CCBC and JHU awarded $3.88 million from Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
to support the schools’ Humanities for All 2.0 initiative
Collaborative efforts between the two schools help enrich students’ experience
Baltimore County, Md. – (Jan. 7, 2020), The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded a combined $3.88 million to the Community College of Baltimore County and Johns Hopkins University to support collaborations between the two institutions on Humanities curriculum and pedagogy.
The grant money will be used to continue the Humanities for All initiative, which was started in 2017 with an original Mellon Foundation grant of $1.725 million to the two schools. Humanities for All provides Humanities students a more dynamic learning experience and helps improve transfer success for students.
CCBC’s continued collaboration with the Mellon Foundation will allow CCBC to use innovative approaches – some already proven and some new – to connect the Humanities to intellectual growth. Humanities for All will strengthen students’ cognitive skills nurtured through a multi-pronged approach that integrates a variety of academic, experiential and practical Humanities activities into the lives of students. A variety of courses, programs and other experiences will provide multiple touch points for exposing students to – and helping them apply – a Humanities mind set to the rest of their education and life. CCBC will also begin laying the groundwork, through these activities, to create an Honors College.
The Humanities integration will include the following strategies: deepen the enrichment of course content and instructional design; increase the breadth of High Impact Practices and enrichment activities; strengthen pipelines to the Honors Program; attract greater participation in Humanities for All; and build on collaborative strategies with Johns Hopkins University.
Incentive programs encourage students to enter CCBC’s Honors Program, which boasts greater graduation and transfer rates (more than 80 percent) to four-year institutions. A Mellon Scholars Program has also been established that gives students research opportunities as well as interaction with faculty and graduate students at Johns Hopkins.
“The renewal of this grant by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has positioned CCBC to be a leader of a national movement to renew the spirit of the Humanities at the undergraduate level, and at the community college level in particular,” said CCBC President Sandra Kurtinitis. “Our partnership with Johns Hopkins University will continue to allow our students to get exposed to topics in the Humanities and to explore research and inspiring careers in the field.”
Humanities for All’s integrated approach has built important connections between CCBC and JHU, which includes a Mellon Scholars Summer Research Experience for CCBC Honors students on JHU’s main campus. The 10-week residential program introduces students to the techniques of Humanities research and includes various sessions on research topics.
Other collaborative initiatives include pairing CCBC Honors students with Johns Hopkins graduate students for deep reading exercises and a Topical Lecture Series with a visiting JHU faculty member. Ultimately, the Humanities for Allinitiative seeks to increase student retention, completion and transfer rates for CCBC students.
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About the Community College of Baltimore County (www.ccbcmd.edu)
Since 1957, CCBC has opened the doors to accessible, affordable, high-quality education empowering generations of area residents to transform their lives and the lives of others. Each year, more than 63,000 students enroll at the college’s main campuses, extension centers and online to make their starts, earn degrees, launch and build careers. CCBC offers the region’s most expansive selection of degree, certificate and workplace certification programs that prepare students for transfer, job entry and career advancement in such industries as business, education, health care, information technology, cybersecurity, construction and transportation. CCBC is nationally recognized as a leader in innovative learning strategies, among the nation’s top associate degree producers, and designated as a Military Times Best College 2018.
CCBC is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, 3624 Market Street, 2nd Floor West, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (267-284-5000). The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.