Our Faculty
The heart of the Honors program is a set of innovative courses open only to Honors students taught by outstanding faculty, many of whom have won the prestigious Temple University Great Teacher Award. Interaction among Honors faculty and students is a hallmark of the program - classes are likely to include field trips and fascinating projects, and because our classes are small you have the chance to really get to know your professors and classmates.
To see a complete list of faculty teaching in Honors this semester, please see our current Honors Course Guide.
PROFESSOR OF THE YEAR 2007
 Dr. Istvan Varkonyi
College of Liberal Arts
Professor Istvan Varkonyi, the Honors 2007 Professor of the Year, is known among his colleagues for his expertise in Central European language, literature and culture. But among the students that he instructs he’s know for being a never-ending source of knowledge and an interesting teacher. He is currently the director of the Intellectual Heritage program, a series of required literature courses that allows freshmen to tackle complex moral, historical and political issues. “He was challenging and fair, and beloved by my class — we’re intellectually smitten,” said Julietta Bekker, a senior Spanish major.
Degrees: B.A., Heidelberg College, University of Heidelberg, Germany;
M.A., Washington University in St. Louis; Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis.
Classes created/most often taught at Temple: “German Expressionism,” “Literature and Culture of Central Europe”/Intellectual Heritage courses and German language courses.
The revolutionary thinker you most admire: Sigmund Freud.
Favorite quote: “He who dares to teach must never cease to learn.” — Richard Henry Dann.
Something no one would guess about me: “I like to ballroom dance.”
The most important lesson I’ve learned from a student/my students: “To listen, and talk less.”
Book I most recently read and liked: Gustav Mahler: A Life in Crisis by Stuart Feder.
Worst habit as a professor: “Trying to over-explain everything.”
The thing I like most about Temple: “The undergraduate students. They are the heart and soul of the university.”
My favorite spot on campus: Founder’s Garden.
What advice would you give students? “Take every opportunity to live and study in a different country.”
-By Jazmyn Burton, Temple Times
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