National Endowment for the Humanities Awards $10.1 Million for 65 New Projects

Awards include 47 We the People projects in U.S. history and culture

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) today announced that 65 successful applicants will receive a total of $10.1 million in grants or offers of matching funds for public programs offered by state humanities councils, national historic sites, museums, libraries, and documentary media projects in television and radio.

Successful grants announced today include 47 designated as We the People projects, a special recognition by the NEH for model projects that advance the study, teaching, and understanding of American history and culture.

"The humanities offer a path toward helping us understand our world, and NEH grant recipients will conduct a variety of public programs that can provide guidance along the way," said NEH Chairman Bruce Cole. "NEH supports projects that are rigorous, wide-ranging, and substantial in their examination and illumination of the great ideas and great events of the past in our own nation and throughout the world."

In this award cycle, institutions in 34 states, the District of Columbia, and four U.S. territories received support from the NEH. A complete state-by-state listing of grants is available as an Adobe PDF file. The 65 new NEH grants and matching offers are in two of the Endowment's program areas-federal/state partnership and public programs, with examples of each:

• We the People Grants for State Humanities Councils support a variety of public programming sponsored by the state councils, including teacher seminars and institutes, public lectures, Chautauqua programs, speakers' bureaus, student essay contests, reading and discussion groups, and media projects for radio and television: "Alaska's March to Statehood" (Alaska Humanities Forum, Anchorage); "Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams: Florida in the 20th Century" (Florida Humanities Council, St. Petersburg); and "Citizenship and Democracy" (Nevada Humanities, Reno);
• Interpreting America's Historic Places grants support public humanities projects that exploit the evocative power of historic places to address themes and issues central to American history and culture with interpretations of significant historic sites, neighborhoods, towns, communities, or larger geographical regions: "The Captain John Smith Four Hundred Project: Retracing John Smith's Chesapeake Voyages" (Sultana Projects, Inc., Chestertown, Md.); "From Pursuit to Preservation: The Global Story of Whales and Whaling" (New Bedford Whaling Museum, New Bedford, Mass.); "Back to Our Roots: A New Vision of New England Farming and Rural Life" (Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, Vt.); "Mississippi Blues Commission Blues Trail" (Mississippi Blues Commission, Indianola, Miss.); and "Underground Railroad in Vermont" (Rokeby Museum, Ferrisburgh, Vt.);
• Museum and library grants support interpretive exhibitions, the interpretation of historic sites, interpretive projects (such as publications and public symposia), public programming, and websites: "El Greco to Velazquez: Art During the Reign of Philip III" (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass.); "Impressionism and the Art of the Past" (Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colo.); and "Ben Franklin: In Search of a Better World-A Traveling Exhibition for Libraries" (American Library Association, Chicago, Ill.);
• Media grants support development and production of humanities programs for radio and television, including these radio projects: "Shakespeare in American Life" (Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C.); "American Routes: Routes to Creativity, a Sense of Place" (University of New Orleans, New Orleans, La.); and "Evolving Attitudes toward the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi, 1954-1970" (Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul, Minn.); and
• Special Projects grants support programs at diverse venues for public or non-academic groups, such as senior citizens, youth, members of civic organizations, professional groups, history and heritage tourists, hobbyists, and local citizens: "Footprints of the Ancestors: Intergenerational Learning of Hopi History and Culture" (Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Ariz.); and "Shays' Rebellion and the Making of a Nation: From Revolution to Constitution" (Springfield Technical Community College, Springfield, Mass.).

The list below indicates programs, total number of projects, and total dollar amounts for grants and matching funds included in this announcement:

We the People Grants for State Humanities Councils (32) $2,856,300 (plus $480,000 in matching offers)

Public Programs (33) $ 5,030,543

• Humanities Projects in Libraries: Implementation grants (3) $801,180
• Humanities Projects in Libraries: Planning grants (2) $80,000
• Humanities Projects in Museums and Historical Organizations: Implementation grants (11) $2,509,419 (plus $465,000 in matching offers)
• Humanities Projects in Museums and Historical Organizations: Planning grants (1) $40,000
• Interpreting America's Historic Places: Implementation grants (5) $1,150,000 (plus $130,000 in matching offers)
• Radio Projects: Production (4) $579,944
• Television Projects: Consultation (2) $20,000
• Special Projects: Implementation (5) $1,000,000

NEH grants are awarded on a competitive basis. Throughout the year, humanities experts outside of the Endowment and members of the National Council on the Humanities consider all applications and advise NEH on the quality and significance of each proposed project.