Starting in September 2008, Apgar Foundation has begun developing a very exciting program of grants to colleges and universities that are reintroducing or expanding programs which fit Apgar's core themes of personal freedom, self-reliance and the reward of merit, market-based economics and the contributions of business, and Judeo-Christian and Western values.

In 2009, we launched an invitation-only request for proposals (RFP) which was sent to 55 campuses. We received 40 proposals and made 14 awards, mostly of $25,000. We expect to continue and expand this program in the coming years, while keeping the process highly competitive. We are always on the lookout for additional programs like the ones listed and described below. If you are a faculty member engaged in similar kinds of activities, we welcome you to contact us so we can learn more about whether your program qualifies to be invited to submit a formal proposal.

Below, please find a list of projects which have received support from Apgar Foundation since 2008. We have also highlighted and linked to information about a number of these programs. The list is presented in no particular order and the programs selected for highlighting were chosen for their illustrative value. We are very proud of all our grantees and grant applicants.

At Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, Apgar Foundation has provided support to the Humanities Program, led by Professor Daniel Ritchie. The Humanities Program focuses on the theological, political, and literary foundations of Western and American Culture through a great books/great works of art program. Apgar funds have been used to help Bethel further integrate the program into the culture of the University through summer faculty workshops and visiting lectures. These activities have helped introduce new materials to faculty teaching outside their areas of expertise and deepened their commitment to the core mission of the program.

At Wilbur Wright College, Apgar Foundation has supported the Great Books Curriculum. This program was among the earliest Great Books programs established at a Community College, and was established in 1996. It has served thousands of Wilbur Wright students and become a model for at least four other community colleges with its nationally recognized curriculum. The Great Books curriculum has significantly enhanced the academic achievement and personal growth of the colleges’ large minority student population.

The Great Books certificate encourages students to take cross curricular core courses using Great Books primary texts, which enable students to see life in a larger context. Typically 15% -20% of Wright College spring graduates obtain the certificate. Apgar funds helped the diverse student population engage in a What is Freedom seminar studying writings from Ludwig von Mises, John Locke and Leviticus, and Apgar Foundation has been working with the program director, Bruce Gans, to expand the number of Great Books community college programs across the country.

At Washington College, Apgar Foundation has provided support for The Institute for the Study of Religion, Politics, and Culture under the direction of Professor Joseph Prud'homme. This new Institute explores the vital role of faith, family values, and public spiritedness in maintaining political systems based on ordered liberty, and limited government. In examining the crisis of traditional values of citizenship and family life in the US and across the Western world, the Center places confidence in the relevance and basic goodness of religion in the modern age. It stresses openness to argument and sensitivity to contending viewpoints with an unflinching commitment to undergraduate mentoring. Apgar general support helps fund activities such as the William Smith Distinguished Lecture on Faith and Citizenship, the project on the African American Church and American Ideals, the Program on Faith and National Security, and the Patrick Henry Forum on Faith, Freedom, and the Founding, among others. It was formally introduced as part of the inauguration ceremony at Washington College on 2 October 2010.

At Monterey Peninsula College, Apgar Foundation supports the Great Books Program. MPC is one of only two existing Great Books programs among California's 110 community colleges. Established in 2009 under the direction of David Clemens, it offers a Great Books Certificate upon completion of an introductory course and four additional courses. Apgar funds help promote the new Certificate and allow it to hold colloquia such as "Imaginative Freedom and Political Freedom," to sponsor speakers, such as poet laureate Robert Pinsky, and to develop new courses such as "Bible as Literature."

At University of Arizona, Apgar Foundation has provided support for the Philosophy of Freedom Center led by Professor David Schmidtz. The Center promotes the understanding and appreciation of the ideals of freedom and responsibility via published research, undergraduate education, graduate education, and community outreach. Apgar Foundation has helped fund the development of a new outreach program in economic education for high school teachers. The Center also supports a cluster of faculty and students studying the philosophy of freedom.

At Pennsylvania State University, Apgar Foundation has provided support for the Heritage Education Initiative under the leadership of Professor David Saxe. The Heritage Education Initiative introduces content on America's founding principles and education sympathetic to a positive interpretation of American history and values in a school of education. It provides for programming and activities to train education students in the interpretation and presentation of historical sites and documents of the American Founding period. Students in the Heritage Education Program can complete a Certified Interpretive Training Credential from the National Association for Interpretation, qualifying those students to work in museums and parks as interpretive guides.

