MARYLAND COLLEGIATE HONORS COUNCIL 2026 ANNUAL CONFERENCE
2026 Portz Award Students
Robin Draetta
Hood College
Four-Year Institution Portz Nominee
Stephanie Duque
Towson University
Four-Year Institution Portz Winner
Nathaniel Heaton
Frederick Community College
Two-Year Institution Portz Winner
Torre Phillips
Wor-Wic Community College
Two-Year Institution Portz Nominee
Alex Reimert
Stevenson University
Four-Year Institution Portz Nominee
Tanisha Ullah
Montgomery College
Two-Year Institution Portz Nominee
Morgan Williamson
Notre Dame University of Maryland
Four-Year Institution Portz Nominee
2026 MCHC Best Abstract Award Winners
Robin Draetta – Hood College
Jacqueline Johnson – Notre Dame of Maryland University
Torre Phillips – Wor-Wic Community College
Alex Reimert – Stevenson University
Wilson L. Rosas Montero – Frederick Community College
Sydney Smolenski – Frostburg University
Genevieve Sudbrink – Towson University
2026 MCHC Best Poster Award Winners
Oluwaseye Ayoade – Howard Community College
Lois Boateng – Notre Dame of Maryland University
Henry Donoughe – Towson University
Gearan Garrison-Wright – Wor-Wic Community College
Rachel Miller – Hood College
Matthew Murphy – Towson University
Steccia Nazziwa – Towson University
Ayaan Osman – Harford Community College
Joshua Richard Lewis and Lawrence Woo – Montgomery College
Gabby Rosato – Salisbury University
Greetings, Maryland Honors Community!
The Maryland Collegiate Honors Council presents its 2026 MCHC Annual Conference, to be held on February 20-21, 2026. The conference will be held in person on Friday, February 20, at Towson University and on Zoom on Saturday, February 21.
Conference Theme: “Revolutionary Ideas: Power of the People, Leadership, and Change Through our 250 Years as a Nation”
2026 is the 250th anniversary of the United States as a nation. The Declaration of Independence (1776) stated: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
In the United States of America, people have transformed how we communicate, how we define and run our democracy, who is eligible to participate and how, how we understand and celebrate our successes and failures, and how we allocate our resources. Amidst these shifting contexts, what ideas, discoveries, or changes have you found in your research that illuminate who we are, what areas of knowledge we explore, and what we value in our local, state, national, and global communities?
Proposals: The deadline for submitting proposals to the Conference Chair is Monday, December 15, 2025. If your proposal is accepted, we will work with you to prepare it for presentation at the conference. Proposals received after the first of the year will be considered, but on a space-available basis.
Students should use the MCHC Conference Proposal Form and submit the completed form to the Honors Director at their institutions. Directors ONLY should submit all proposals to the Conference Chair, Alison R. M. McCartney, Towson University, at amccartney@towson.edu. Faculty who wish to present their own work or ideas may submit proposal directly to amccartney@towson.edu.
Registration: Registration is to be submitted by one person from each institution. Check back for more information related to registration.