"I always felt that Honors was this particularly welcoming, interesting and dynamic part of the university," said Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the history department Rita Krueger. "It's a center of excellence on campus." 

Krueger has taught classes in the Honors program for the better part of her time at Temple University since arriving in 2004. As a staunch advocate for students trying new things, Krueger often thinks up new and niche classes that she can offer to Honors students.  

"This is the only time in your life when you will really be asked to just explore and do what you want," Krueger said. She is always happy to see that students try her classes on everything from witches and superstitions to contagion and outbreaks.  

Krueger regularly teaches courses on the past and present of central Europe, and has written a book; Czech, German, and Noble: Status and National Identity in Habsburg Bohemia. 

Recently, Krueger took a new step in her involvement with the Honors community by stepping into the role of chair of the Honors Oversight Committee. Previously, she served one year as a member of the committee but decided to throw her hat in the ring for chair after the previous chair, Associate Professor and Chair of the Legal Studies Department Jeffrey Boles, stepped down at the end of his term.  

The committee serves as a liaison between the Honors program and Temple's Faculty Senate and is made up of faculty members and a student representative. By meeting a few times each semester, the committee advocates for Honors initiatives and helps the program achieve its goals through recommendations for new policies and programs. 

"I think Honors thrives when you have maximum amount of faculty involvement from across the university," Krueger said. Krueger and the committee members use their enthusiasm for the Honors program to recruit new faculty to teach courses for the program. 

As an interdisciplinary hub on campus, the Honors program serves students in every school and at every step of their college career. The committee reviews the Honors presence across campus and rallies support for that presence from the Faculty Senate.  

As chair of the committee, Krueger meets with Honors leadership to discuss how the committee can help the program meet its goals such as increasing faculty involvement and student participation in the program. She also reports to the faculty senate once a year about the committee's progress.  

In addition to her work teaching and with the committee, Krueger is affiliated with the Center for the Study of Force and Diplomacy and is currently working on a biography of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.