Cornerstone Scholars Program
Administration
| Taryn Okuma, Ph.D., Director |
English, University of Wisconsin, Madison |
Faculty
| Michele Averchi, Ph.D. |
Philosophy, University of Milan |
| Gregory Baker, Ph.D. |
English, Brown University |
| Jonathan Buttaci, Ph.D. |
Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh |
| David Cloutier, Ph.D. |
Theology, Duke University |
| Sarah Ferrario, Ph.D. |
Classics, Princeton University |
| Samuel K. Fisher, Ph.D. |
History, University of Notre Dame |
| Daniel Gibbons, Ph.D. |
English, University of Wisconsin, Madison |
| Tobias Gregory, Ph.D. |
English, University of Michigan |
| Michael C. Kimmage, Ph.D. |
History, Harvard University |
| Justin Litke, Ph.D. |
Politics, Georgetown University |
| Megan Murton, Ph.D. |
English, University of Cambridge |
| Caroline R. Sherman, Ph.D. |
History, Princeton University |
| Seth R. Smith, Ph.D. |
History, The Catholic University of America |
| Thomas Smith, Ph.D. |
Politics, University of Notre Dame |
| Ernest Suarez, Ph.D. |
Philosophy, University of Wisconsin, Madison |
Mission
The Cornerstone Scholars program provides meaningful, coherent, curated, humanities-based pathways through our curriculum for a cohort of students who have demonstrated talent in the classroom and leadership potential outside of it. The program works within the liberal arts curriculum to stress the importance of the humanities as a way of considering and pursuing meaning in life, with an emphasis on various dimensions of good citizenship, especially American citizenship, and the nature of democracy.
Goals and Objectives
The Cornerstone program seeks to develop students’ verbal and written communication skills and complement their majors by framing the subject matter in terms of humanistic inquiry. The program also provides an integrated social and academic community for its students by establishing Cornerstone residence communities and planning an array of out-of-the classroom activities that will supplement the work done in the “gateway courses” and pathways.
Curriculum
All Cornerstone Scholars will complete Cornerstone ENG 101 (Writing and Rhetoric), ENG 206 (Transformative Texts I), and HIST 208 (Transformative Texts II). ENG 101 will emphasize the “transformative texts” that will be read in the gateway courses. Most students will take the first gateway course, “Transformative Texts I: Citizens and Communities,” in the spring of their freshman year, and the second gateway course, “Transformative Texts II: Citizens and Communities,” in the fall of their sophomore year. After completing this sequence, students would select one of the pathways described below. Each pathway would consist of three courses that build on the gateway courses and are contoured for particular majors. The pathways are designed to better link students’ humanities educations with their professional degrees—and better connect faculty in a common enterprise of providing that coherence.
Admission to Program
Applicants are selected for participation in the program after they have been accepted by the Office of Admissions. Selection is based on a holistic review of the entire application, including academic success in high school and demonstrated leadership ability outside of the classroom.
Honors
Students who complete Cornerstone ENG 101, both Gateway Courses, and a Pathways sequence receive the designation as “Cornerstone Scholars” on their transcripts.
Courses of Instruction
All Cornerstone Scholars will complete three Gateway courses:
In addition to the above Gateway courses, Cornerstone Scholars complete one of the below Pathways.