![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/HTIM-faculty-reception-March2026-2-1-1200x800.jpg\")
Michael David Franklin, associate director of Honors in the Major, celebrating faculty mentorship at the Beth Moor Lounge during the Honors in the Major Faculty Appreciation Reception.\t\t<\/p>\n\t\tMichael David Franklin, associate director of Honors in the Major, celebrating faculty mentorship at the Beth Moor Lounge during the Honors in the Major Faculty Appreciation Reception.\t\t<\/p>\n
Florida State University\u00a0hosted the Honors in the Major (HITM) Faculty Appreciation Reception on March 5 at the Beth Moor\u00a0Lounge to celebrate\u00a0the\u00a0faculty mentoring\u00a0HITM student researchers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis celebration was a time to gather a number of inspiring faculty members together and acknowledge them as instructors and researchers who embody the best of FSU by sharing their unique insight and perspectives with our students,\u201d said Michael David Franklin, associate director of Honors in the Major.\u00a0\u201cFaculty mentorship is integral to the Honors in the Major experience, and we\u2019re\u00a0so\u00a0grateful to\u00a0the\u00a0dedicated\u00a0professors who help\u00a0our\u00a0students shape their work.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Approximately\u00a050\u00a0professors attended the event, which included\u00a0research mentors across disciplines,\u00a0from\u00a0linguistics\u00a0and\u00a0history to chemistry\u00a0and\u00a0environmental science.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur faculty care so deeply about their students and their academic development,\u201d said\u00a0DeOnte\u00a0Brown,\u00a0dean of Undergraduate Studies. \u201cThe Honors in the Major program shows how FSU professors nurture students\u2019 intellectual growth, connect them to opportunities, and equip them with the research tools they need to explore the subjects that spark their curiosity.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Craig](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/HTIM-faculty-reception-March2026.jpg\")
Craig Filar, associate dean of Honors, Scholars, and Fellows, addresses attendees during the Honors in the Major Faculty Appreciation Reception recently held at the Beth Moor Lounge.<\/p>\n
Part of the broader FSU Honors Program, the\u00a0HITM program helps students\u00a0in their junior and senior years\u00a0to engage in graduate-level research by completing an original thesis or creative research project produced under the direction of a faculty\u00a0mentor.\u00a0Currently, 220 students are active\u00a0in\u00a0HITM.\u00a0<\/p>\n
HITM\u00a0faculty\u00a0mentors\u00a0guide\u00a0undergraduate students in the program to\u00a0develop their\u00a0topic, produce their\u00a0project\u00a0and\u00a0complete their final thesis.\u00a0Although HITM\u00a0students do not have to be\u00a0enrolled in the University\u00a0Honors\u00a0Program,\u00a0they will still be conferred with a \u201cwith honors\u201d designation upon graduation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s HITM students are exploring a wide range of topics\u00a0of their choosing, including analysis of resolutions from the historic influence of the game Dungeons & Dragons to the work of French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir to\u00a0the venom variations in the Florida bark scorpion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Linguistics professor Antje\u00a0Muntendam\u00a0said\u00a0one of her students\u00a0developed an interest in European linguistics during her participation in\u00a0the Undergraduate\u00a0Research Opportunity Program\u00a0(UROP)\u00a0and then continued to explore her interest with\u00a0an HITM project\u00a0studying\u00a0the Italian linguistic influences in Uruguayan Spanish.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWatching that transition between projects\u00a0and it being\u00a0fulfilling for\u00a0her was nice to see,\u201d\u00a0Muntendam\u00a0said. \u201cI watched her excitement grow, and now she is applying for her master\u2019s\u00a0degree.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n