Dr. Shawn Bingham is the dean of the UTC Honors College. Photo by Angela Foster.
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s new Honors College dean, Dr. Shawn Bingham, has spent more than two decades working in university honorsprograms. Most recently, he served as director of the University Honors Program and Mykles Endowed Chair of Honors at Colorado State University.
Bingham is a sociologist whose research has taken him from disability advocacy and consumer culture to the tiny house movement and political art. He’s also passionate about working closely with students and creating interdisciplinary classes that don’t fit into a single department.
Why did you get into honors education?
“I’ve been in and out of honors full time since about 2003, and honestly, I still think it’s the best job on campus. It’s one of the few administrative jobs where you’re shaping interesting programs every day, but you never lose touch with students. I’vecontinued teaching, traveling abroad with students and finding ways to connect with them outside the classroom, and that’s what I love most about this work.”
What drew you to UTC’s Honors College?
“I actually met UTC Honors students at a conference probably 10 years ago. It was obvious they had been really well mentored and prepared, so I’d been following UTC from afar ever since.
“Linda Frost is also really well known in the Honors community. It’s a pretty small world, and I had a couple of colleagues who were close friends with her, so I already knew the program’s reputation.
“The more I learned about Chattanooga, the more excited I became. I knew about the city’s renaissance over the last couple of decades, but what really stood out was the relationship between the University and the community.
“Programs like Innovations in Honors are things universities across the country are trying to build, but they can’t always get the traction with community partners or the right faculty to make them happen. To come somewhere that’s already doing that was really exciting.”
What are you hoping to bring to the Honors College?
“There are already great things happening here, so I’m not coming in thinking there’s something to fix. I’m excited to build on what’s already here and bring a few new ideas into the mix.
“International experiences are a big part of what I enjoy. I’ve led students abroad two or three times a year throughout my career, and I’d love to continue building those opportunities here.
“I also really enjoy helping faculty imagine courses they might not be able to teach anywhere else. Honors can be a place where those ideas get started and eventually grow into something bigger.”
You’ve created some unique Honors courses over the years. Where do those ideas come from?
“I love asking faculty, ‘What’s the dream class you’ve always wanted to teach?’
“I had a dean once who told me he didn’t drink coffee and he didn’t drink alcohol, but he loved chocolate. He traveled with students and kept journals about chocolate because he was a soil scientist. I said, ‘Can you teach a class on chocolate?’
“Suddenly you’ve got biology and chemistry, economics, history and even religion because chocolate was used in ritual ceremonies. A week later he sent me a syllabus.
“I emailed him back and said, ‘This looks great. Can we make it a travel course? Can we take students to Costa Rica?’ And that’s exactly what we did.
“That’s one of the really fun parts of Honors. You throw ideas out there and see who wants to riff with you. Sometimes the most interesting classes are the ones that don’t fit neatly into a single department.”
You’ve taught a course that explores happiness. What do students learn from that experience?
“One of my favorite courses is called ‘The Myths and Science of Happiness.’ Students arrive on campus, spend a couple of days together, and then we go to Copenhagen before the semester even starts. Imagine being 18 years old, traveling abroad with 20 people you don’t know and then coming back to begin college together. The bonding that happens is pretty amazing.
“But the course isn’t really about travel. It’s about asking students what they think will make them happy. We unpack where those ideas come from, whether it’s grades or careers or something else, and then we look at what the research actually says.
“Many Honors students are highly driven and highly anxious, so it creates a space where it’s OK to talk about those things right from the beginning.”
Tell me about your research interests.
“I’m a sociologist, so they’re kind of all over the board.
“My research has explored comedians with disabilities who use stand-up as a form of activism, the tiny housing movement, political art, consumer culture and Henry David Thoreau.
“I also teach a course on consumer culture that’s almost the flip side of a marketing class. We look at how we’re marketed to, why we buy the things we buy and what we’re really solving for. It’s not about making students feel guilty. It’s really abouthelping students slow down and think about what a well-lived life looks like.”
Why should students consider joining the Honors College?
“I think Honors gives students the best of both worlds. You get the experience of a small college, but you also have all the opportunities and resources that come with a University this size.
“To me, the biggest benefit is being around other students who care about the same kinds of things you do. Maybe they’re two years ahead of you and already doing the things you hope to do. That’s an amazing resource.
“Then there are the faculty relationships. In a really large class, it’s hard to get to know your professor. Honors gives students those smaller classes, but also opportunities outside the classroom—whether it’s traveling together or attending events—where those mentoring relationships can really develop. I think that kind of community is really important.”
What do you want students to know about you?
“I want them to know I’m approachable. If my office door is open, come on in.
“I’ve had thousands of students over the years who maybe didn’t get into Honors at first but reached out anyway. We’d grab coffee, talk about what they wanted to accomplish and figure out a path forward.
“I also don’t take myself too seriously. I think the best part of this job is getting to know students.”
We’ve heard someone else is joining the Honors College, too. Can you introduce us to Mr. Pickles?
“Mr. Pickles is my rescued French bulldog, and yes, he came with the name.
“I drove to Chattanooga with him, and I’m excited to bring him to campus now that I know UTC is such a dog-friendly place.
“I’m hoping that maybe if we do something like Coffee with the Dean, I’ll bring him because he’ll be the real draw. People won’t care that I’m there. They’ll just say, ‘Oh, it’s Mr. Pickles.’”
Anything else you’d like the UTC community to know?
“I feel very grateful to be here. The first person who picked me up from the airport was (Gary W. Rollins College of Business) Dean Robert Dooley, and hearing him talk about UTC and his long dedication to the University, I immediately felt like this was a good fit.
“I’m really excited to become part of this community. This feels like the right scale, the right size university and the right kind of city to do this work.
“I feel very fortunate to be here.”
