About Us

Katherine Tennis, Ph.D
Faculty Director, University Honors Program
katherine.tennis@du.edu | 303-871-2237

• Bio

  Kate Tennis is the director of the Center for Undergraduate Scholarship and Honors and the Faculty Director of the Honors program. She is a Teaching Associate Professor at the Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs. Kate began her career at the University of Denver in 2017 after serving as an EU Borders Visiting Scholar at the University of Victoria and completing her Ph.D. program at American University.  Her academic areas are interdisciplinary in nature; her scholarly work spans multiple research areas including migration, population research, economic development, and human security.  Her book, Outsourcing Control: The Politics of International Migration Cooperation, was published by McGill-Queens University Press in December 2020.  Kate has served in a variety of professional and leadership capacities during her time at the University. These include her leadership as the faculty director of the Undergraduate Research Center, service on Faculty Senate, supporting the DU Undergraduate Research Journal as a faculty mentor, and supervising student theses.

• Schedule Honors Advising with Kate

  Kate advises on:

  • Honors Contracts
  • Distinction/Research

  Office Hours: http://calendly.com/khtennis  

Kira Castle
Assistant Director, University Honors Program
kira.castle@du.edu | 303-871-2035

• Bio

  Kira Castle is the assistant director for the University Honors Program. She is a native Midwesterner who joined the University of Denver community in October '21. Kira is a proud alumna of a small liberal arts college in Michigan called Kalamazoo College, where she majored in English/Creative Writing and Economics & Business. She also holds a master’s degree in Higher Education Leadership from Western Michigan University. She has worked in higher education for over a decade in a variety of roles, including program management, admissions, academic advising, and orientation. 

• Schedule Honors Advising with Kira

  Kira advises on general Honors requirements.

Faculty Profile List

• Honors Council

  2025-2026 Honors Council Members

  Phil Chen, Ph.D
  Assistant Professor
  College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
  Department of Political Science

  Richard Colby, Ph.D
  Teaching Professor
  Director of First Year Writing
  University Writing Program
  
  J. Michael Daniels, Ph.D
  Professor
  College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
  Department of Geography and the Environment

  Skyler Kasnoff '27
  Student Representative
  Majors: Environmental Science, Public Policy

  Sarah Krohn '27
  Student Representative
  Major: Environmental Science
  Minors: Socio-Legal Studies, Writing Practices

  Lapo Salucci, Ph.D
  Teaching Associate Professor
  Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs
  Institute for Public Policy Studies

  Matthew Taylor, Ph.D
  Professor
  College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
  Department of Geography and the Environment

  Benjamin Williams, Ph.D
  Assistant Professor
  Daniels College of Business
  Department of Business Information & Analytics

• Current Honors Faculty

  2025-2026 Honors Faculty

  Julia Baldassari, L.S.W.
  Academic Advisor
  Office of Academic Advising
  HNRS 3000: Into the Unknown

  Russell Brakefield, M.F.A.
  Teaching Assistant Professor
  University Writing Program
  HNRS 2400: Poetry as Social Activism

  Elizabeth Campbell, Ph.D
  Professor
  College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
  Department of History
  HIST 1320: European Culture in the World Wars

  Kira Castle, M.A.
  Assistant Director
  University Honors Program
  HNRS 1000: Honors Summit

  April Chapman-Ludwig, M.A.
  Teaching Associate Professor
  University Writing Program
  ASEM 2861: Taboo Tales--Cultural Literacy Through Fairy Tales
  WRIT 1733: Honors Writing

  Sara Chatfield, Ph.D
  Associate Professor
  College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
  Department of Political Science
  PLSC 2703: Women, Gender, and the Law

  Phil Chen, Ph.D
  Associate Professor
  College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
  Department of Political Science
  HNRS 2400: American Racial Politics Beyond the Black/White Divide

  Christy Cobb, Ph.D
  Associate Professor
  College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
  Department of Religion
  HNRS 2400: Gender and Memory in Early Christianity: The Legacy of Mary Magdalene

  Richard Colby, Ph.D
  Teaching Professor
  Director of First Year Writing
  University Writing Program
  WRIT 1733: Honors Writing

  J. Michael Daniels, Ph.D
  Professor
  College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
  Department of Geography and the Environment
  GEOG 1264 & 1266: Global Environmental Change I & III

  Jared del Rosso, Ph.D
  Professor
  College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
  Department of History
  HNRS 2400: Denver Wilds

