The Franco Institute kicked off its inaugural semester of the Undergraduate Public Humanities Internship (UPHI) in the spring of 2026.
The internship comes as part of the Franco Institute’s expanded mission to foster the liberal arts’ engagement with the public good. As a disciplinary focus, “public humanities” bridge the gap between scholarly production and public engagement, fostering collaborative efforts to explore the world and our uniquely human place within it. The UPHI offers students the opportunity to use their humanities skills in service to their community while learning how knowledge is produced through the lives, actions, and experiences of community members.
This year's seven student interns from the College of Arts & Letters met together for breakfast and orientation on Friday, January 16, with Franco Institute staff members Lindsay Paturalski, Jake Schepers, and Emmanuel Ojeifo. The students learned about the internship’s expectations and explored best practices and methodologies for public humanities research.
All students receive support from the Institute during the spring 2026 semester as they work with their respective community partners and prepare research related to this year's annual research theme of Attention. In addition, the interns will present their work as part of a poster session at the Institute's Day | Merton Symposium in April. "It's exciting to see this terrific cohort of Arts & Letters students working at the interface of humanities research and the publics to whom it matters. We're looking forward to a great first semester of public humanities work and to celebrating that work at our spring symposium," said Kate Marshall, the Institute's Director.
The Franco Institute is pleased to share its incoming class of the Undergraduate Public Humanities Internship:
Elizabeth Coleman (Psychology, Pre-Health) with Reins of Life
Eric Derr (Program of Liberal Studies) with The Studebaker National Museum
Aubrey Keegan (Sociology and Sheedy Family Program) with United Youth Theatre
Jun Wei Lee (History) with La Casa de Amistad
James Thompson (Sociology) with Commonweal
Jasmine Williams (Psychology) with Boys & Girls Clubs of the Northern Indiana Corridor
Rain Zhang (Medieval Studies) with Commonweal
Originally published by at franco.nd.edu on January 22, 2026.