Franklin College students will be able to complete projects that help community, business and non-profit leaders when a new innovation center starts at the college.
Students will also be able to have sharing sessions between students, community members, alumni, faculty and Leadership Johnson County students and alumni to work on special projects.
John and Nancy Peterson have established a $500,000 endowed fund at Franklin College to start The Hive. The Hive will be a space where students can work on educational projects for the community, including businesses or non-profit organizations, said Brooke Worland, assistant provos and dean of engaged learning at Franklin College.
College officials are working on hiring a director of leadership and innovation to manage the program that will open at 66 Water St. in downtown Franklin this winter. The building has hosted a college owned coffee shop and most recently housed the college’s Master of Science in Athletic Training program, according to a news release from the college.
Faculty from the college voted last winter to include universal integration of professional development and undergraduate research for all academic programs into the curriculum. This also includes offering ways for students to apply what they are learning in their classes into real world practice, Worland said.
“The core of The Hive is an educational space that will support new curricular elements,” she said.
For example, if a business or community leader needs a project that college students could help with, such as collecting data or analyzing data or feedback on a project, The Hive will offer a space and students to work on the project. Leadership Johnson County students and alumni may also use the space, Worland said.
The idea is also for students to come up with new ideas for the community by completing projects that have an educational element, she said.
“This would be a space where students and community could come together and work on these projects,” Worland said.
The $500,000 from the endowment will be used to pay for possible travel students may need to complete a project for a community entity, for new technology in the center and to pay for materials students may need to complete the project, Worland said.
The money is placed in an endowment started by the Petersons. John Peterson is an Indiana businessman who served as a Franklin College trustee from 1988 to 2003. In 2017, he received an honorary degree at the college’s commencement.
During his years as a trustee, Peterson was impressed with the commitment Franklin College students gave to their education. So, when the idea for The Hive came up, Peterson wanted to help the students find ways to thrive at the school, John Peterson said.
“I have always been very much loyal to the student body and all their goals and their dreams and what they have planned, so maybe I can help a little,” he said.
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Franklin College has received a gift that will help them launch a second masters program.
The college has received a $150,000 gift from Drs. Leonard and Teresa Bissonnette in support of the college’s Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies program.
Leonard Bissonnette is a 1962 alumnus of the college.
The gift provides additional money for the January 2019 launch of the master’s program, upon approval and accreditation by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc.
The Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies also received a $1 million grant in 2014 from the Lilly Endowment Inc., as part of its Initiative to Promote Opportunities Through Educational Collaborations.
This will be the second master’s program launched by the college — the first being the Master of Science in Athletic Training in 2016.
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