TCC Receives Largest Humanities Grant in College History

Tulsa Community College received a $250,000 Teagle Foundation grant, the largest humanities-directed grant in TCC history. The funding will expand the College’s Cornerstone initiative, bringing significant works of literature and philosophy into more courses to strengthen students’ critical thinking and communication skills.

Tulsa Community College has received a $250,000 grant from the Teagle Foundation to strengthen humanities education across the College, marking the largest humanities-directed grant in TCC’s history. 

The funding will support TCC’s implementation of Cornerstone: Learning for Living, an initiative designed to reinvigorate the role of the humanities in general education and introduce more students to significant works of literature, philosophy and other humanities disciplines.

“The Cornerstone grant allows TCC to strengthen the role of humanities education and extend its reach to more students across the College,” said TCC President and CEO Leigh Goodson, Ph.D. “The humanities help students think critically and communicate complex ideas clearly, abilities that remain valuable wherever a student’s academic or professional path leads.”

At TCC, the grant will support implementation of transformative texts to strengthen general education and develop critical thinking, communication and problem-solving skills. Institutions that have previously received Cornerstone funding include Austin Community College, Purdue University and Vanderbilt University.

“Engaging with transformative texts can challenge students to think more deeply and see connections beyond a single subject. This grant will help make those experiences a more intentional part of a TCC education,” said Joseph Boyne, Ph.D., TCC Associate Professor of English, George Kaiser Family Foundation Endowed Faculty Chair for Dual Credit, and co-author of the Cornerstone grant application with Associate Professor of Humanities Heather Wilburn, Ph.D.

TCC began exploring the Cornerstone model through a Teagle Foundation planning grant awarded in 2025. The pilot program supported faculty curriculum development and a symposium where students reflected on their experiences with the new approach.

“Cornerstone empowers students to think deeply and reflect on so many crucial aspects of not only their humanity, but living as a whole,” said TCC student Kodi Myers, who participated in the Cornerstone pilot program. “These reflections can provide further insight and change the way students think and interact with others, leaving positive and lasting impacts on communities.”

The latest grant expands TCC’s Cornerstone program into additional courses and academic areas, with 31 faculty participating across the College. Funding will support faculty professional development and stipends for curriculum revisions, along with guest lecturers, student programming and year-end symposiums. Additional funding for the initiative was provided by the Tulsa Community College Foundation.

Cornerstone seeks to establish a common education experience across classrooms and instructors. All Cornerstone Composition I classes require Plato's Apology as well as Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail as required readings. The grant will support an upcoming panel discussion on King’s Letter, featuring faith leaders discussing its continued relevance. The discussion will take place on Oct. 29 at 6 p.m. at the VanTrease Performing Arts Center for Education and is free and open to the public.

For more information about Cornerstone, please contact cornerstone@tulsacc.edu.