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The UA College of Humanities is establishing a scholarship in honor of 2018 Alumnus of the Year M. André Goodfriend, to support students in the new Applied Humanities major.

After graduating from the University of Arizona in 1979 with a quadruple major in French, Greek, philosophy and radio/TV, Goodfriend embarked on a distinguished career as a diplomat, serving the United States in Tel Aviv, New Delhi, Moscow, Frankfurt, London, Damascus, Budapest and U.S. embassies across Africa.

Now the director of the U.S. Department of State’s Office of eDiplomacy, Goodfriend says he was “delighted” to learn that the College of Humanities in 2017 established the Department of Public and Applied Humanities, with a mission “to translate the personal enrichment of humanities study into public enrichment and the direct and tangible improvement of the human condition.”

“I've often noted the value of my humanities studies in my career as a diplomat, as a citizen hoping to play a role in shaping my society, and simply as a human being sharing this universe with others,” he says. “Sometimes focusing on how we can take the things that bring quality to our lives as humans, and apply them to the world around us might help us make better choices with regard to the future of our society. I appreciate the role my university is playing in this, and hope that my friends here find value in it too.”

Goodfriend himself selected that the scholarship would support students in Applied Humanities, and is making an initial gift. The College of Humanities has a fundraising goal of $25,000 for the M. André Goodfriend Scholarship Fund for Applied Humanities, to be able to endow the fund and enable scholarships to be awarded annually in perpetuity.

“The humanities are essential to know and apply in your daily life for us to have a better society in the future. I’m glad to hear that message now. It’s a message that has resonated with me for the 40 years since I was a UA student,” Goodfriend says.

College of Humanities Dean Alain-Philippe Durand says Goodfriend’s career is an outstanding demonstration of how the humanities can be broadly applied in the professional world, and having a scholarship in Goodfriend’s name will not only support students, but inspire them.

“We established this new major in Applied Humanities precisely to encourage students to take their knowledge and skills out into the world and make a difference,” Durand says. “André Goodfriend’s career exemplifies that and we are honored to establish this new scholarship fund in his name. I am very grateful for his own generous contribution that will help reaching our goal.”

The newly launched bachelor’s degree in Applied Humanities is a career-centered program designed to integrate professional training and skills in intercultural competence. Students select one of four concentrations: Business Administration, Fashion Studies, Public Health, and Spatial Organization & Design Thinking.

The degree is the result of a five-college partnership between the College of Humanities, the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, the College of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture, the Eller College of Management, and the Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

“Our goal is to help students understand the importance of humanities ways of seeing and doing to success in the workplace and the world,” says Judd Ruggill, Head of the Department of Public and Applied Humanities. “The Goodfriend scholarship will support our students as they prepare for meaningful, engaging, and profitable careers that improve life in the community.”

Applicants for the scholarship must be a full-time undergraduate students majoring in Applied Humanities with a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA or greater.

Support the M. André Goodfriend Scholarship Fund for Applied Humanities by making an online donation. 

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