Core Cornerstone Values
Interdisciplinary Learning: We strive to integrate the liberal arts with pre-professional and STEM disciplines.
Critical Thinking: We encourage students to analyze and synthesize diverse forms of knowledge.
Narrative Leadership: We help students develop skills in storytelling and ethical reflection to communicate effectively and inspire change.
Inclusivity: We encourage students to embrace difference and to value their diverse perspectives and backgrounds.
Community: We are building a sense of community among students and faculty through shared learning experiences.
Our Story
UMass Cornerstone grew out of a conversation in the fall of 2015 between two full time faculty members, one from the Humanities and the other from the Isenberg School of Management. They shared concerns about students being funneled into specializations without being encouraged to think outside their disciplinary boxes. This led to the creation of the UMass Cornerstone initiative, aiming to integrate critical and creative thinking, text analysis, and broader ethical reflection across disciplines.
In 2023, the College of Humanities and Fine Arts was awarded an implementation grant from the Teagle Foundation and the National Endowment of the Humanities to establish the Cornerstone Initiative as a permanent fixture on campus. In receiving this award, UMass has joined sixty other colleges and universities across the United States, ranging from community and small colleges to elite and large state universities. Each institution designs a unique program to meet the needs of their student body while at the same time sharing the goal set by the grant: to build a sense of community among students and faculty through a common learning and teaching experience by introducing students to stimulating interdisciplinary texts that continue to inspire generations.
At UMass, Cornerstone has set as one of its major goals to encourage students to recognize and value both their personal passions and professional aspirations regardless of which majors they pursue. To that end, we have developed two Gateway courses specifically for Cornerstone–HMFNART 101 “Traversing Differences: Local Questions” (AL, DU) and HMFNART 102 “Traversing Differences: Global Issues” (AL, DG)–aimed primarily at first- and second-year students and transfer students.
We have also created a 16-credit Cornerstone Scholar Certificate that gives students who wish to pursue it a pathway through their General Education Social World requirements. After completing HMFNART 101 and 102 students will select two Gen Ed courses on the following topics: Business, Environment, Science/Technology, and Global Studies.
