THE FURMAN ADVANTAGE

It’s a question students think deeply about as they choose a major and eventually a career. It’s also one that institutions contemplate using a variety of metrics, benchmarks and critiques. This year, Furman earned a powerful vote of confidence, one that builds on earlier successes and signals anew that we are on the right path in our mission to prepare all students for lives of purpose.

In March of 2021, Furman received a $25 million grant from The Duke Endowment to expand and advance The Furman Advantage, the university’s signature approach to offering every student a pathway to an education that combines classroom learning with real-world experiences, reflection and mentoring.

The grant will make a difference in the lives of students and their families for years to come. It brings The Duke Endowment’s direct total investment in The Furman Advantage to $52.5 million.

With the 2016 grant from The Duke Endowment, Furman created positions to support faculty and students, including an associate provost for engaged learning and an associate dean for mentoring and advising, as well as positions that oversee internships, faculty development, student career engagement, and equity and inclusion.

We also used the grant to increase funding for engaged learning experiences; create rigorous assessment protocols to measure, evaluate and adjust programming; and support the Pathways pilot. Pathways is a mentoring and advising program for first- and second-year students that sets the foundation for a student’s four years by addressing themes related to academics, engaged learning, career development, reflection, and diversity, equity and inclusion.

In the Pathways program, students are encouraged to think about potential career paths by considering what they value, what they learn in classrooms and in their extra- and co-curricular activities, and by connecting students with alumni in their fields of interest.

Likewise, engaged learning experiences, such as internships, study away, undergraduate research and the opportunities available through Furman’s four institutes, are extensions of academic study.

What students learn about themselves through mentoring and advising, and through reflection exercises, informs the kinds of engaged learning experiences they choose, as well as their major and career direction. The faculty will consider this fall whether to extend the Pathways program to all students. If Pathways is fully adopted, the new funding from The Duke Endowment will help to finance it for five years.