Albertus Magnus College Names New Co-Directors of Honors Program
Albertus Magnus College names Dr. Kristen DeCarli and Dr. Jonathan Sozek Co-Directors of the Honors Program. They will serve as primary academic advisors to all incoming transfer and first-year students and to all second-year students who have not yet declared a major. Dr. DeCarli and Dr. Sozek succeed Dr. Christine Dolan Atkins who is stepping down from this position after more than a decade of service.
In these 10 years, the Honors Program has grown into a robust program of approximately 95 intelligent, strong, and capable student leaders. I feel incredibly proud of each and every one of them and I encourage them to strive for excellence, while taking a few risks and having a bit of fun, during their remaining years at the College,” said Dr. Atkins, a resident of Woodbridge, Conn., who will remain at the College as Professor and Chair of the Department of Foreign Languages, Chair of Faculty, and Co-Chair of the NECHE 2021 Self-Study.
The Honors Program prepares Albertus students to excel academically while linking them to a variety of cultural opportunities in and around New Haven, Conn. Honors students at the College have a supportive environment of peers and professors that challenge them to achieve their academic and professional goals. The program awards students with a renewable scholarship.
In her ten years as director, Dr. Atkins has transformed the Honors Program from a small group of active members to the vibrant program that it is today. She has expanded opportunities for students to engage in scholarship, interdisciplinary study, and service. We are grateful that Dr. DeCarli and Dr. Sozek have stepped forward to build on Dr. Atkins' legacy and are confident that the program will continue to evolve and to flourish under their leadership,” said Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Sean P. O’Connell.
We want to thank Dr. Atkins for her unwavering leadership and guidance of the growth of this program,” said Dr. DeCarli, assistant professor, Sport Management in the Tagliatela School of Business and Leadership at Albertus, a native of Hamden, Conn., and a resident of Rocky Hill.
The connections fostered by this program are lasting and help make the Albertus experience memorable, enjoyable, and rewarding,” added Dr. Sozek, assistant professor of Philosophy and Religion at Albertus and a resident of Hamden, Conn.
Learn more about the Honors Program at Albertus.
About Albertus Magnus College
Founded in 1925, Albertus is a coeducational Catholic College in the Dominican tradition. Albertus' values- and liberal arts-based education is recognized by external rankings such as US News & World Report, Money, and The New York Times, and has been named a Top 10 Military Friendly School. For ten consecutive years, at least 95% of Albertus graduates have attained employment or gone on to graduate studies within six months of completing their degrees. The College has an enrollment of approximately 1,300 students across its traditional undergraduate, accelerated adult undergraduate, and graduate program levels. Proud to enroll a student body where nearly half of its undergraduate students receive Federal Pell Grants and are first-generation college goers, Albertus is known for its innovative curricular offerings, recently launching new Bachelor's degree programs in Nursing, including BSN and Connecticut's first LPN-to-BSN; General Health Sciences; Interdisciplinary Studies; and Public Health.
Among its graduate offerings is the State of Connecticut's only Master of Arts in Art Therapy and Counseling program, and it is just one of three schools to offer a Master of Science in Human Services. In 2025-26, Albertus is celebrating its historic 100th Anniversary and completing implementation of the Albertus 2025: Lighting the Way to a Second Century strategic plan, with a bold vision to "be a destination liberal arts-based college, distinguished in its interdisciplinary and experiential approach to education, rooted in Dominican values, that prepares students for lifelong civic engagement and success." To learn more, please visit albertus.edu.