Honors College Staff

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Maura Benton, Assistant Director of Development, who joined the Honors College development team in June 2007, helps raise funds to benefit the College. Prior to coming to the Honors College, Maura spent six years in the Eli Broad College of Business Development Office. Before moving to Michigan in 2001, Maura worked as a grant project administrator at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, and in the financial area with investment portfolios at Reams Asset Management in Columbus, Indiana, and Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Maura is currently enrolled in the HALE Masters Program in the College of Education at MSU and holds a bachelors degree in Anthropology from Dartmouth College. As a member of the East Lansing community, Maura is a board member of the East Lansing Children’s Film Festival.

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Jennifer Bertram was appointed as the Director of Development for University Scholarships & Fellowships at Michigan State University in July, 2009.  She began working for MSU in 2006 as a regional gifts officer, working primarily in the southeast Michigan region.  Prior to joining Michigan State University,  Jennifer worked for over fifteen years in corporate, political and education organization management. Jennifer holds a BA in Political Science from Hope College.  She is very active in her community, volunteering as a coach for the Holt Jr. Rams Cheerleading Squad and managing the Capital Centre Pride Bantam B Hockey Team. 

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Katie Cable, Coordinator of Alumni Relations, works to coordinate and enhance Honors College Alumni events, programs and overall alumni involvement. Katie graduated with a BA in Communication Arts from Ohio Northern University in 2004, and spent four years working in the Alumni Relations office as a student assistant, as well as traveling across the country to alumni events as a student ambassador/performer. After graduation, Katie lived and worked in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she spent two years in political campaigning and association management. Enjoying community involvement, Katie also sat on the Board of Directors of the Girls and Boys Town of Nevada.

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Katy Luchini Colbry graduated from MSU with a BA in Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy (from James Madison College) and a BS in Computer Science.  An Honors College member, Katy was a Professorial Assistant and participated in several undergraduate research projects related to educational technology and later earned a MSE and PhD in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan.  Katy taught computer science at MSU prior to joining the Honors College and is actively involved in the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society.

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Michael Conwell received a BA in Mathematics from Albion College before teaching high school mathematics and history for several years.  He came to MSU as a graduate student, completing an MA and PhD, both in History. During his time at the Honros College, he has taught classes in American Thought and Language (now WRAC) as well as computer mathematics at Lansing Community College. Dr. Conwell is in his 36th year as an academic specialist/adviser with the Honors College.  Running, bicycling, and reading mystery after mystery occupy much of his spare time.

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Gavin Craig graduated with a BA in English from Michigan State University in 2001 and is currently pursuing an MA in English Literature. A member of the Honors College and an Alumni Distinguished Scholar, Gavin was an active member of H-STAR and edited an undergraduate literary magazine, The Offbeat, which continues as a publication of the MSU Press.

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Sandra Hewitt Dean received her BA from James Madison College at MSU, including a secondary teaching certification through the College of Education. She taught in the Kansas City area while earning her M Ed in Literacy Studies from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. In addition to academic advising, Sandi serves as co-coordinator of the Professorial Assistant program and assists with the Honors College Research and Citizenship-Leadership Seminars. She is the HC liaison with the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Eli Broad College of Business, the College of Education and James Madison College.  Sandi also works with the Student Athlete Support Services staff in advising Honors College student athletes and serves as a resource for the MSU Office of Study Abroad.   She has studied and lived in Denmark, England and Hungary and continues to enjoy traveling. In the Lansing community she has served as a coordinator for Reading is Fundamental and also as a parent trainer/consultant for the MSU PROM/SE (Promoting Rigorous Outcomes in Math & Science Education) program in Lansing Schools. 

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Bess German, Director of Admissions and Student Affairs, has worked at the Honors College since 1997. She has a BA in psychology from Kalamazoo College, a master’s degree in college student affairs from Bowling Green State University, and a PhD in higher education from Michigan State University.   Bess coordinates recruiting and admissions for incoming first year students; handles selection for and maintenance of HC scholarships awarded to new students; leads the student affairs staff in the College; serves as a diversity coordinator for the HC; produces HC publications; and advises several HC student groups including H-STAR, MOSAIC, and the Mowbray Scholars Program.

