University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. University Honors Program | University of Illinois Archives

In 1958, the Board of Trustees approved recommendation of a Committee on Programs for Superior Students and the Urbana Senate to create the University Honors Program. The basis of the Program is that from each freshman class entering the University a special group of superior students is chosen and known as Edmund J. James Scholars. The Program is designed to match such students' capacity to learn more quickly than the average and to handle studies of greater difficulty; it offers opportunities for able and industrious students in any area and provides a good background for later graduate and professional study. The President appointed a Director and an Associate Director of the University Honors Program and a Faculty Honors Council to work with the Director.¹ In 1967, the Program was listed under the Chancellor's Office and not under the Provost's Office as it had been earlier.²

1. Board of Trustees Transactions, 50th Report, January 20, 1959, pp. 276-77.

2. Board of Trustees Transactions, 1966-1968 Supplement, p. 32. Record Group 24