The University of Connecticut’s student organization Honors Council has expressed disappointment by the lack of communication from the university after it cut half of honors housing in Peter J. Werth Residence Tower.
The university’s Office of the Provost made the decision to cut half of housing of the Honors to Opportunities learning community to accommodate a new learning community. H2O is a residential community space for sophomore honors students to engage with peers.
Christian Chlebowski is a third year, dual degree student at the University of Connecticut. He was elected president of the Honors Council in May 2022.
“The problem is that there was no communication about this action with the honors communities,” Chlebowski stated.
According to Chlebowski, the decision came after recruitment, applications and decisions about students invited to live in H2O had already been completed.
“We have students now who don’t know where they’re going to live next year, ” Chlebowski said.
According to Director of the Honors Program Jennifer Lease Butts, she learned about the change shortly after the Provost’s Office had made the decision. She is also the Associate Vice Provost for Enrichment Programs and is responsible for policy regarding the honors program.
As more learning communities are being established, the decision made by the Provost’s Office was to downsize H2O House.
The housing changes to the H2O learning community will start in the 2023-2024 academic year, according to Lease Butts.
Honors Council is a leadership community for honors students. They provide an opportunity to connect students with the honors program administration. Honors Council also works to connect the other honors student organizations and help students connect with each other.
