NEH Awards SUU Grants Amounting to Nearly $200,000

This year, Southern Utah University was the only institution in Utah to receive not one, but two grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). These two grants, totaling nearly $200,000, will support Utah Project Archaeology and the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA).  

The first NEH grant was awarded to SUMA under Museum Director and Curator Jessica Farling for $3,196. This money will be used to purchase a specialized storage cabinet to house around 1,900 pieces of SUMA’s permanent collection. 

"SUMA is thrilled to have received this grant to help further our mission of being an educational and cultural resource for the students of SUU and our communities across the region," said Farling. "This funding will be used to purchase new archival cabinets and equipment to preserve objects in our permanent collection, particularly three-dimensional Native American works by Marie Poveka Martinez and Allan Houser."

Within an hour of receiving the first grant, SUU was notified that they had earned a second NEH grant for Utah Project Archaeology, under Coordinator Samantha Kirkley. This second grant, amounting to $169,445, will be used to plan and host workshops for K-12 educators on the ancient Fremont culture of the American Southwest. 

“I speak for the many wonderful people involved in this project,” said Kirkley. “We are thrilled and honored to be selected for this NEH Landmarks grant. We believe in giving young people experiences that promote understanding, stewardship, and enjoyment of our shared natural and cultural resources.”