Vol. VIII, No. 3

   
November, 1995

Major Changes at NEH


Effective December 4, 1995, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) will be redesigned to create a leaner, more focused, and flexible agency in order to adjust to a 1996 budget reduction of almost forty percent.

With the reconfiguration, NEH will give greater support to the activities that best meet its guiding tenets: Activities
- that are best done at the national level;
- that have long-term impact;
- that have few other sources of support;
- that strengthen the institutional base of the humanities; and
- that reach broad sectors of the American public.

The Endowment will focus on the following areas:
* Supporting original scholarship
* Preserving the American cultural heritage
* Providing learning opportunities for the nation's teachers
* Engaging the American public in the humanities.

Structurally, the NEH will consist of three divisions containing a total of seven programs, and a separate office to administer challenge grants. Following are brief descriptions of the programs (by division) with contact information. Application deadline dates through September, 1996, will be available in the booklet, NEH Overview of Endowment Programs, soon to be available.

Division of Preservation and Access
One program with one set of guidelines and one funding cycle, encompassing the following:
* Preservation and access projects (which will include support for education and training, regional field service programs, and research and demonstration projects), the stabilization and documentation of material culture collections, and the U.S. newspaper program.
Phone: 202/606-8570
Email: preservation@neh.fed.us

Division of Public Programs and Enterprise
Two programs with one set of guidelines and two funding cycles encompassing:
* Public Programs: planning and implementation of public humanities activities, including museum exhibitions, library exhibitions and programs, and radio and television programs.
* Enterprise: special initiatives, partnerships with other agencies and the private sector, trans-divisional projects, and other activities.
Phone: 202/606-8267
Email: publicpgms@neh.fed.us

Division of Research and Education
Four programs, each with its corresponding set of guidelines and funding cycles, encompassing the following:
* Seminars and Institutes: summer seminars and institutes for higher education faculty and school teachers.
* Education Development and Demonstration: materials and model curricula with related professional development and trial implementation; e.g., teaching with technology.
* Fellowships and Stipends: fellowships for university teachers, colleges teachers, and independent scholars; summer stipends; and HBCU faculty graduate study.
* Research: editions, translations, basic research, archaeology, humanities study of science and technology, centers, international programs, and conferences.
Phone: 202/606-8373
Email: education@neh.fed.us

Challenge Grants, Public and Educational Programming
*The NEH Office of Challenge Grants will continue to function in its present form, offering support for educational, scholarly, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. Grantees will be required to raise three or four dollars for every dollar they receive from NEH.
Phone: 202/606-8309
Email: challenge@neh.fed.us
*Public and educational programming will also continue under the energetic direction of the fifty-six state humanities councils. For information, contact the NEH Federal-State Partnership office.
Phone: 202/606-8254
Email: fedstate@neh.fed.us

A new edition of the NEH Overview of Endowment Programs, a brochure that describes Endowment programs, gives eligibility requirements, and lists the state humanities council offices, will be available in early 1996. For copies of the new Overview or for more information about the National Endowment for the Humanities, contact the NEH Public Information Office, 1100 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Rm. 402, Washington, D.C. 20506 (telephone: 202/606-8400; email: info@neh.fed.us).


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