Johns Hopkins, CCBC receive $1.7M from Mellon Foundation to support humanities education

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded a combined $1.725 million to Johns Hopkins University and the Community College of Baltimore County to support collaborations between the two institutions on humanities curriculum and pedagogy.

The two schools will partner to implement a new initiative called Humanities for All, designed to inspire students by deepening the learning experience; enriching course content; focusing on recruitment, retention, and transfer; and strengthening faculty connections between CCBC and JHU. A Mellon Scholars Program will be established to give CCBC students research opportunities and interaction with faculty and graduate students at Johns Hopkins.

CCBC will receive $980,000 from the Mellon Foundation; Johns Hopkins will receive $745,000.

"This great partnership reflects Johns Hopkins' sustained commitment to building bridges so that all students have access to the transformative power of higher education," said Johns Hopkins University President Ronald J. Daniels. "Creating academic and experiential opportunities that deepen engagement in the humanities and position students for transfer success—whether at Johns Hopkins or other four-year institutions—is critical to ensuring students can reach their full potential."

Humanities for All's integrated approach will build connections between CCBC and JHU, beginning this summer with a Mellon Scholars Summer Research Experience for CCBC honors students. The 10-week residential program on JHU's Homewood campus will introduce students to the techniques of humanities research.

Other collaborative activities beginning in the fall include pairing CCBC honors students with Johns Hopkins graduate students for deep reading exercises and the creation of a new lecture series with a visiting JHU faculty member. Ultimately, the Humanities for All initiative seeks to increase student retention, completion, and transfer rates for CCBC students.

"Thousands of CCBC students will benefit from Mellon's recognition that the democratization of the humanities in America does indeed begin with the community college," said CCBC President Sandra Kurtinitis. "And the enthusiasm of the faculty involved in developing this program has been inspiring. They all bring a profound commitment to students."