Justice and Equity Honors Network (JEHN)
Inaugural class of Barrett Honors College JEHN students with Barbara Barrett, former U.S. Secretary of the Air Force, at the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C., June 2022.
A new opportunity for honors students
The JEHN program provides students with the kind of educational foundation and professional connections that they need to face the issues of injustice, incivility and political disengagement that trouble our world. JEHN Scholars learn in community about these issues, coming together to explore historical and current perspectives, in local as well as global contexts. They inquire and collaborate across academic disciplines, across communities, and across geographic regions.
Three pillars characterize the JEHN experience at each participating institution:
- Intellectual community: Throughout the academic year, students across the network take a core online synthesis seminar together.
- Problem solving: Students in the network produce a research, policy, or service project that builds upon learning from the program to address a real-world issue. At Barrett, this could be a student’s honors thesis. All students will present their work at the Summer Gathering.
- Network building: The network and the summer gathering are designed to enable students to build networks of peers, academic mentors, and professionals working in careers directly related to justice and equity issues.
The JEHN is designed to provide students with an experience of empowerment--to think consciously and deliberately about how their personal commitment fits within our societal goals of justice and equity. Bringing together a coherent philosophy and plan of action to make change, JEHN students will be part of a transformational change of creating a more peaceful, equitable, just, and inclusive world.
A commitment to a better future for all
Our commitment to a better future and strong democracy have inspired us at Macaulay Honors College at City University of New York and Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University to found the Justice and Equity Honors Network (JEHN). The Frederick Honors College at the University of Pittsburgh and the Norbert O. Schedler Honors College at the University of Central Arkansas have joined as partners. We will work together to offer our honors students the educational foundations they need, through courses and activities specifically selected and designed to help them understand, analyze, confront, and solve the issues that trouble our world.
Key features
Frequently asked questions
The Online Synthesis Sessions are the intellectual core and the social heart of the JEHN community. Each week, every JEHN Scholar will participate in an Online Synthesis Session. These sessions will be scheduled at a convenient time each week so that the entire cohort will be able to attend. Attendance at the Synthesis Sessions each week is required for JEHN Scholars.
During the Online Synthesis Sessions, the JEHN Scholars will discuss what they are learning in their JEHN courses, make connections to current events and issues of concern, and develop ideas for the JEHN Projects they will present at the Summer Gathering. There will be required readings, writing assignments and some guest speakers/visitors, but the bulk of the sessions will be discussion-based.
The Online Synthesis Sessions will be co-taught by two instructors from each network school.
Any student in good standing at Barrett Honors College, Macaulay Honors College, Frederick Honors College and Schedler Honors College may apply to JEHN. The program welcomes applications from students of all races, gender expressions, sexual orientations, ethnicities, religions, national origins, abilities, social origins, ages, and the full diversity of human experience and background. As a program focused on Justice and Equity, we are especially committed to inclusion.
JEHN courses may count towards your graduation requirements, but it will depend on your major and your campus. In some cases, they may be counted as electives, while in other cases they may fulfill specific degree requirements. All JEHN courses will be credit-bearing courses and will be part of your schedule for the semester during which you take them.
The JEHN program should not increase the time it takes you to graduate. The JEHN courses will carry at least three credits each, and should count towards your full-time course load.
To be considered for admission for ASU’s JEHN cohort, you must be a student in good standing at Barrett Honors College (incoming first-year students may also be accepted). The application will require a personal statement, your transcript, and a summary of experiences you think are relevant.
If you are accepted as a JEHN Scholar, you will commit to
- participating in the weekly Online Synthesis Sessions
- designing and presenting a JEHN Project at the Summer Gathering
- attending the JEHN Summer Gathering
There will be no extra financial burden on students who participate in JEHN.
The Justice and Equity Summer Gathering is a time for all JEHN Scholars to come together as a cohort in person. After working together over the academic year in the Online Integration Sessions, the JEHN Scholars will spend at least one week during the summer at the Gathering.
All expenses (airfare, lodging, meals and activities) will be paid for JEHN Scholars to attend the gathering, which will be located at relevant locations chosen to meet the needs and interests of the cohort.
The program for the Summer Gathering will include time for student presentations, community service/activism in the local communities, cultural activities, socializing and recreation. There will also be guest speakers and presentations from local organizations.
JEHN Scholars will receive a focused and intellectually robust attention to issues of justice and equity, and the opportunity to connect their academic progress to their commitment to addressing these issues. They will also receive mentoring, career coaching, and cultural activities, as well as the opportunity to meet and share ideas while making connections with students from different parts of the country who share their interests. Bringing together a coherent philosophy and plan of action to make change, the Justice and Equity Honors Scholars will help to create a more peaceful, equitable, just, and inclusive world.
All JEHN Scholars will receive full funding to attend the JEHN Summer Gathering, as well as access to supplemental grant funding to support experiential learning connected to their Justice and Equity ideals.
How do I apply?
Current and recently admitted students to Barrett may view more information and apply to JEHN on our Barrett student website.
