Three years ago, when Kalijah Robinson was in his early 20s and working in a warehouse, a former school counselor told him about Weber State University’s Venture Course. He already had a criminal record and “started getting in trouble again,” he said. The counselor thought school would keep him focused.
So Robinson enrolled in the free two-semester humanities course. He finished in 2023 and is now pursuing a bachelor’s degree in English and history at Weber State University. These days, he finds himself in court every week, this time as an intern with an attorney.
And he is making plans for the future.
“I'm just going to go to law school and see what happens,” he said.
A joint offering from Weber State University and Utah Humanities, the Venture Course is part of the international Clemente Course program. It’s designed to empower students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
This year has been challenging for the humanities in Utah.
Salt Lake Community College’s Community Writing Center is set to shut down due to budget cuts. Humanities majors and minors were among those cut at Weber State and other schools due to a state requirement for public colleges and universities to direct funds from lower-performing programs toward higher-performing ones. Utah Humanities lost almost $500,000 in federal funds this year from the National Endowment for the Humanities, forcing the organization to scale back and pause some programs.
But the Venture Course remains strong. Its funding structure makes it less vulnerable. Weber State covers about 60% of the cost while Utah Humanities contributes the remaining 40%. Both entities draw from private donations and foundations, so the course was not affected by Weber State’s course restructuring, nor was it forced to shut down due to Utah Humanities’ loss of federal funding.
“We're lucky that we just, we have money set aside for this program that can only be used on this program,” said Josh Wennergren, director of higher education access at Utah Humanities.
The two-semester course, which starts up again Sept. 16, covers five humanities topics: history, philosophy, literature, creativity and critical writing and thinking. Participants earn college credit. Child care, meals and transportation assistance are provided.
Many humanities offerings are hours-long events like the annual Book Festival, Wennergren said. Venture Course, on the other hand, meets twice weekly from September to April.
“I think that that amount of time really does lend itself to a deeper reflection and kind of, a more, like, a deeper transformation,” he said.
Critical thinking and communication skills make students more employable and help them go on to further higher education, he said. And the course makes college seem less intimidating.
But the program isn’t designed just to open the door to a four-year degree, said Deborah Uman, dean of Weber State’s College of Humanities and academic director for the Venture Course.
“It really helps people who feel like they have been shut out of higher education understand that they are welcome, and that studies in the humanities gives them a sense of ownership in their communities,” she said.
It’s also in line with Weber State’s mission of reaching more people, Uman said. Visiting Venture classes gives her hope.
“The folks who come to our classes are really working so hard to make sure they're there. They care deeply, and they want to improve their lives and learn important things and ask important questions.”
The course showed Robinson the resources available to him and helped him become a more critical thinker. He now questions most of what he watches and reads.
While some people move away from the humanities in search of a better return on their college investment, he said, Venture opened his mind to more than just academics. He thinks everyone needs to engage with different ideas to form their own thoughts. For him, it’s about developing those thoughts and spreading knowledge and truth in a “loving way.”
Macy Lipkin is a Report for America corps member who reports for KUER in northern Utah.
