The honors program is, at its core, an academic program designed to challenge students to succeed in their chosen professions. Cultivating excellence in the classroom starts from the student’s first experience in a college classroom—and tonight we recognize one of the professors who has been most influential in shaping that experience for a generation of Honors students: Neil Patten.

Neil Patten, Professor of Communications, receiving the award for Outstanding Professor, Fall 2014

Neil has been involved with Honors almost since the beginning of the program, and is the most frequently cited reason for why COM 121 Public Speaking forms the core Honors experience in the first year, although he may deny that.

The Honors Students of Ferris State University Commend Neil Patten and designate him Outstanding Professor, because, according to his students:

“He makes class interesting and I am always leaving having laughed at something.” Students have nothing but praises for Neil’s teaching, and many students say that Public Speaking—Yes, Public Speaking—was their favorite class in their first semester. Neil’s commitment to the Honors Program extends way back into the program’s founding, and we are pleased to recognize his dedication to teaching Honors students with this award.