Bank of America has committed $1 million over a four-year period, commencing fall 2019, to support transfer students in the Honors Living-Learning Community (HLLC) at Rutgers University–Newark. The gift will provide assistance to HLLC transfer students as well as resources that will allow them to become the next generation of community leaders and influencers.
“Bank of America’s visionary gift will make a critically important impact on the HLLC,” said Rutgers University–Newark Chancellor Nancy Cantor. “A third of HLLC students—and, in fact, a majority of college students in the U.S.—got their first taste of higher education at a two-year institution. Targeting support as this gift does is essential for us to position transfer students to thrive. We are profoundly grateful for Bank of America’s insight and generosity in making that possible.”
“As part of our commitment to responsible growth, we invest in the communities we serve through programs and partnerships that address complex societal challenges. We’ve had a partnership with Rutgers for decades and our support of the Rutgers-Newark’s Honors Living-Learning Community is a unique initiative that expands our support and also dovetails with our commitment to addressing issues that are fundamentally connected to economic mobility and critical to building more sustainable communities,” said Bob Doherty, New Jersey president, Bank of America.
Created in 2015 as a high priority under Rutgers-Newark’s strategic plan, the HLLC has established itself as a transformational college access program by challenging and redefining the notion of “merit.” A groundbreaking initiative that cultivates the untapped talent of increasingly diverse new generations, the HLLC provides students with the resources and opportunities to be thought leaders within their fields, positive collaborators within their communities, and change agents in the world. Praised by the New York Times and PBS NewsHour, the HLLC has risen to national prominence as a model for honors education.
HLLC applicants are evaluated according to a custom-designed set of criteria that measures student characteristics including critical thinking skills, social and emotional intelligence, leadership skills and academic and artistic potential. As HLLC Scholars, students progress through their studies as a cohort, sharing core learning experiences under the guidance of a specially selected team of faculty and professional staff trained to mentor and advise in an immersive environment with an innovative curriculum that emphasizes the theme “Local Citizenship in a Global World.”
Presently, there are more than 220 HLLC Scholars enrolled in the program, 33 percent of whom are transfer students with associate’s degrees from New Jersey community colleges. Fifty-one Rutgers-Newark alumni have graduated from the program.
“The HLLC is inspired by the generous support from our partners at Bank of America. This is a significant indicator that the vision of revolutionizing honors, cultivating talent and engaging communities by investing in the development of change agents committed to academic excellence and social justice is worthwhile and achievable,” stated HLLC Dean Timothy Eatman.
