Melissa Johnson, dual alumna of UNCG (BA Classical Studies & History, Reynolds Scholar 1999; MEd Higher Education 2000), has been elected as a Fellow of the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC). NCHC Fellows are selected through a rigorous peer review process after careful consideration of state, regional, and national honors leadership; generous participation in honors conferences; scholarly contributions to honors education; involvement in local and national honors professional development activities; evidence of outstanding honors teaching; consulting and other services to improve honors programming at varied institutions; and other important considerations that helped to single out individuals who have made a significant difference in the reputation and influence of NCHC and honors education across the world.
Melissa is the second youngest to ever be elected to Fellow status, and is currently the youngest among all Fellows. She will be formally recognized at the NCHC annual conference in Boston this November.
This is a top distinction in undergraduate honors education. Melissa’s leadership in NCHC has included: Board of Directors, co-chair of the professional development committee, member of the research committee, past state (FCHC) president, editorial board member for the journal Honors in Practice. She is also an external program reviewer for honors programs and colleges, a summer institute facilitator, and annual conference planning committee member. Her scholarship has included her dissertation (UF educational technology, 2012) on early adopters in online honors education, along with several articles in Honors in Practice (HIP), the Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council (JNCHC), and NCHC monographs.
As an undergraduate at UNCG, Melissa was a double major in classical studies (Greek civilizations concentration) and history; a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Eta Sigma Phi, and Golden Chain; an orientation leader and peer leader for University Studies; a Reynolds Scholar and honors student; assistant chief marshal for University Marshals; president of Gamma Sigma Sigma national service sorority; and Outstanding Student Leader of the Year for the university. As a graduate student in higher education administration, she was a Greensboro Graduate Scholar and graduate assistant for the Office of Orientation. Melissa has been at the University of Florida ever since 2001 and is currently the associate director of the University of Florida Honors Program.
