spotlight on honors

  A DAY IN THE LIFE... STUDY ABROAD EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING HONORS FACULTY NEWS PHOTOS

honors faculty

Dr. veanne anderson

  Dr. Veanne Anderson, Honors Faculty

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Ph.D, Experimental Psychology, McMaster University, 1985 

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Dr. Anderson’s research interests have changed over time but she is generall attracted to subjects that transgress boundaries of social expectation. Her particular interests include attitudes toward feminism, especially feminist men, and attitudes toward transgendered people.

HONORS BEGINNINGS 

Dr. Anderson has interesting Honors beginnings of her own. She took an Honors class as an undergraduate student, but she slipped through the cracks of the system. When asked what might have kept her in the program, she responded, “What I needed was a faculty member to say, ‘You need to be in this program.’” Keeping that in mind, she carefully looks for potential Honors students in her classes.

She volunteered to teach Honors classes at Indiana State beginning in 1998 when Dr. Jennerman, the Honors director at the time, announced the opportunity during a meeting. After teaching Honors classes for years, she concludes that, “The Honors program is crucial to the university. It’s just a great opportunity for students to get more involved.”

TYPICAL CLASSES TAUGHT

Dr. Anderson typically teaches Gender and Sexuality, and she also allows students to convert her upper level psychology classes for Honors credit.  

She has taught the same class for Honors since she entered the program, and time has had an interesting effect on her course material and student attitudes. She admits that she has liked every single one of her classes because the dynamic of each class has been so different. For Dr. Anderson, the best part of teaching Honors students is watching their end of the year presentations, which tackle taboo sexual issues like pornography and prostitution in creative ways, and listening to everyday class conversations.

"I wish every course was like and Honors course. We should try to get all of our students up to that level." - Dr. Anderson

ADVICE TO HONORS STUDENTS

Dr. Anderson agrees with most Honors professors that students should make an effort to read and write more. She believes that paying attention to feedback of other students, mentors, and professors is a great way to improve critical skills, which is why she strongly urges all students to meet with their professors just to talk and get to know each other better.

In addition to focusing on academic skills, Dr. Anderson hopes that Honors students go outside of their comfort zones and appreciate each course they take. If students find something that truly interesting in each of their classes, they will have gained something truly valuable during their college careers.

"Grades are important. I wish sometimes they were less important than finding something interesting about the course material." - Dr. Anderson