NEH ANNOUNCES FIVE NEW "LANDMARKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY" WORKSHOPS FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY

WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 15, 2005) -- The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) today announced the creation of five "Landmarks of American History" community college faculty workshops to be held this summer at historic and cultural sites across the United States.

This program of residence-based, week-long workshops will bring groups of 25 community college faculty from around the nation together with eminent historians for a week of intensive study of the history and literature associated with each historic site. Approximately 250 community college faculty will participate this summer in the Landmarks workshops. NEH Chairman Bruce Cole announced the new grants during a speech to the Community College National Legislative Summit in Washington, D.C.

"Community colleges provide the gateway to higher education and the liberal arts for hundreds of thousands of students each year," said Cole. "NEH is proud to fund this new program that will enable their faculty to study key moments in our nation's history at the places where it happened and then bring an enriched vision to their colleges and classrooms."

Community college faculty from across the U.S. will participate in these academically rigorous workshops; faculty selected to participate will receive a stipend of $500 each to help defray their transportation, books, and living expenses.

Community college faculty may apply by March 15, 2005, to a maximum of two of the following workshops:

Remembering the Alamo
July 17-23 and July 24-30, 2005
Location: The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas
Sponsor: Community College Humanities Association

Landmarks of American Democracy: From Freedom Summer to the Memphis Sanitation Workers' Strike
July 10-16 and July 17-23, 2005
Locations: Jackson, Miss.; Memphis, Tenn.; The Delta
Sponsor: Jackson State University

Working the Woods: Economies and Cultures in the Blue Ridge Mountains, 1650-1950
May 29-June 4 and June 19-25, 2005
Locations: Kituah Cherokee heritage site, The Vance Birthplace Pioneer Homestead, the Blue Ridge Paper Company's Canton Mill Museum, and the Cradle of Forestry in America
Sponsor: Mars Hill College

Currents of History: The Columbia River and the Making of the American West
June 26-July 1 and July 10-15, 2005
Locations: Astoria, Portland, The Dalles, and Bonneville Dam
Sponsor: Portland State University

Steel-Making in Cleveland: A Case Study of Industrialization, Immigration, Labor, Race, Ethnicity, and Gender
July 11-15 and July 18-22, 2005
Locations: Western Reserve Historical Society, the ISG Steel Mill, the Ohio and Erie Canal, historic neighborhoods along the Cuyahoga River, and Youngstown, Ohio
Sponsor: Western Reserve Historical Society

NEH established the "Landmarks of American History" grant program as part of the Endowment's We the People initiative to encourage and strengthen the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture. Teachers who wish to apply for the 2005 NEH "Landmarks of American History" community college faculty workshops can find detailed application information on NEH's website. Applications materials are submitted directly to the project directors of the workshop(s).