Meet the University Honors Program: Left to right, Assistant Director Lindsay Daigle; Director Amelia Zurcher; Administrator Maria Cooper; and Advisor Karalee Surface. 

Honors Staff

Amelia Zurcher, Director

Amelia Zurcher, PhD
Professor, English
Sensenbrenner Hall 002A

What I do: I oversee all aspects of the Honors Program, including admissions, curriculum, Honors research, and all our connections with the rest of the University and our alumni. I also do some advising and teach at least one Honors class per year.

What I'm interested in:  I love reading (especially novels, all kinds), cooking, biking, and dogs.

Lindsay Daigle, Assistant Director

Lindsay Daigle, PhD 
Sensenbrenner 002C

What I do: As the Assistant Director of the Honors Program, I oversee the Honors Peer Mentor Program, the Honors Media Internship, and Honors advising practices. I plan Honors-affiliated events and extra-/co-curricular opportunities as a way to build community. I also teach HOPR 1955H, our first-year foundational rhetoric course.

What I'm interested in: I love collaborating with students to help them explore their worlds and learn how to best contribute to them. I’m interested in learning as a lifelong, engaged, recursive process. And generally, I like poetry and literature, TV and movies, sports and athletics, social justice, and forward progress. Outside of ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ, I teach group fitness and creative writing classes around Milwaukee.

Karalee Surface, Experiential Learning and Prestigious Fellowships Coordinator

Karalee Surface, PhD
Sensenbrenner Hall 005A

What I do: I serve as a point person for students interested in pursuing prestigious fellowships and as the primary advisor for the Fulbright U.S. Student program. I enjoy connecting students with research or extracurricular opportunities, finding internships, and navigating various personal and academic crises as they arise.

What I'm interested in: I like storytelling, history, gender equity, and disability. I am an avid reader, and aside from my work at ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ, I freelance as a copyeditor and developmental editor. Unsurprisingly, I love hearing students’ stories and helping them to develop their stories through transformative experiences here at ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ.

Maria Cooper, Honors Coordinator 

Maria Cooper 
Sensenbrenner Hall 005C

Who I am: I've been employed at ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ for nearly 20 years.  I worked in the Honors Program from 2006-2020 and returned in 2024. I split my responsibilities between the Honors Program, the Office of Academic Integrity, and the ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ Core Curriculum. 

What I do: I manage the honors curriculum, student records, the budget, facilitating honors funds for research and study abroad, and organizing honors events. I'm a problem solver and love troubleshooting to figure out systems and processes.  

What I'm interested in: I love the outdoors, walking, yoga, cooking, and time with family.

Jeremiah Noonan, 2025-2026 Career Diversity Fellow

Jeremiah Noonan
Sensenbrenner Hall 002

What I do: I am a PhD student in the Department of Philosophy. I have taught PHIL 1001: Foundations in Philosophy, PHIL 4330: Business Ethics, and CORE 4929: Service of Faith and Promotion of Justice. I am also a recent recipient of the Smith Fellowship. In the current academic year, I am assisting with the planning of Honors-affiliated events and opportunities for reflective experiential learning, serving as editor of the bi-weekly Honors Digest, and providing Honors advising. If you are considering graduate study in the humanities, please feel welcome to contact me for resources and guidance.

What I'm interested in: My research interests focus on the history of philosophy, with particular emphasis on Classical Greek thought—including science, politics, poetry, and history—and its relationship to the development of Ancient Greek philosophy. I hold a B.A. in Philosophy and History from Seattle University and an M.A. in Philosophy from Duquesne University. In addition to my academic work, I enjoy cycling and hiking, exploring film and theater, listening to classical music, and participating in community activities.

Honors Faculty

Joong Won Kim, Teaching Assistant Professor

Joong Won Kim (he/him/his) Ph.D. is a Teaching Assistant Professor of Criminology and Legal Studies at the Department of Cultural and Social Sciences at ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ. Dr. Kim earned his Ph.D. in Sociology at Virginia Tech and his M.A. in Sociology at DePaul University. His first education and realization of the possibilities of Sociology as a scholar-activist practice began during his training as a B.A. in Sociology at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. His research is at the intersection of Race and Ethnicity, Assimilation, Public Policy, Human-Technology Interactions, and Racialized Spaces. By drawing on how cultural practices become racialized, Dr. Kim's research centralizes the role of race in shaping spatial inequality at a global, transnational scale. Dr. Kim’s work can be found in academic peer-reviewed journals such as Ethnic and Racial Studies, American Behavioral Scientist, Sociological Inquiry, Social Currents, and Sustainability. Dr. Kim is an award-winning lecturer who actively utilizes technology at the intersection of culture to deliver student-centered learning experiences. 

Kris McLain, Teaching Assistant Professor

Kris McLain, PhD
Sensenbrenner Hall 005K

I earned my PhD from Pennsylvania State University in Philosophy and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. I love to think about the ancient Graeco-Roman world and how it can inform and speak to us today. In my free time, I read, play board games and video games, and explore Milwaukee. 

 

And Percy, the Honors dog