Honors Program Details

The Coffeyville Community College Honors Program was established in 1996 to:

• Foster the intellectual growth of highly qualified students.
• Promote critical thinking and the formation of a position through analysis and synthesis of issues.
• Strengthen community and professional leadership.
• Emphasize critical thinking centered around the great ideas of western civilization.
• Provide opportunities for and promote the importance of collaborative learning.
• Encourage students to strive for excellence in all aspects of their lives. 

Excellence

The characteristic most commonly shared by CCC Honors Program students is a commitment to excellence.  Honors Program students are highly motivated with a focus on continuing their educational journeys at appropriate universities.

Features

The experience of Honors Program students is enriched through opportunities provided by the John M. Rounds Visiting Professorship in Western Civilization.  Dr. James Woelfel, Director of the Western Civilization program at the University of Kansas, lectures to the CCC Honors Program students twice each year.

The Honors Coordinator serves as an advisor to Honors Program students, providing academic counseling and assistance in planning both short- and long-term educational and career goals.

Students also gain provisional membership in Phi Theta Kappa.

Eligibility

Approximately one-sixth of those students receiving Presidential Scholarships are invited to become CCC Honors Program students.  A selection committee takes into consideration ACT or SAT scores, letters of application, an interview, writing sample, high school GPAs, and other pertinent materials.  The selection process for the Fall semester takes place the preceding Spring, so that the Honors Coordinator may assist these students with their original enrollment.

Students interested in the CCC Honors Program should have well-developed English skills.  Many of the Honors classes are writing intensive with an emphasis on critical thinking.  They may require oral presentations and collaborative work with peers.  Students should be capable of writing in-class essay exams under time limits and participating fully in classroom discussions.

Endowment

The CCC Honors Program has been endowed by alumni, friends, and the community.  In addition to the generous gift of alumnus John M. Rounds, NationsBank and Carolyn & K.O. Dixon are founding benefactors.  Through these gifts an endowment for the Program has been established by the CCC Foundation, ensuring its future and its growth.

Mr. John M. Rounds Visiting Professorship in Western Civ.

The John M. Rounds Visiting Professorship in Western Civilization, which provides for a unique partnership between Coffeyville Community College and the University of Kansas through the Coffeyville Honors Program, was established by Mr. John M. Rounds through a $100,000 gift in 1997.

Mr. Rounds of Arroyo Grande, California, is a 1935 graduate of Coffeyville Community College.  He moved to Caney, Kansas with his parents at the age of nine months and attended high school there.  He received his undergraduate degree in 1937 and his law degree in 1939, both from the University of Kansas.  Following law school, he entered the oil business and continued in that field for thirty years.  In 1970, Mr. Rounds turned his interest toward commercial real estate.

Mr. Rounds was honored as CCC’s 1997 Distinguished Alumnus.  In 2001, a second major gift provided for renovation of the 337-seat Spencer/Rounds Performing Arts Theatre.