  George DeMartino, Ph.D
  Professor
  Co-Director, Global Economic Affairs
  Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs
  INTS 1500: Contemporary Issues in the Global Economy

  Dong Dinh, Ed.D
  Director, First-Generation Experience
  First@DU
  HNRS 2000: Extreme Academics

  Robert Gilmor, Ph.D
  Teaching Associate Professor
  University Writing Program
  WRIT 1733: Honors Writing

  Helen Hazen, Ph.D
  Teaching Professor
  College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
  Department of Geography and the Environment
  HNRS 2400: Reproductive Geographies

  W. Scott Howard, Ph.D
  Professor
  College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
  Department of English & Literary Arts
  HNRS 2400: Shakespeare's Americas

  Lindsay Lawton, Ph.D
  Director
  Scholar Development & Fellowship Advising
  HNRS 2401: Adventures in Fellowships

  Rachel Lim, Ed.D
  Assistant Director, Undergraduate Programs
  Daniels College of Business
  HNRS 2000: Extreme Academics

  Runchao Liu, Ph.D
  Assistant Professor
  College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
  Department of Media, Film, & Journalism Studies
  MFJS 2270: Activist Media

  Leah McFail, M.S.
  Assistant Director
  Leadership Studies
  HNRS 3000: Into the Unknown

  Danny McIntosh, Ph.D
  Professor
  College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
  Department of Psychology
  ASEM 2454: Psychology of Religious and Spiritual Practices

  Daniel Melleno, Ph.D
  Associate Professor
  College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
  Department of History
  ASEM 2406: Myths of Medieval Encounters

  Logan Middleton, Ph.D
  Teaching Assistant Professor
  University Writing Program
  HNRS 2400: The Why of Work

  Thomas Nail, Ph.D
  Professor
  College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
  Department of Philosophy
  PHIL 2182: The Making of the Modern World

  Maik Nwosu, Ph.D
  Professor
  College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
  Department of English & Literary Arts
  HNRS 2400: Migration & Diaspora Narratives

  Laura Perille, Ph.D
  Executive Director
  4D Experience
  HNRS 2000: Extreme Academics

  LP Picard, MFA
  Teaching Professor
  University Writing Program
  WRIT 1622: Advanced Rhetoric & Writing
  WRIT 1733: Honors Writing

  Savannah Pine, Ph.D
  Fellowships Advisor
  Scholar Development & Fellowship Advising
  HNRS 2000: Extreme Academics
  HNRS 2401: Adventures in Fellowships

  Virginia Pitts, Ph.D
  Director of University Teaching
  Office of Teaching & Learning
  HNRS 2000: Extreme Academics

  Trace Reddell, Ph.D
  Professor
  Director of Emergent Digital Practices
  College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
  Department of Media, Film, & Journalism Studies
  ASEM 2460: Psychedelia in the Age of AI

  Naomi Reshotko, Ph.D
  Professor
  College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
  Department of Philosophy
  PHIL 2260: Philosophical Approaches to Perception & Reality

  David Riche, Ph.D
  Teaching Associate Professor
  University Writing Program
  WRIT 1622: Advanced Rhetoric & Writing
  WRIT 1733: Honors Writing

  Lapo Salucci, Ph.D
  Teaching Associate Professor
  Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs
  Institute for Public Policy Studies
  PPOL 1910: Introduction to Public Policy

  Susan Schulten, Ph.D
  Professor
  College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
  Department of History
  HIST 1510: War and the Presidency

  Geoffrey Stacks, Ph.D
  Teaching Professor
  University Writing Program
  WRIT 1622: Advanced Rhetoric & Writing
  WRIT 1733: Honors Writing

  Don Sullivan, Ph.D
  Associate Professor
  Director, Environmental Awareness LLC
  College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
  Department of Geography and the Environment
  GEOG 1265: Global Environmental Change II

  Kate Tennis, Ph.D
  Associate Teaching Professor
  Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs
  Director, University Honors Program
  HNRS 1000: Honors Summit
  HNRS 2000: Extreme Academics
  INTS 1700: Intro to International Politics

  Kate Willink, Ph.D
  Professor
  College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
  Department of Communication Studies
  COMN 2450: Between Memory and Imagination

  Wayne Yeung, Ph.D
  Assistant Professor
  College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
  Department of Languages, Literatures, & Cultures (Chinese)
  ASEM 2777: Stranger Things: Monsters, Spirits, & the Supernatural from Asia