About The Helen Louise Hawk Honors Program

Mission Statement

The mission of the Helen Louise Hawk Honors Program at California State University, Bakersfield is:

To recruit and retain the very best students throughout our service region and beyond by enrolling them in a series of stimulating classes taught by the university's top professors
To bring together the very best students and very best faculty to achieve academic success
To build a cohort system that allows students to collaborate and form life-long friendships
To involve students in a strongly supportive academic and social environment that will sustain them throughout their college careers
To help students pursue competitive graduate programs and careers that will allow them to become flourishing, successful, and productive contributors in their respective communities

Core Values

Embrace knowledge and intellectual pursuits
Pursue Excellence
Foster the Ethos and Qualities of Global Citizenship
Develop social Consciousness
Cultivate respect, dignity, and empathy for self and others
Strive for justice, equality, and equity
Pursue leadership and take initiative
Build a positive team and family spirit
Be passionate and determined
Be bold, creative, and open-minded
Be humble

History

The program was initiated in the fall of 1980 by Dr. Michael Flachmann, Professor of English, and a renowned Shakespeare Scholar. Faculty members from the different discipline areas of Arts and Humanities, Business and Public Administration, Natural Sciences Mathematics and Engineering, and Social Sciences and Education joined the program to teach upper division Honors courses.

In 1998, Mrs. Helen Louise Hawk, a local community supporter, gave a $1 million-dollar endowment to the program. This donation allowed for the creation of a four-year program that was built around the General Education requirements and courses in the different Lower and Upper Division areas.

What we've constructed is this wonderful intellectual environment where our very best undergraduates can interact with other wonderful students and top-notch professors in an academic environment that is stimulating, creative and exciting. Basically, we're providing an Ivy League education at a CSU price.

Dr. Michael Flachmann (Program Founder)

Without the Honors Program I would not have been able to build the necessary connections or been given the vital opportunities to achieve my career and personal goals.

Carson Vollmer (Program Alum)

The Honors Program expanded my opportunities, heightened my academic success, and fostered my fondest memories at CSUB. I cannot thank the program enough and highly recommend it.

Abigail Klein (Program Alum)