For Franke Honors senior Paityn Thirsk, a passion for event planning and community impact inspired her to create and direct the Love to Play 5k, a Valentine's charity race which became the basis of her Honors thesis.

The financial award includes the full cost of tuition, mandatory fees, housing, meals and more – a value of more than $135,000.

Since being established in fall of 2025, the Driggs Travel Quest Award has supported eight Franke Honors students as they have pursued travel to conferences or other professional development events related to their research.

Franke Honors senior Maya Leonard has been pioneering new methods for transplanting fruit fly tissue, which could revolutionize future treatments for autoimmune disease.

In this episode of our podcast, Dr. Pollard speaks with Ben Driggs, Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer at Honeywell Aerospace and the 2026 Alumnus of the Year for the W.A. Franke Honors College.

Kian Sadat and Safiya Tarazi are the students behind Ampira, a tech startup developing a hearing aid intended for under-served communities. The duo is competing in the Hult Prize Competition, an entrepreneurial contest with a $1 million grand prize.

Franke Honors student Nagasryia Ramisetty is unpacking collective healing through creative inquiry. Her EMG funded project, bit·ter·sweet, is a poetry & art exhibition which explores Asian American mental health, identity, and diaspora through artistic reimaginations of Greek myth.

This month and the next provides a meaningful opportunity for reflection, appreciation, and advocacy for the diverse voices within our University of Arizona community.

A $2 million gift from Bob and Sue Vaughan will create the SueBob Vaughan Leaders Endowed Chair at the University of Arizona W.A. Franke Honors College.

In this episode of It’s an Honor, Dr. Pollard speaks with Alison Flynn Gaffney, CEO of Banner – University Medical Center Tucson and Banner – University Medical Center South.