The W.A. Franke Honors College is excited to announce the launch of The Venture Studio at Franke Honors, a new initiative aimed at cultivating entrepreneurial thinking and empowering students to transform ideas into real-world impact.

Dr. Adeel Yang, serial entrepreneur and co-founder of companies bridging healthcare, education, and technology, joins It’s an Honor for a wide-ranging conversation on medicine, startups, and innovation. This conversation offers a rare look into the thinking of a founder, Franke alum, and Flinn Scholar.

At the Franke Honors College, we are committed to exploring the ways our identity as an Honors College and a Hispanic Serving Institution intersect year-round.

The W.A. Franke Honors College is proud to announce the establishment of the Benjamin and Andrea Driggs Honors Travel Quest Endowment, a new fund that will expand research opportunities for honors students by supporting travel for research and presentations.

Natalie Rawlings, a rising senior at the W.A. Franke Honors College pursuing degrees in both Molecular and Cellular Biology and Biochemistry, has been selected as a 2025-26 Goldwater Scholar. She is one of the 441 Goldwater award recipients from colleges across the United States for the upcoming academic year.

W.A. Franke Honors Associate Professor of Practice Joost van Haren was featured on an episode of The Visioneers with Zay Harding. The show, which airs on CBS, takes viewers on a journey discovering eco-research and climate resilience around the globe.

William A. Franke, global investor, former aviation executive, and namesake of the W.A. Franke Honors College, joins the latest episode of the podcast. In this conversation, Franke reflects on his early life, career in law and intelligence, and decades of leadership in building Fortune 500 companies, as well as his deep commitment to education and creating a lasting impact through philanthropy.

Some of the highest achieving high school seniors from across the state will attend the University of Arizona, and enroll in the W.A. Franke Honors College in the fall. The prestigious Flinn scholarship covers the full cost of tuition, mandatory fees, housing, meals and more – a value of more than $135,000.

Kodi Emerson, a student in the University's Accelerated Pathway to Medical Education program was one of the recipients of the Udall Scholarship, with future goals to provide care to underserved populations as well in Arizona as well as the Navajo Nation.

In collaboration with University of Arizona stakeholders, Franke Dean John Pollard and VP for Student Affairs Amanda Kraus facilitated listening sessions to gather input and further define the University's mission and vision for creating a community focused on learning and discovery.