Honors College Grant to Aid Underprivileged High-Schoolers

The Farquhar Honors College has been awarded a planning grant for $25,000 from the Teagle Foundation to support a new initiative that helps underserved high school students realize their full potential through the humanities. This Knowledge for Freedom program will feature a three-week symposium titled “One Person Can Change the World” for underprivileged high school juniors in Broward County.

The program aims to open the door to higher education to those who have been historically neglected, allowing them to engage with the humanities on a college level as they probe the processes and contexts of change. With an improved understanding of how change occurs, students will put theory into practice by conceiving an actionable project to facilitate change on an issue important to them.

Along with this project, the program will provide students with important resources to aid in the college application process such as recommendation letters, writing aid, and general support.

The program is helmed by Andrea Nevins, Ph.D., dean of the Farquhar Honors College, who is the Principle Investigator (PI).
Robin Cooper, Ph.D., assistant dean for Research and Strategic Initiatives in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences (HCAS), and Melissa Dore, Ph.D., director of Academic Support and Administration in HCAS, will serve as Co-PIs. Aileen Farrar, Ph.D., associate chair and associate professor in the Department of Humanities and Politics in HCAS, will serve as the lead faculty.

“The Honors College is excited about the opportunity to collaborate with NSU faculty and staff across the campus, including several colleagues in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences on this important project,” said Dean Nevins. “We believe that the tremendous curiosity Honors College students have about the world is what leads to positive change, which is what this project hopes to accomplish in our local community.”

Once the planning stage is complete, the Honors College could be awarded an implementation grant of up to $300,000 to support the execution of the program.