Forging the Future

Forging the Future: A History of the John Martinson Honors College, 2013–2023 is the story of a collaborative effort to build a visionary place: an academic-residential college that would bring together students from across disciplines and differences to rethink the goals and practices of a college education. Designed to be a hub for interdisciplinary learning and innovative pedagogy at Purdue University and a national leader in honors education, the John Martinson Honors College (JMHC) was first and foremost a dream of the future. How that collective dream took shape―from the first, speculative discussions of a college to the literal construction of its buildings and the arrival of its students―is a tale researched, written, and published by the students and alumni of the JMHC. Part institutional history, part biography of a place and its people, Forging the Future is a record of what hope and imagination can accomplish in ten years.

Emily Allen is associate professor of English at Purdue University and director of the Blue Sky Teaching and Learning Laboratory in Purdue’s John Martinson Honors College. From 2012 to 2021, she served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in Purdue’s new Honors College. As a 2022–2023 Honors College Scholarly Fellow, she worked alongside current students and alumni to create the present volume. It is especially meaningful to her to tell the story of the John Martinson Honors College with the students for whom it was built.

Jannine Huby is a recent alumna of Purdue University and the John Martinson Honors College. She graduated in 2023 with bachelor’s degrees in political science and global studies, as well as a minor in professional writing. She previously served as a student editor for Ideas Magazine, an online publication associated with the John Martinson Honors College’s Visiting Scholars Series. Huby is currently a JD candidate at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.

Pulkit Manchanda is a Purdue University and John Martinson Honors College alumnus from New Delhi, India. He graduated in 2023 with a double major in English literature and creative writing and a minor in economics. He currently serves in a teaching role for an online language learning platform and works as a freelance content writer, editor, and copywriter. Manchanda plans to pursue a PhD in English with an emphasis on postcolonial literature.