Feature
Free Minds Welcomes, New Partners, Faculty, and Students
Photo by Marsha Miller | UT Austin
Larry Thomas, the class representative of the 2008
Free Minds graduating class, is congratulated by
Camp Fire teacher Anna-Marie Rider.
As it enters its third year, the Free Minds Project has become anything but set in its ways. The fall semester started with a revamped class location and time, new faculty, and a fresh group of students who came to orientation on August 19th brimming with enthusiasm.
After two years meeting at the Trails at Vintage Creek apartments, run by project partner Foundation Communities, the program has moved to the Cepeda Library in Central East Austin for its Tuesday evening classes. The library offers a large meeting room and a bus-accessible location close to many of the program’s participants.
“We feel that it is a great opportunity for the library and the City to cooperate with UT to fulfill one of our long-term library missions, to provide lifelong learning to the community,” says Tom Moran, Adult Programming and Outreach Manager at the Austin Public Library.
Free Minds has also launched a partnership with the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department, enabling Camp Fire USA to run its educational program for children of Free Minds students at the Parque Zaragosa Recreation Center. In addition to providing a classroom, the recreation center has a gym, ping pong tables, and outdoor space for Camp Fire programming.
Tiffany Gill
Two new faculty members bring their fresh perspectives to Free Minds students this year. Dr. Tiffany Gill, assistant professor in the Department of History, replaces Jim Sidbury in teaching the history unit. Gill’s work examines the role of African American beauticians and beauty salons in twentieth century social, political, and economic movements.
Dr. Domino Perez, associate professor in the Department of English and associate director of the university’s Center for Mexican American Studies, teaches the literature unit, replacing Evan Carton. Perez is an expert in Chicano literature and popular culture.
Also new to the classroom is Stephanie Bristow, a graduate student in the School of Social Work, who will provide support services to students. Bristow is an intern at Foundation Communities, which has offered to share her expertise with Free Minds.
Domino Perez
Jaclyn Pryor returns as the writing consultant, and Austin Community College professor Matthew Daude Laurents continues to lead students in debating Plato in the philosophy unit. Students have the opportunity to try their hand at poetry and fiction, as project director Vivé Griffith teaches creative writing. And as they have each year, Free Minds students will attend a performance of the Actors from the London Stage in October.
Most exciting, however, are the students themselves. Twenty-two students were selected in a highly competitive recruitment year, and when they first came together in August the enthusiasm in the room was palpable. Ranging in age from 26 to 52, they bring a wealth of experience and insight to their study of the humanities, reminding those involved with the Free Minds Project that, however much the program evolves, its heart can still be found around the classroom table.