At University of Dallas, Apgar Foundation has supported the Center for Thomas More Studies under the direction of Gerard Wegemer. The Center is "dedicated to the recovery of the Christian intellectual tradition" along with the University's commitment "to the recovery and renewal of the Western heritage of liberal education." Apgar Foundation funds have gone towards supporting conferences for young teachers on writers such as William Shakespeare and Thomas More and research projects focused on citizenship.

At Utah State University, Apgar Foundation supports the Project on Liberty and American Constitutionalism under the direction of Professor Anthony Peacock. The Project's mission is to explore the meaning of liberty in the American constitutional system, with specific emphasis on the Founders' commitment to limited and responsible government that promotes individual liberty, free markets, and a strong national defense. Apgar support provides funding for public intellectuals to address aspects of the connections between the nation state and the preservation of liberty. Speakers interact with students directly in classes, at private luncheons on campus, and in major addresses open to the public.

At Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Apgar Foundation supports the Concourse Program under the direction of Professor Bernard Trout. The Concourse program was chartered in the 1970's to provide interdisciplinary education to future engineers and scientists. Its specific mission is to educate the whole student and to ground students in the sources of Judeo-Christian and Western values: most notably personal freedom, self-reliance, and the reward of merit. Funding is used to help pay the part-time salary of an adjunct professor teaching two courses. In addition, Concourse faculty integrate into the standard calculus, physics and chemistry courses material which show how philosophical ideas, rooted in the Western Traditions, relate to the subject matter.

At Clemson University, Apgar foundation has supported The Clemson Institute for the Study of Capitalism (CISC) under the direction of Professor C. Bradley Thompson. The Institute is dedicated to exploring the moral foundations of capitalism. In order to advance its mission, the Clemson Institute engages in teaching, academic and public-policy research and publication, and educational outreach. Apgar funding has assisted the CISC in reviving an existing but dormant "Great Works" program at Clemson. The program will allow Clemson undergraduates to major in a traditional discipline but also to graduate with a "concentration" in the Institute's "Program for the Study of Free Institutions" or minor in "Great Works."

At Rockford College, in Rockford, Illinois, Apgar Foundation has provided support to the award winning Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship, led by Professor Stephen Hicks. The Center is committed to excellence in teaching and research in Business Ethics, Entrepreneurship, Political Economy, and related fields. Apgar Funds have been used for general support of the Center which supports the development of courses around topics such as Ethics and Entrepreneurship, Capitalism in the Modern World, and The Political Philosophy of the American Revolutionary Era. Courses often involve expert speakers and student prizes for excellent written and oral presentations. The Center also publishes a semi-annual newsletter highlighting the stories of successful entrepreneurs from all walks of life.

At Washington & Lee University, Apgar Foundation supported a major conference and lecture series on Abraham Lincoln which began in September 2009 and continued through March 2010, celebrating the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth. The opening conference was anchored by a keynote address from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The conference addresses and lectures will be gathered together in a forthcoming book titled "Lincoln for the Ages: Lessons for the 21st Century," with an expected publication date of fall 2011.

At Emory University, Apgar Foundation has provided support for the Program in Democracy and Citizenship. This program is an interdisciplinary curricular initiative centered on the knowledge required for young Americans to become responsible, informed citizens with a critical appreciation of the values, ideals and history of our nation. It sponsors a variety of courses ranging from "A History of Conservatism", and "The Literature of Progressivism" to "The Classical Tradition and the American Founding." Apgar funds support adjunct faculty teaching freshman sections of basic Rhetoric and Composition by using classical readings from the history of the American political thought. These sections expose freshman writing students to important canonical texts and essays, and integrate visiting lecturers into the classroom as guest speakers.

At the University of Virginia, Apgar Foundation supports The National Marriage Project and the American Experience Initiative under the direction of Professor Brad Wilcox. The Project's mission is to provide research and analysis on the health of marriage in America, to analyze the social and cultural forces shaping contemporary marriage, and to identify strategies to increase marital quality and stability. It educates undergraduates, the larger campus community, and off-campus audiences about the crucial role that marriage plays today, and has played in the past, in sustaining American democratic institutions and principles. Apgar funds contribute to a four lecture series featuring leading marriage and family scholars who also participate in classroom sessions, undergraduate salons (reading and discussions of important texts under the leadership of a faculty member), and a mentoring internship program for promising undergraduates.