Oregon Tech Honors Program Executive Director Christopher Syrnyk, Ph. D., has been elected Vice President of the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC), an association that supports and enhances the community of educational institutions, professionals, and students who participate in collegiate honors education around the world.
Syrnyk, who has been on the NCHC Board of Directors since 2023, will begin a one-year term as Vice President in 2025. After this, he will move through roles each year as President-Elect, President, and Immediate Past President. Each role comes with specific responsibilities to help guide the future of honors education.
"Being elected to the office of Vice President of the NCHC will not only allow me to significantly raise our university's profile nationally, but I will then become the first President of the NCHC from the state of Oregon in the organization's almost 60-year history,” Syrnyk said. “Furthermore, it will provide me with organizational leadership experience, as well as the chance to contribute to the advancement of honors education nationally during a time when higher education is in need of clear narratives supporting the value of higher education."
Oregon Tech’s Honors Program, a specialized academic program for high-achieving students in all academic majors, provides an interdisciplinary education designed to prepare future leaders and professionals for successful careers and meaningful lives. The Honors Program provides Oregon Tech students with a complementary academic curriculum and a collection of extracurricular learning experiences that promote a more well-rounded future career professional, a socially responsible person, and a connected and well-educated student.
In addition to leading the Oregon Tech Honors Program, Syrnyk is Executive Director of Oregon Tech’s Office of National Scholarships and a Professor of Rhetoric and Writing in the Communication Department.
Syrnyk has been at Oregon Tech since 2012. He earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts from the University of Oregon, a Master of Arts from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in English, specialization in Composition and Rhetoric, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
More information about the Honors Program is available at www.oit.edu/academics/honors-program.
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