Ohio University Recieves NEH Grant for Regional
Humanities Center Proposal
Contact: Judith Yaross Lee, (740) 593-4844
ATHENS, Ohio (July 26, 2000) -- Ohio University has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the
National Endowment for the Humanities to develop a proposal for a regional humanities
center.
The NEH announced this week that Ohio University is one of two universities in a
five-state region to receive the grant. Ohio University and Michigan State University, the
other grant recipient, now will compete for a $5 million grant to create a humanities
center to serve Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. Two institutions
are competing for implementation grants in each of 10 regions nationwide.
An interdisciplinary team of faculty from the colleges of Communication, Arts and
Sciences and Fine Arts as well as staff from Alden Library developed the grant proposal.
Partnering with regional scholars, institutions, libraries, museums and cultural
organizations, Ohio University competed against a roster of distinguished research
universities.
"Supporting a humanities center offers a tremendous opportunity to showcase the
region's rich cultural heritage, and we will continue to vigorously pursue this
implementation grant," said Ohio University President Robert Glidden. "The success thus
far of this project is a tribute to the talent and teamwork of individuals at the university
and throughout the area."
The implementation grants are expected to include an endowment of $5 million over five
years -- to be matched by university funds of $15 million over seven years -- to support
research, cultural preservation, public programming and lifelong learning activities
dealing with the history, people, traditions and landscapes that characterize the central
states of America.
"Our plan for the center builds on Ohio University's historic strengths in regional
education and outreach," said Judith Yaross Lee, professor of interpersonal
communication and co-writer of the planning grant with Joseph Slade, professor of
telecommunications. "We aim to create lifelong audiences for the humanities in Indiana,
Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia, and to serve students, teachers, scholars
and the general public. We envision a center that will celebrate literature and history,
popular and material culture in local and regional communities, institutions and
organizations across the Central Region."
Among reviewers' comments on the Ohio University proposal: "They have provided a
great model for all regional centers to follow," "Their narrative is detailed, diverse and
well-informed, not only about Ohio, but about the rest of the region, showing familiarity
with authors, legendary figures, commercial enterprises, industry and rural life Š" and
"Obviously, someone understands the basic necessity of partnership."
During the next year, the Ohio University team will collaborate with humanities
colleagues at universities, historical societies, art museums, libraries, PBS outlets and
other organizations to set the center's agenda for research and public programming.
These plans will culminate in an Aug. 1, 2001, proposal to implement the Central
Humanities Center at Ohio University.
Additional information is available at www.ohiou.edu/crhc/
