During 2011 a little over $260,000 were granted to 14 programs new to the Apgar Foundation, in addition to repeat grants to programs. The Foundation is grateful to support extraordinary programming at these institutions in helping restore and enhance the dialogue regarding Western Civilization, the philosophical principles behind the founding of America, and the development of American political and economic systems, with an emphasis on the importance of bringing this influence and expression of what is uniquely American to today's students.

Below, please find a few program recipients highlighted in no particular order. Programs were chosen for their illustrative value. We are proud of all our grantees, their commitment to the mission of the Apgar Foundation and their dedication to enhancing students' opportunities to learn.

At the University of North Texas, Apgar Foundation supports The Christian Studies Initiative. It focuses on academic assessment of the state of Christians and Christianity today. One of the key challenges to establishing a Christian studies program is a dearth of scholarly, peer-reviewed research in the field. The absence of Christian studies research means that an important aspect of Western culture is not being presented to students at state universities. The Initiative intends to respond to the need in increasing scholarly research and drawing greater public awareness and support to the field of Christian studies. Funds are used to support a research assistant. The establishment of a full-fleshed center remains the long-range goal.

At the University of Houston, Apgar Foundation supports Phronesis: A Program in Politics and Ethics housed in The Honors College. Phronesis is a collaborate initiative involving the political science, philosophy, and classics departments. The Honors College itself has a great books orientation, and brings with it a highly selective student body with predominately first-generation college students. The Phronesis program attempts to link policy and ethics questions by tracing ideas back to their original sources. For this interdisciplinary minor, students of all majors are welcomed. Apgar funding assists with program activities including student fellows, visiting teacher and lecture programs, course development, and programming related to free markets, free societies, and economics.

At Rhodes College, Apgar Foundation supports the Project for the Study of Liberal Democracy. The program is devoted to fostering teaching, research, and deliberation about the philosophical and moral foundations of a free society and the functioning of a constitutional democracy. The Project has previously sponsored symposia on topics such as the twentieth-century economic thought, the intellectual legacy of Benjamin Franklin, the works of Adam Smith, and the culture of foreign aid and global income distribution. Foundation support seeks to help with a curriculum development, co-curricular activities such as the speaker series on the History of Freedom, and student fellowships.

At Boise State University Apgar Foundation provided support to The American Founding Initiative. AFI is an initiative of the College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs to provide a forum for teaching, discussion and promotion of the ideals embodied by America's original conception of natural rights. It is dedicated to the principles of limited government and economic freedom and aims to teach the principles of limited government, constitutionalism and classical liberalism to the university community. Its programming includes a http://sspa.boisestate.edu/afi/past-events/ for prominent scholars of America's founding principles, early history, economic system and philosophical grounding. The Foundation grant assists with the establishment of three reading seminar and lecture series in curricular reform efforts at Boise State.

At Mount St. Mary's University, Apgar Foundation supports The Institute for Leadership Studies. The Institute realizes the important connection between leadership and liberal arts education. It provides students with means to think of liberal education as enabling a kind of intellectual and personal freedom: liberating the mind, empowering students to lead and taking charge of their lives in helping them make decisions with good judgment, conduct themselves responsibly, act on their own initiative, and to understand the complex cultural context in which they live. This grant assists with course development, faculty training workshops, and to bring outside speakers to campus as part of the launch of the Institute.