Helen Hawk Honors Society

From the CSUB directory, Sep 7, 2026

ABOUT THE HELEN LOUISE HAWK HONORS PROGRAMMission StatementThe 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 professorsTo 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 friendshipsTo involve students in a strongly supportive academic and social environment that will sustain them throughout their college careersTo help students pursue competitive graduate programs and careers that will allow them to become flourishing, successful, and productive contributors in their respective communitiesHISTORYThe 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.