Honors Program

Dr. Oya Dursun-Özkanca (University of Texas at Austin, Ph.D.) is a College Professor of International Studies (Endowed Chair), Professor of Political Science, and Director of the Honors Program and the International Studies Minor at Elizabethtown College, PA.

In Fall 2021, she served as a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, working on her next book manuscript on the Eastern Mediterranean regional balance of power. Her research interests include Turkish foreign policy, transatlantic security, European Union, Eastern Mediterranean, South East Europe, and peace operations.

She is the author of two books: Turkey–West Relations: The Politics of Intra-alliance Opposition, published by Cambridge University Press in November 2019, and The Nexus Between Security Sector Reform/Governance and Sustainable Development Goal-16: An Examination of Conceptual Linkages and Policy Recommendations, published as part of the SSR Papers flagship series of the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) by Ubiquity Press in May 2021. The Turkish translation of her Turkey–West Relations book, Türkiye–Batı İlişkileri: İttifak İçi Muhalefet Siyaseti, was published by Koç University Press in 2023.

She is also the editor of two books – The European Union as an Actor in Security Sector Reform (Routledge, 2014) and External Interventions in Civil Wars (co-edited with Stefan Wolff, Routledge, 2014) – as well as numerous scholarly articles in peer-reviewed journals, such as International Affairs, Turkish Politics, Foreign Policy Analysis, Civil Wars, European Security, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, French Politics, Perspectives on European Politics and Society, and Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies.

She served as a Visiting Fellow of Research on South Eastern Europe (LSEE) at the London School of Economics (LSE) in 2013, and has received grants and fellowships from Georgetown University, the London School of Economics, the European Commission (multiple grants), the American Political Science Association (APSA), the University of Texas at Austin (multiple fellowships), Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD), the European Union Studies Association, the Mellon Foundation (multiple grants), and Elizabethtown College (multiple grants).

She is the inaugural recipient of the Kreider Prize for Teaching Excellence at Elizabethtown College (2015); the recipient of the Richard Crocker Outstanding Service to Students Award (2018, 2020); the Ranck Prize for Research Excellence (2022); the Outstanding Honors Professor Award (2025) at Elizabethtown College; and the Honors Professional of the Year Award in the Administrator category (2025) from the Northeast Regional Honors Council.

A historian, Professor Benowitz teaches Honors 201: Elizabethtown History: Campus and Community. This Honors course counts for the Western Cultural Heritage Area of Understanding and Guided Writing and Research requirements for the Core Curriculum. The course also fulfills Community Based Learning, one of the Signature Learning Experience requirements, and is cross-listed with Public Heritage Studies.

Professor Benowitz is Director of Public Heritage Studies; he advises students pursuing the Public Heritage Studies Minor. He has authored books and articles about local history, regional studies, and Elizabethtown College’s history. Based on this scholarship, he teaches Honors 204: The Politics of Historic Preservation in Lancaster County, which counts for Western Cultural Heritage requirements of the Core Curriculum and is cross-listed with Public Heritage Studies. This experiential learning course explores regional studies through the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) pedagogy “City As Text.”

He serves on the NCHC national Place As Text Committee and has given presentations at NCHC conferences and published chapters in monographs about Honors experiential learning and civically engaged research. Professor Benowitz has nationally taught NCHC Place As Text and City As Text Faculty Institutes and Faculty Master Classes.

Professor Benowitz teaches Honors 220: Genealogy, Heraldry, Paleographical Studies, and The Public Historian. This course examines the historiography of biography, autobiography, and memoir through the lens of the historian and the genealogist. It counts for the Humanities Core Area of Understanding, Guided Writing and Research, and the Supervised Research Signature Learning Experience.

He also teaches Honors 205: Honors Leadership Theory and Personal Narrative. This Honors course counts for the Humanities Area of Understanding requirements for the Core Curriculum and prepares students applying for internships, study abroad, jobs, graduate programs, and competitive post-graduate scholarships and fellowships.

Professor Benowitz is Director of Prestigious Scholarships and Fellowships. He has authored articles and chapters in monographs published by the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) about academic advising, teaching, and directing Honors Programs, and serves on the national Program Committee for NCHC.

Much of his scholarship and public presentations have focused on American History, U.S. Presidential History, U.S. Diplomatic History, and Anabaptist and Pietist Studies in a political context. Professor Benowitz has received national recognition for his work in teaching and advising Honors students.

Luke Mackey is a graduate of Elizabethtown College with both his undergraduate and graduate degrees. He provides administrative support for the Honors Program, Office of Prestigious Scholarships & Fellowships, Stamps Scholars Program, and Momentum Program. In addition, he provides advising support for the Honors Program's students.

Luke supervises Honors Course registrations, reviews documents and requests, maintains and updates Honors student records, processes expenditure reimbursements and stipends, supports program communication, marketing, and event planning, oversees the Honors Center, supervises Student Assistants, and coordinates with the Honors Council. Luke also teaches an Honors First-Year Seminar about politics and religion which explores the intersection of these topics and why they are tough, but important, subjects to discuss.

During the 2023-2024 academic year, Luke recieved the David C. Beidleman Exemplar Staff Award in recognition for his outstanding service and commitment to the College and community.