President Patricia Meyer Spacks of the American Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ of Arts and Sciences today announced the establishment of a $2.5 million fund that will launch the Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾'s effort to improve the position of the humanities in America. A grant of $600,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities–one of the largest made this year by the federal agency-will provide the seed money for a fund to support fellowships in the humanities, an active lecture series, and ongoing investigations into the state of the humanities.
According to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a champion of the humanities and an Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ Fellow:
"This grant," stated Leslie Cohen Berlowitz, Executive Officer of the Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾, "confirms the Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾'s role as one of the country's major centers for research in the humanities. We are grateful to the NEH for not only affirming the significance of the Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾'s work in the humanities, but also for enabling us to increase resources for an emerging generation of scholars."
The Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾'s initiative has received widespread support from educators, including the presidents and chancellors of 41 colleges and universities. As University Affiliates, they provide financial and institutional assistance to the Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾. The initiative will also draw on the research of the Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾'s Fellows, both in the social sciences and the humanities.
The Initiative encompasses four major components:
Among the distinguished Fellows who have contributed to the humanities initiative are Steven Marcus of Columbia University; DenisDonoghue of New York University; Stephen Raudenbush of the University of Michigan; Pauline Yu, President of the American Council of Learned Societies; Francis Oakley, the former President of Williams College; and Nobel-prize laureate economist Robert Solow of M.I.T.
The Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ has long been a recognized leader in the humanities. It was largely responsible for the establishment of the National Humanities Centerin 1970s, and played a key role in the creation of other national institutions such as the Independent Research Library Association and the American Council of Learned Societies.
The Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ was founded in 1780 by John Adams and other scholar-patriots "to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people." Its current membership of over 3,900 Fellows and 600 Foreign Honorary Members includes more than 150 Nobel laureates and 50 Pulitzer Prize winners. Drawing on the wide-ranging expertise of its membership, the American Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ conducts thoughtful, innovative, nonpartisan studies on international security, American institutions, education, and the humanities.
According to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a champion of the humanities and an Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ Fellow:
This funding will go a long way in both sustaining and supporting the integral research that the American Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ of Arts and Sciences contributes to the humanities. So much of what we hold dear as Americans has been touched by the Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾, and with this funding, it can continue to do some of this country's greatest work. The Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾'s passion for the humanities, combined with its nonpartisan studies on international security and education, are one of America's treasures.
"This grant," stated Leslie Cohen Berlowitz, Executive Officer of the Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾, "confirms the Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾'s role as one of the country's major centers for research in the humanities. We are grateful to the NEH for not only affirming the significance of the Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾'s work in the humanities, but also for enabling us to increase resources for an emerging generation of scholars."
The Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾'s initiative has received widespread support from educators, including the presidents and chancellors of 41 colleges and universities. As University Affiliates, they provide financial and institutional assistance to the Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾. The initiative will also draw on the research of the Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾'s Fellows, both in the social sciences and the humanities.
The Initiative encompasses four major components:
- Fostering research by the Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾'s Fellows and other experts into the history of the humanities, with recommendations for possible improvements to the national humanities infrastructure.
- Launching an unprecedented ten-year effort to create more data for the humanities – the Humanities Indicators – that will dramatically improve the information available about the general state of the humanities.
- Creating resources for younger scholars and new research through the Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾'s Visiting Scholars Program.
- Expanding public knowledge of the humanities through symposia, meetings, and lectures.
Among the distinguished Fellows who have contributed to the humanities initiative are Steven Marcus of Columbia University; DenisDonoghue of New York University; Stephen Raudenbush of the University of Michigan; Pauline Yu, President of the American Council of Learned Societies; Francis Oakley, the former President of Williams College; and Nobel-prize laureate economist Robert Solow of M.I.T.
The Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ has long been a recognized leader in the humanities. It was largely responsible for the establishment of the National Humanities Centerin 1970s, and played a key role in the creation of other national institutions such as the Independent Research Library Association and the American Council of Learned Societies.
The Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ was founded in 1780 by John Adams and other scholar-patriots "to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people." Its current membership of over 3,900 Fellows and 600 Foreign Honorary Members includes more than 150 Nobel laureates and 50 Pulitzer Prize winners. Drawing on the wide-ranging expertise of its membership, the American Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ conducts thoughtful, innovative, nonpartisan studies on international security, American institutions, education, and the humanities.