WMU Humanities for Everybody Awarded NEH Grant

Media Contact: University Relations

Western Michigan University Humanities for Everybody Awarded NEH Matching Grant

Matching grant will help H4E expand and create bridge year program

Kalamazoo, Michigan: Today the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced the awarding of a $100,000 Humanities Access matching grant for the Humanities for Everybody (H4E) program directed by Western Michigan University associate professor Dini Metro-Roland (Department of Teaching, Learning and Educational Studies). A collaborative effort between the University Center for the Humanities at WMU and Open Doors, H4E provides members of greater Kalamazoo with a series of free, rigorous, humanities courses taught by experienced WMU faculty. The funding from NEH and other sources will enable H4E to expand its program to serve first-generation college students in what would constitute as a bridge year between their high school and freshman year in college.

This bridge year program addresses the need for greater community involvement in preparing first-generation college students to pursue and complete their college education.

“Unlike most bridge year programs, where universities send students out into communities before their freshman year, we propose to bring the university to the community itself,” said Dini Metro-Roland, Director of Humanities for Everybody. “We believe that without exposure to a rich and engaging curriculum, without emotional and academic support from committed members of the faculty, and without a safe and supportive peer group, many first-generation students will fail to take advantage of the opportunities available to them by the [Kalamazoo] Promise.”

The NEH grant will provide essential seed money for scholarships for Promise-ineligible students; operation costs; orientation; and the hiring of a program coordinator and recruiter.

The mission of Humanities for Everybody is to bring the humanities to members of the community who traditionally lack access or the means to a liberal arts education. http://www.humanitiesforeverybody.org/

The mission of the Center for the Humanities is to recognize and support the humanities at WMU and the greater Kalamazoo community. http://www.wmich.edu/humanities/