FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Most University of Arkansas students started classes on Monday, but a select group of young scholars began their semester more than a week ago. Students accepted to the iBridge Program were welcomed to campus by Robin Roberts, dean of the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, during an opening reception.

“I’m so impressed with these students and their commitment to making the most of their education,” said Roberts. “It takes dedication to give up the end of summer vacation and start college a week early.”

iBridge is a program for students from underrepresented populations at the University of Arkansas, including racial minorities, first-generation college students and those from Arkansas counties with the lowest rates of college graduates, designed to help them succeed academically, personally and socially.

“They don’t know it when the week begins, but this is an important network for these students,” said Charles Robinson, vice provost for diversity affairs and professor of history. “They become one another’s support because they share many of the same struggles. We all need people we can lean on when life gets tough and who will celebrate with us when we’ve done something well. That’s what this group does.”

The program began with a casual event on Sunday evening and a welcome reception on Monday morning, followed by five days of composition classes and other workshops designed to prepare the students for the expectations they will face in Composition I and for the reading and writing demands of their other coursework. In addition to the composition training, students participated in an orientation to Mullins Library and Blackboard, two sample history lectures and a mathematics workshop during this initial week of instruction. They were also given time to socialize together and begin building friendships.

In her welcome, Roberts told the students that they were helping continue the vision of Sen. Fulbright. “He created an education exchange program that was based on a very simple premise, that when people got to know one another, the fear they may have had begins to disappear. When we get to know each other, then we start seeing each other as people rather than groups. In his vision, this applied more to nations than to cliques on a campus, but the same philosophy applies. I want you to remember that through participating in this program you are playing an active role in continuing Sen. Fulbright’s legacy of peace through education.”

The program will continue to support the students throughout their freshman year via regular meetings with peer and faculty mentors, introduction to academic resources and opportunities for professional development.

iBridge is sponsored by Diversity Affairs and Fulbright College. Participating students plan to major in a variety of disciplines in various colleges.