Feminist Theory; Leadership and the Sociology of Organizations. While at MSU, she has taught several courses for the Department of Sociology and worked with the Office of Diversity Programs in the College of Veterinary Medicine.

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Greta Stahl is Director of the MSU Debate Program. Greta graduated from MSU in 2004 with a dual major in international relations (through James Madison College) and history (through the College of Arts and Letters), where she was also a member of Honors College. Greta and teammate David Strauss formed the two-person team from Michigan State that won the National Debate Tournament in 2004. That same year, Greta was also selected as a Marshall Scholar, through which she completed work for a Masters of Philosophy in international relations at the University at Oxford.

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Tess Tavormina, Professor of English, also serves as Coordinator of the Academic Scholars Program. She received a BS in Mathematics from Michigan State (Lyman Briggs School), where she was a member of the Honors College, as well as a M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Medieval Studies from Yale University. She specializes in the areas of medieval literature, medieval medicine, literature and medicine, medical humanities, and science fiction.

 

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