“The greatest joy in my academic life is to see the expression on a student’s face when she discovers just how good she is and when these students flourish in sites all over the world, in professional school, graduate school, business, in all walks of life. And to know that the sun never sets on Honors College alumni working all over the world for the common good.”— Norbert O. Schedler
Now in our fifth decade, the Norbert O. Schedler Honors College has served more than 2,500 students and alumni. Through the tremendous support of the Honors College family, we were able to bring Norb’s vision of a stand-alone Honors Center to life.
In March of 2024, we moved into the Schichtl Center for Honors Education (the SCHED), and in September 2025, we celebrated its grand opening. Since the project kickoff in 2023, we have raised nearly $200,000 for the space, and have been able to complete several of our wishlist projects.
Even with all that we have accomplished, there is still work to be done. The Schedler Honors College and the Schedler Honors Program currently serve 420 of UCA’s most motivated students. In the era in which full-ride scholarships are no longer available to students, they now face significant financial barriers in order to have the opportunity to participate in the Honors College curriculum and to live in the Honors learning community.
Fifty-three percent of honors students now work 15 or more hours per week, making it difficult for them to fully participate in honors co-curricular activities and campus life and 30% of all honors students are Pell grant recipients, but this grant combined with the highest academic scholarship still is not enough to cover room and board expenses above their tuition and fees charges.
I hope you will join us by supporting the next generation of Honors scholars by giving to one of the Schedler Honors funds. This will allow us to help our Honors students reduce the number of hours they have to work and fully participate in co-curricular activities. Whether you invest in the Honors College by making an annual gift, a planned gift, or a named space, you are supporting the Norbert O. Schedler Honors College community.
For more information on giving to the Schedler Honors College, please contact Amy Fureigh at (501) 450-5284 or afureigh@uca.edu
