WELCOME FROM THE DIRECTOR
In Honors courses, students and faculty of diverse interests and backgrounds come together in a community of inquiry to ask questions that challenge the status quo, to recognize our own positionality as thinkers and doers, and apply ourselves to the pressing issues of our time. The program prepares students to think critically and creatively to solve real-world problems of importance. We encourage students to connect what they learn in Honors courses to their major, co-curricular activities, community service projects, and their future career.
The SIUE Honors Program provides the unique and academically rigorous experience of a small liberal arts college within a comprehensive, public university. I am proud that our program is both accessible and affordable. We welcome all students who want to challenge themselves, cultivate their curiosity, and have a positive impact on the world. And we value each student’s potential for intellectual and social growth, not just their past academic performance.
It is my great pleasure to serve as the Interim Director of the University Honors Program and to advance the mission of this important SIUE general education program. I invite you to connect with me using any of the methods here.
I teach in the University Honors Program, because I believe that a liberal arts education can transform the lives of both individuals and communities by preparing the next generation to thrive in a world of increasing cultural diversity and technological challenges. The SIUE Honors Program is both a liberal arts curriculum and an interdisciplinary community. The curriculum is “liberal” in that our goal is education that strives for liberation, encourages freedom of thought, and makes possible a more free and just society.
Biographical Information
Dr. Jessica A. Hutchins is Interim Director of the University Honors Program at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She specializes in postcolonial literature of the Caribbean and interdisciplinary approaches to education. Her scholarship and teaching emphasize relationships between narrative, identity, and social justice. She received her PhD in Comparative Literature from Washington University (2014) and her MA in Foreign Languages and Literatures from Southern Illinois University Carbondale (2008).
From 2015-2021 she worked as Director of Curriculum and Graduate Programs in the Division of Biology & Biomedical Sciences at Washington University School of Medicine, integrating humanistic skills and concepts into STEM graduate education. In that role, she developed innovative curriculum in science communication, leadership, and career development with funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.
She has published on racialized and gendered injustice in Caribbean literature and the application of narrative theory to the field of science communication. In a forthcoming book chapter, she describes her experience making the transition from literary research to applying humanities knowledge and skills within the context of STEM graduate education and then transitioning again to a humanities faculty position. Her works-in-progress examine fictional articulations of hybrid, creolized identity by writers from the Anglophone and Francophone Caribbean. In her spare time, Dr. Hutchins like to hike and camp, crochet, ride motorcycles, and hang out with her dog.
Contacts & Links
Dr. Hutchins CV [pdf]
