Howard Payne University’s Douglas MacArthur Academy of Freedom museum will soon expand its educational offerings to area schoolchildren due to an $881,000 grant recently awarded by the United States Department of Education. The grant will fund the facility’s rollout of a wide range of interactive learning opportunities for students in Brown County and surrounding counties.

HPU’s Guy D. Newman Honors Academy: The Program for Civic Leadership and Public Policy and the related Douglas MacArthur Academy of Freedom museum have long promoted American democracy and free enterprise among students and the community. As the United States approaches its semiquincentennial in 2026, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, university leaders seek to leverage this resource to benefit the area to a greater degree. Through the grant, the program will focus on reaching underserved K-12 students and educators across Brown County and its seven neighboring rural counties, a total of more than 18,000 students and 700 educators. 

“We’re incredibly excited about this wonderful opportunity and proud of our team’s efforts,” said Dr. Matthew McNiece, Academy director and chair and professor of history and government. “This was a very competitive grant program, and our proposal was one of 85 grants awarded, and one of only six in Texas.”

Grant funds will be used to host educator workshops and seminars, as well as for the development of grade-specific, TEKS-aligned curriculum. Funds also allow for the modernization of the Academy’s learning environments through new furnishings, interactive technology and student-centered events. Additionally, the Academy will offer cost-free museum visits, transportation support and meals to students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

The Academy was founded in 1962 under the leadership of Dr. Guy D. Newman, who served as president of the university from 1955 to 1973. More than 60 years later, the Academy continues to emphasize Judeo-Christian values, Western Civilization, free enterprise and civic engagement.

The museum’s theme is humanity’s search for freedom, and the story culminates with a visit to its nearly inch-perfect replica of the Assembly Room of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where both the Declaration in 1776 and the Constitution of 1787 were debated, drafted and signed.

“Our goal is to do for area students and teachers what we’ve done for our HPU honors students for more than 60 years – use a high-impact pedagogy, including the use of our unique museum spaces, to emphasize the rights and responsibilities we each have within our American system of self-government,” said Dr. McNiece. “There’s no better time to think deliberately about these things than on a date like the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and – we think – there are few better locations in which to do this in than a place like the Academy of Freedom museum.”

For more information about HPU’s Douglas MacArthur Academy of Freedom museum, visit www.hputx.edu/academy-of-freedom or call 325-649-8700.