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Dr. Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore joined the Honors College as its Dean in fall, 2007.  She came to Michigan State University (MSU) in 1994 and has had appointments in the Urban Affairs Program, the Department of Political Science and the School of Social Work. Other MSU appointments have included director of the Urban Studies Graduate Program, co-director of the Program in Urban Politics and Policy, and acting assistant dean of the Urban Affairs Program.  Professor Jackson-Elmoore’s 's research interests include urban politics and policy, state and local governments, nonprofit organizations, and healthy communities.  Her academic degrees include a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware, a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California, and a PhD in public administration from the University of Southern California (USC).

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Melissa Mattingly joined the Honors College Staff as Admissions Counselor in the fall of 2004 after graduating from Michigan State University with a BA in International Relations and Political Theory & Constitutional Democracy through James Madison College. As an undergraduate she was deeply involved with the Honors College working in the office for three years and serving as an Honors floor resident mentor, member of the Honors College Student Advisory Council, and leader of Honors Students Actively Recruiting. Melissa often provides the initial contact for high achieving students and their families in interacting with the Honors College. She also coordinates the State High School Quiz Bowl Championship that is held annually at the University.

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Kathee McDonald, Director of the Office for Gifted and Talented Education, returned to her alma mater, MSU, after retiring from teaching in area public schools.  During her 26 year teaching career, she taught grades 1 - 12 and served as a Gifted and Talented Coordinator.  Her duties in the GATE Office include coordinating, implementing and conveying information about the various academic and travel abroad programs for academically able middle and high school students.  She also assists students who dual enroll at MSU.

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Patricia Shropshire received her BS in Zoology from Howard University in Washington, DC. Shortly thereafter she earned an MS in Biology (Parasitology) from The Graduate School at Atlanta University. Her first job was at Atlanta College of Medical and Dental Careers where she taught Bacteriology and Parasitology. She later taught in the Departments of Biology at Spelman College in Atlanta and Temple University in Philadelphia. She moved to the Bay Area in Northern California after her tenure at Temple, to work as a Student Affairs professional at Mills College in Oakland, California. She left Mills as Associate Dean of Students to return to the academy for her PhD. Her work at Mills informed a switch in disciplines from Biology to Sociology. Her areas of concentration in Sociology are Race, Class and Gender; Feminist Theory; Leadership and the Sociology of Organizations. While at MSU, she has taught several courses for the Department of Sociology and worked with the Office of Diversity Programs in the College of Veterinary Medicine.

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Greta Stahl, Director of the MSU Debate Program, graduated from MSU in 2004 with a dual major in international relations (through James Madison College) and history (through the College of Arts and Letters), where she was also a member of Honors College. Greta and teammate David Strauss formed the two-person team from Michigan State that won the National Debate Tournament in 2004. That same year, Greta was also selected as a Marshall Scholar, through which she completed work for a Masters of Philosophy in international relations at the University at Oxford.

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Laura Symonds joined the Honors College in the fall of 2008 as the Coordinator of National and International Scholarships and Fellowships (NIFS), a position that allows her to pursue her strong interest in undergraduate/graduate education while she continues her neuroscience research.  As the NIFS coordinator she works to identify and advise students and their faculty mentors in their applications for prestigious scholarships and fellowships.   She has been a faculty member at MSU since 1997, is a member of the Neuroscience Program, and maintains appointments in the Departments of Radiology and Neurology where she runs a laboratory in neuroimaging.  Her research is in cognitive neuroscience, including topics such as how the perception of pain is altered during different cognitive or emotional states.  She previously held an appointment at the University of California, San Diego, and did postdoctoral fellowships at Princeton University and Oxford University in England.  Her bachelor’s degree in psychology was earned at Vanderbilt University, and her Ph.D. in anatomy and neurobiology is from the University of Pennsylvania. 

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