Honors Day 2024

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Honors Day is a day to celebrate the many remarkable achievements of our students. The day begins with the annual Rall Symposium for Student Research. The Rall Symposium for Undergraduate Research was first held in 1998 as a forum for showcasing excellence in student research at North Central College. Each year, the Symposium has drawn an increasing number of student presenters while maintaining high presentation standards. Starting in 2023, graduate students are invited to showcase their work, as well.

The Symposium is named for Dr. Joseph Rall, M.D., Ph.D., North Central Class of 1940. Dr. Joseph Rall was involved in the Symposium since its inception and played a critical role in attracting Nobel Laureates and other distinguished scholars to speak to Symposium attendees. Dr. Rall won numerous awards and honors from the medical and scientific communities. He retired as deputy director of intramural research at the National Institutes of Health -- the highest civil service position at the NIH -- and was described as America's foremost authority on the thyroid. A member of the National Academy of Science, Dr. Rall’s most important role at the National Institutes of Health was to make all the decisions for major funding of scientific research. A passionate but tough researcher not afraid to set high standards, he catalyzed undergraduate research at North Central, his alma mater, by sponsoring the Rall Symposium, so students across the curriculum could present their work for their peers, teachers, parents and leading researchers who keynote the Symposium. 

In the afternoon, the college hosts its annual Honors Convocation where a variety of student awards are presented. The day concludes with inductions to several honor societies.

On this special day, classes are canceled, and the campus community is invited to celebrate our students’ commitment to their intellectual pursuits. For those who cannot attend in person, the Honors Convocation will be live streamed here or you can watch live on our YouTube channel on Thursday, April 18 at 1:30 p.m.

View the extended version of the Honors Day program, which includes a full schedule of the Rall Symposium along with abstracts for all the presentations and a full list of outstanding majors:

Honors Day program (web version)

Honors Day program (.pdf)

Schedule of Events 

8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 
 26th Annual Rall Symposium for Student Research 
 Wentz Science Center 

8:30 a.m. – 9:20 a.m. 
 Poster Session 1
 Judy G. Stevenson Hall 
 Wentz Science Center 

9:35 a.m. - 10:55 a.m. 
 Oral Session
 Wentz Science Center Classrooms  

11:10 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 
 Poster Session 2 
 Judy G. Stevenson Hall 
 Wentz Science Center 

12:00 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. 
 Lunch 
 Kaufman Dining Hall 

1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. 
 48th Annual Honors Convocation 
 Wentz Concert Hall 

3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. 
 Reception 
 Wentz Concert Hall Lobby 

4:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. 
 Honor Society Events 
 Various Locations