Though Dr. Simon Morgan-Russell is stepping into his post as dean of Bowling Green State
University’s newly-minted Honors College, he’s no stranger to the institution, or the program.This year
marks Morgan-Russell’s 20th with BGSU."I think the thing that really kept me at Bowling Green, and
still keeps me, is the institution and particularly my interaction with undergraduate students, which I’ve
always enjoyed," he said during a recent interview.Originally from North Yorkshire, England,
Morgan-Russell earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in English from Lehigh University in Bethlehem,
Penn., in 1992 and 1994 respectively, and joined the faculty of BGSU’s English Department in 1994."When
I came to BG 20 years ago, I came here from eastern Pennsylvania and this was my first time in the Midwest,
and obviously wasn’t sure what to expect," he said.Morgan-Russell later served as the chair of the
English Department, and subsequently moved into administrative positions as associate dean and later dean of
the College of Arts and Sciences.The university announced in a statement this week that Morgan-Russell, who
had until now been serving as dean of Arts and Sciences as well as the Honors Program, has decided to step
down as Arts and Sciences dean "after a search is conducted and a new dean is
appointed.""It’s a little tough," he said of juggling the two roles. "They’re both big
jobs in different ways. Clearly my main role this year is dean of the Honors College, and really founding
that. And so my office is over here (in Founders Residence Hall), obviously. I’m still working with Alumni
and Development with the College of Arts and Sciences, because a lot of that work is about relationships
that I’ve built up over a long period of time."He said that, currently, more of the Arts and Sciences’
daily operations are being overseen by the college’s associate deans."As dean of the College of Arts
and Sciences, I didn’t often get to see students," he said of his new post. "As dean of Honors,
I’m here in the main Honors suite, in the dorm where the students live."The Honors College itself was
initially established in 1978 as the university’s Honors Program, and was designated a college in September
of this year. Students from across the university may be accepted into the Honors College – which focuses on
development of critical thinking skills, making interdisciplinary connections, conducting original
scholarship, and other opportunities. Among other programming, the Honors College offers its own sections of
some undergraduate courses. Students are to complete an interdisciplinary Honors thesis project in order to
qualify for University Honors.Also available is the Honors College’s living-learning community in Founders
Residence Hall, where Honors students can both live and take some of their courses. The former dining hall
on the lower-level of Founders has recently been renovated to provide office and other space to the Honors
College, including a communal sitting area, and classrooms. The classrooms themselves may be exclusively
accessed by Honors students as quiet study space. The Honors offices and living-learning community had
previously been located in the Harshman quadrangle across campus, near the Art Building.Involvement in
Honors is nothing new for Morgan-Russell, who began teaching classes for the program since his second year
at BGSU."I was recruited by the director at that time, who was Larry Small, to teach in the Honors
Program. So I’ve had a long acquaintance with the Honors Program in that sense," including teaching
Shakespeare for a number of years."I think that the Honors College typically recruits students from
every college at the university," he said. "But they’re very high-achieving students. So it’s
really a privilege to get to work with students who are adventurous, high-performing, high-achieving
individuals. I think as a faculty member I very much like to be challenged by my students. The Honors
College students have been very good at doing that. One of the things I’ve always said about the Honors
Program … is that the Honors College at Bowling Green is like a small liberal arts college within a large
public state university. I think it has that atmosphere, I think it has that level of performance, but it’s
accessible to first-generation public university students, which I think is remarkable."And the shift
from program to college for Honors is more than cosmetic."We have to figure out what it means of us to
have that status as a college. I think we’re interested in continuing recruitment, so we want to grow the
Honors College both in size and also in success."The college will also foster students’ applications
for such prestigious scholarships at the Rhodes, Truman and Goldwater programs."So really, the program
moving to a college has elevated the status of the institution. So we have to grow into that and become the
premier unit on campus for student success."I’m certainly excited to do this," Morgan-Russell
said. "I’m excited to be part of a program and a college that I’ve always had a great deal of respect
for. It’s an exciting opportunity not only for me personally, but also for BGSU."