Echols Scholars Student Activities
Echols Emphasis on Student Self-Governance
The Echols Scholars Program strongly affirms the University's emphasis on student self-governance. The Dean and Faculty Advisers rely heavily upon current students as to advice on programming, activities, and the academic and community direction of the Program. We seek and nourish talented student leaders, and warmly encourage them to take an active role in shaping the Echols Program. Many of our most valued projects and initiatives-such as the Echols seminar-began entirely as student-generated ideas. We seek to provide as much freedom for creativity, enterprise, and vision in the Program as possible, and it is no surprise to us that for nearly four decades many of the University's student leaders have been Echols Scholars.
The Echols First- and Second-Year Seminar
At the University of Virginia, Echols Scholars have the opportunity to create community through a collective living situation and also in the classroom. The Echols seminar creates a forum for peer learning through engaging discussions on a variety of topics. The seminar is designed by third- and forth-year Scholars, who also lead the discussion sections. The first- and second- year students also benefit from the experiences of the upperclassmen, who hold discussion sections in casual settings, such as over dinner on the Corner, and take their sections to different events on Grounds. As a two-year program, the Echols seminar also gives second year students the rare chance to keep the relationships they created during their first year.
Participation in the seminars is entirely voluntary, but strongly encouraged by the Echols Scholars Dean and Director. We feel that the seminar provides a form of community-building within the Program and the opportunity for first-year students to meet and interact with their fourth year peers. Reviews of the seminar year have been overwhelmingly positive. We are honored to announce that the seminar has been endowed for seven years by the Seven Society, one of the University's prestigious secret societies, in memory of Professor Charles Vandersee, Dean Emeritus of the Echols Scholars Program.
Seminar topics vary from semester to semester, as do speakers and participants.
Course Reviews and Peer Advising
In the 2002-2003 year, a group of Echols Scholars conceived and implemented the idea of the Echols Peer Advising program. It aims to link incoming first-year students with "big siblings" among the current Echols Scholars to help them adjust to the Program and life at the University. A forum for discussion and information is part of this new initiative as well; see Echols Peer Advising Program.
On this page you will also find evaluations of courses and professors by Echols Scholars. These evaluations are generally written by upperclass majors with wide experience in particular Departments. The Peer Advising page is a wonderful addition to the Echols Program, and was the product of student energy and determination.
The Echols Council
The Echols Council is a representative body of Echols Scholars which acts as a liaison between the Dean and the four Echols classes. Its purpose is to provide information and advice on programmatic matters to the Dean, and facilitate social and cultural events for the Echols classes.
The Council consists of 16 students, four each from the four classes, and is chosen by application. The Council meets biweekly and organizes receptions for the individual classes, the fourth-year graduation dinner, the welcome for new students, and faculty receptions.
The Council also arranges the popular "Echols Expeditions," which are field trips by students to various points of interest. We’ve sponsored excursions to the archaeological excavations at Monticello and a tour of historic Charlottesville. In 2003 the Council sponsored a trip to the Holocaust museum in Washington, DC. Local and regional performances, exhibits, and concerts are all popular destinations as well.