A University of Oregon program that provides education to incarcerated Oregonians is expanding with a boost from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, one of the largest supporters of the arts and humanities in the United States.

PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY & BIOCHEMISTRY - Nicole Wales will probably not be the only University of Oregon senior graduating this June with dreams of becoming a science professor. And there will also be others who represent the first in their family to attend college. What really sets Wales apart, though, are the challenges she overcame just to get to the university, let alone thrive as a scholar and researcher.

ENGLISH - Kara Clevinger is playing to strengths of the online realm, bringing students together for courses—she teaches composition and 19th-century American novels—and also the human connections people need to be healthy, especially in a time of isolation.

INDIGENOUS, RACE & ETHNIC STUDIES - Academic residential communities are helping give students a place to live and learn with other students with similar interests, identities and majors.