The innovative program supported by the grant will immerse students from underserved populations in the study of freedom, citizenship and democracy and culminate in an annual symposium for the public showcasing their work.
Associate Professor of English Prudence Layne was awarded a $25,000 “Knowledge for Freedom” Planning Grant from The Teagle Foundation for her project, “The Elon University Freedom Scholars Initiative.”
The Initiative will prepare local high school students from underserved populations for college, and mentor them to assume roles as active citizen-leaders in their communities. It will begin with a two-week immersive seminar in the summer of 2022, where the students will work intensively with Elon faculty and student undergraduate mentors to explore the principles and concepts of freedom, citizenship and democracy advanced in ancient, modern and contemporary texts. Each Freedom Scholar will identify a challenge facing their local community and design a service project around which they will apply the principles they have learned. At the conclusion of the project, they will each earn two semester hours of college credit.
The planning grant will allow Layne and her faculty team of Ryan Johnson, Lauren Guilmette, Kristina Meinking, and Joel Shelton to solidify the program’s structure, design materials, identify campus support, and promote the program within the community. The team will apply for additional Teagle Foundation funding to launch the program in 2022.
Read more about the innovative program here.
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Prudence Layne
Associate Professor of English
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Ryan Johnson
Associate Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Department of Philosophy
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Lauren Guilmette
Associate Professor of Philosophy
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Kristina Meinking
Professor of Classical Languages and Trustee Chair of Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching
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Joel Shelton
Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Policy