Chelsea Hodge, Director of Grants and Research Innovation

As director of grants and research innovation, Chelsea Hodge helps honors students explore thesis topics, find research mentors, and search for thesis committee members, as part of learning about and navigating the research process. In addition, Hodge administers the Honors College’s research grants, which provide funding for research stipends, project expenses, travel, and conference attendance. She also helps coordinate the Honors College’s extensive study abroad grant program, helping students find suitable programs and the necessary funding to make study abroad possible. Hodge teaches honors sections of University Perspectives, as well as the popular Honors College Retro Readings: Harry Potter course.

Hodge brings a great deal of first-hand honors experience to the Honors College recruitment team. Originally from Berryville, Ark., she was an Honors College Fellow and earned her B.M. in music performance (flute), summa cum laude in 2012. As an undergraduate, Hodge studied abroad in Italy with support from an Honors College study abroad grant. Her honors research focused on music in southern evangelical revivals, an interdisciplinary endeavor that led her to pursue a master’s degree (completed 2014) and a doctoral degree (completed 2020) in history. Her current research examines the role of white, southern Methodist women in issues of race, labor, and poverty during the 1920s and 1930s. In her spare time, she loves to cook, travel (14 countries so far!), and read classic mystery novels by authors such as Agatha Christie and Rex Stout.