UCHI at 25

For twenty-five years the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute has served as the hub for the study of human society and culture at UConn. Through fellowships, funding, scholarly talks, and interdisciplinary colloquia UCHI fosters and supports world-class scholarship in literature, history, philosophy, the social sciences, and the arts. In 2026–27, as we celebrate 25 years of service to the UConn community, we also celebrate the innovation, creativity, and vibrancy of humanistic scholarship at UConn.

UCHI at 25 Student Leadership Award

To celebrate 25 years of creativity, research, and interdisciplinary conversations, the UCHI at 25 Student Leadership Fund will help support undergraduate-led initiatives connected to the humanities, arts, and social sciences. Students looking to invite a speaker to campus, organize an event, working group, book club, or other student-led activity can apply for a student leadership award. Support can include funding for supplies, catering, or other costs associated with convening an activity on campus as well as aid in securing a location for the event, and help spreading the word about the event. UCHI will directly purchase necessary supplies, catering etc., which means that requested funds must be for items that can be purchased with university funds. This might include: books, office supplies, printing costs (for advertising or for materials needed for the activity), speaker honoraria, or catering. If you are not sure if your costs would qualify, please reach out to us at uchi@uconn.edu

Applications must include a description of the planned activity, and explanation of how the activity advances arts-, humanities-, or social science-related inquiry, and an itemized budget with cost estimates. Applications should be submitted via this form, and will be considered on a rolling basis, until funds are depleted.

Students who receive funding will be required to complete a funding report at the end of the academic year.

Sugita Mahendarker and Riley Fields — BACK (Building Agency in Connecticut’s Kids)
The objective of BACK (Building Agency in Connecticut’s Kids) is to provide student-led, comprehensive, targeted, and age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health education and resources to adolescents in partnered youth-serving organizations within Hartford, CT, and near the UConn Storrs Campus. BACK aims to bridge gaps in existing frameworks of sex education and empower youth and youth-serving organizations. BACK’s medically accurate and evidence-based curriculum was developed through collaboration with UConn’s Student Health and Wellness Teams (Health Promotion, Medical Care, and Health Equity), professors from the Allied Health, Nursing, and Communications Departments, and various community partners. Workshops are offered at no cost and feature content tailored to the organization hosting them. Each BACK session is approximately one hour long, including a game-based presentation, resource distribution, and Q&A.