Humanities and Health Justice Pathways: Forming First-Generation Professionals

FAIN: AA-290002-23

Creighton University (Omaha, NE 68178-0133)
Tracy Leavelle (Project Director: May 2022 to present)
Alan Rawls (Co Project Director: December 2022 to present)

A three-year, cross-institutional project between Creighton University and Arizona State University to create a humanities and health justice pathways program.

This project proposes creation of new pathways (curricular and co-curricular) that integrate humanities concepts with the first-year experience of Creighton and Arizona State University first-generation pre-health undergraduates. With a focus on health justice that provides context for the value of the humanities, our approach prevents the humanities from becoming an afterthought. By integrating humanities content with the first year at Creighton/ASU, students will be on an early path to becoming more just, humanistic care providers. This provides an alternative to the typical immediate heavy focus on science courses, which can derail first-generation students who are dealing with unique challenges already. We expect students in this program to have strong retention levels due to this overall approach delivered through high-impact practices. With this early formative experience, students will be well-positioned to become providers who will promote greater health equity.