Stay Connected and Join a Community of Support
Whether you're looking for your first job after graduation or just retired at the top of your game, as a friend and alum of the W.A. Franke Honors College, you are part of a strong community of support. There are many ways to contribute to this community. Become an Honors LINK Mentor, fill out a volunteer interest form, or fund the dreams of future scholars.
As alumni and friends of the College, you can make an impact in a variety of ways, whether it's through engaging with prospective students, providing internship opportunities, serving as an Honors LINK Mentor, participating on scholarship review committees, or volunteering for study abroad and community service programs. Supporting the Franke Honors College not only has a huge impact on our students but can have a benefit to your own life, too.
Honors LINK Through the Wildcat Mentor Society
Honors LINK (Leverage, Influence, Networking, and Knowledge) is a mentoring program through the Wildcat Mentor Society that matches Franke Honors Alumni Mentors with Franke Honors Student Mentees. Mentors will help students through their academic journeys, Honors thesis, and career exploration and development. Mentors will enable them to build their professional network, strengthen their Arizona alumni network, and create deep, meaningful mentor-mentee relationships which may last well beyond this program. Learn more about this program and apply for the 2023-2024 program year.
Deadline to apply is September 1, 2023!
Volunteer Interest Survey
Complete the Volunteer Interest Survey and tell us how you would like to be involved. Once completed, you will be added to a list of involved Franke Honors College graduates. When service opportunities arise that meet the interests you indicate, we will contact you.
For more information, or to have your questions answered, contact:
Candice R. Crossey
Assistant Director for Donor and Alumni Relations
W. A. Franke Honors College
The University of Arizona
Ways to Get Involved
Whether you graduated last year or within the last decade, check out these great ways you can give back, connect, network and engage!
Engage with prospective students and families to share your experience as an Honors Wildcat Alumni. Whether you attend an on-campus or virtual recruitment event, send handwritten cards to admitted Honors students, or participate in a local college fair in your area, we would love to connect with you! Students enjoy hearing from alumni and how the Franke Honors College played a role in their life experiences and career. With your participation, we can increase the quality of highly competitive students and increase enrollment.
Remember the excitement of your first study abroad experience? Meeting new people, learning a new language, and experiencing other cultures are life-changing. Offering a robust study abroad experience for our students is one of our top priorities and there are many ways our alumni can get involved, including:
- Share your study abroad experience (whether it was an Honors trip or a UA study abroad program) so you can meet with students in the region or program you studied to offer advice
- For alumni currently living abroad - support students once they are abroad by meeting them for coffee or helping them with transportation to housing upon arrival
Lend a helping hand to those who need it most. Community service is an important component of the holistic education Franke Honors College students receive. It enriches personal growth and social understanding while addressing regional concerns. Volunteer in one of our Service-Learning programs by participating in local Honors Alternative Spring Break trips, attend one of our Feel-Good Fridays, or come speak to a class!
Were you a scholarship recipient? If so, you know how vital they are in supporting student success. We are looking for alumni who can share their experiences in scholarship information sessions, mentor applicants, and serve on campus interview or nomination committees.
Internships provide students with real-world work experience and the ability to learn skills developed in professional or community settings. Sponsor or share internship opportunities from your organization with our students. Talk with your company’s HR department or hiring managers and encourage them to recruit from your alma mater.
Tell us your story, in your own words! No matter where you are in life, there are students (as well as other alumni) who can benefit from your experience and advice. Let us know what you’re currently doing or share a quote so we can highlight you in our newsletter or on social media. Get started by filling out our Alumni Story Form.
The power of the Wildcat community is at your fingertips. Elevate your career and amplify your UA experience by joining the Bear Down Network, an online community, and resource exclusive to Wildcats. Get started and join our Honors Group by creating your account today!
Philanthropy makes a tremendous difference at the Franke Honors College. Gifts of any amount from alumni, parents, and other donors enable students to enroll in the Franke Honors College and participate in life-changing experiences that help them develop as leaders who will shape our future. Donate now!
For more information about giving, contact Stephanie Mills.
Connect Virtually With The Community
The W. A. Franke Honors College offers virtual events to enlighten, engage and inform our students, alumni, and donors. If you have a topic or something you would like to see featured, please email us at
Hnrs-development@email.arizona.edu.
The Franke Honors College Big Ideas, Grand Challenges Series
This series is designed to engage students, faculty, and staff in the Franke Honors College, the Arizona campus, and our community in dialogue about important topics that affect us all. Please visit, Big Ideas Grand Challenges Series to learn more.
FRANKE HONORS Now: Live Speaker Series
The Franke Honors College Honors Now: LIVE Speakers Series is a virtual speaker event that has been created to bring together our vibrant community of Franke Honors alumni and donors. These events feature the cutting-edge research of Franke Honors faculty and alumni, in either a large-scale, informative "lecture in your living room" presentation or a smaller, more intimate "conversations from the couch" salon-style gathering.
The Honors College offers virtual events to enlighten, engage and inform our students, alumni, and donors. If you have a topic or something you would like to see featured, please email us at Hnrs-development@email.arizona.edu.
2021-2022 Speakers and Recordings:
- A Safe and Just Future for the Earth System? with Dr. Diana Liverman - View recording
- Unsung Stories of Fortitude: Black Women, Motherhood, and Student Affairs with Dr. Cheree Meeks - View recording
- The 2020 Shecession & Charting a Path Forward with Dr. Victoria DeFrancesco Soto - View recording
- Cowboys, Queens, and the Gay West with Dr. Kathryn Alexander - View recording
2020-2021 Speakers and Recordings:
- Research Resolves Easter Islands Greatest Mysteries with Dr. Terry Hunt - View recording
- Through The Looking Glass Of Digital Humanities - Engaging The Next Generation with Dr. Bryan Carter - View recording
- Arizona's Rainforest: Research at Biosphere 2 with Dr. Joost van Haren featuring Franke Honors student researchers - View recording
- New Research Solves Some Big Questions About Easter Island with Dr. Terry Hunt (Rapa Nui) - View recording
- OSIRIS-REx Sample Return from Asteroid Bennu with Dr. Dante Lauretta - View recording
