Humanities Endowment Announces $15.2 Million for 132 New Grants

Awards include 29 We the People projects in U.S. history and culture

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) today announced that 132 successful applicants will receive a total of $15.2 million in grants or offers of matching funds for teacher seminars and institutes, challenge grants, exhibits in museums and libraries, and television and radio programs.

Successful grants announced today include 29 designated as We the People projects that will explore significant issues in U.S. history and culture for teachers and the general public.

"The humanities tell the grand universal story of civilization, and NEH grant recipients are the storytellers," said NEH Chairman Bruce Cole. "NEH is supporting projects that are rigorous, wide-ranging, and substantial in their examination of the humanities, many of which will illuminate the great events and great ideas of the past. NEH's We the People projects capture the imagination and articulate the guiding principles of our Republic. They reinvigorate our citizens' understanding of America's unique legacy of liberty."

In September 2002, President George W. Bush announced the NEH We the People initiative, which included a call for grant applications to explore American history and culture. The We the People grants announced today include:

• Seminars and institutes for teachers in schools, colleges, and universities to be held in the summer of 2004 allow teachers to gain a deeper knowledge of the humanities: "History, Diversity, and Democracy in America's State Constitutions" (Lafayette College, Easton, Pa.), "Cultural Diversity of the American South" (University of Tennessee, Knoxville), "War & Morality: Rethinking the Just War Tradition for the 21st Century" (U.S. Naval Academy, Md.), and "Political and Constitutional Theory for Citizens" (Center for Civic Education, Calabasas, Calif.);
• Educational development and demonstration projects provide educators with the opportunity to implement best practices for teaching the humanities: "An American Sojourn: An Integrated Study of American Literature with American History" (Lake Region State College, Devils Lake, N.D.), and "Colonial Life and the American Revolution" (National Heritage Museum, Lexington, Mass.);
• Museum projects include exhibitions, the interpretation of historic sites, and associated public programming: "Emissaries of Peace: The 1762 Cherokee/British Delegations" (Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Cherokee, N.C.), "Building America: House and Home" (National Building Museum, Washington, D.C.), "Our Nation's Government" (Capital Children's Museum, Washington, D.C.), and "Woodrow Wilson's Life and Legacy" (Woodrow Wilson Birthplace Foundation, Staunton, Va.); and
• Media and special projects support planning, scripting, and production of humanities programs for radio and television and other humanities projects: "Changed Lives: Lewis and Clark Meet the West" (Missouri Humanities Council, St. Louis, Mo.), "The Last Homesteads: The Great Plains and Alaska" (Nebraskans for Television, Inc., Lincoln, Neb.), "The Hayloft Gang: The Story of the National Barn Dance" (Media Working Group, Chicago, Ill.), and "Studio 360: American Icons" (Public Radio International, Minneapolis, Minn.).

A complete listing of the Endowment's We the People grants is available in .pdf format.

The 132 new NEH grants and matching offers are in three of the Endowment's program areas--challenge grants, education, and public programs. In this award cycle, institutions in 35 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico received NEH support. A state-by-state listing of grants is available as an Adobe PDF file in the above box.

Programs, total number of projects, and total dollar amounts for grants and matching funds included in this announcement are as follows:

Challenge Grants (3) $250,000

• Special Initiative for Local History (3) $250,000

Education Programs (75) $7,339,401

• Education Development and Demonstration Projects (24) $592,906
• Institutes and Seminars for School Teachers (31) $3,848,280
• Institutes and Seminars for College and University Teachers (20) $2,898,215

Public Programs (54) $7,634,898

• Humanities Projects in Libraries and Archives (4) $888,360
• Humanities Projects in Museums and Historical Organizations (25) $4,417,395
• Humanities Projects in Media (18) $964,543
• Special Projects (7) $1,364,600

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.