News From the Center Archives | Page 10 of 12 | National Humanities Center

News From the Center

National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center Names Fellows for 2016–2017

The National Humanities Center announces the appointment of 37 Fellows for the academic year 2016–17. These leading scholars will come to the Center from 17 states, Argentina, South Africa, and the United Kingdom; they constitute the thirty-ninth class of resident scholars to be admitted since the Center opened in 1978. Robert D. Newman, president and director of the National Humanities Center, said, “This tremendous group of scholars is conducting interesting and important work across a range of humanistic fields. We are delighted to provide them support and look forward to their arrival.”

Dialogues on the Experience of War

National Humanities Center Receives Grant for Work with North Carolina Veterans

The National Humanities Center has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in support of a new outreach program for military veterans. This initiative, “Exploring the Experience of War,” will give veterans in North Carolina the opportunity to reflect on their own service by examining and discussing literary texts. It will be conducted in partnership with Chaplain Services of the Durham Veteran Affairs Medical Center.

%customfield(subject)%

National Humanities Center Introduces Inaugural Teacher Advisory Council

The National Humanities Center has announced the selection of fourteen highly qualified educators from across the country as members of its inaugural Teacher Advisory Council. These teachers, from school districts in twelve states, will work with the Center’s education program staff in piloting, evaluating, and promoting resources and programs that complement its nationally recognized teaching and professional development materials.

%customfield(subject)%

The Andrew Cayton Memorial Fund

The Andrew Cayton Memorial Fund has been established to support the critical work of humanities scholars at the National Humanities Center, where Drew was a Fellow during the 2012–2013 academic year. Specifically, this fund will support the Center’s annual webinars in early American studies, enriching the work of high school teachers across the country, but with an audience now expanding to include community college teachers and adult education generally. The Fund is made possible by generous contributions from Drew’s friends and associates.

%customfield(subject)%

Beth Berry, "The Transformation of Early Modern Japan"

Mary Elizabeth Berry is the Class of 1944 Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley and the first recipient of the Founders’ Fellowship at the National Humanities Center. An authority on the history of pre-modern Japan, she has been working on a project examining the remarkable changes in Japanese life that occurred in the midst of the Tokugawa shogunate (1603–1868). She sat down with us this spring to share a bit about her research.

National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center Names New Trustees

At its recent meeting, the Board of Trustees of the National Humanities Center elected two new members, J. Porter Durham, Jr. and Joan Hinde Stewart. Durham is Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of Global Endowment Management, LP, in Charlotte, NC. Prior to joining the company in 2007, he was director of the education division and staff counsel at The Duke Endowment. Joan Hinde Stewart is President of Hamilton College in Clinton, NY. Before assuming that role in 2003, she was Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and professor of French at the University of South Carolina.

Robert D. Newman, National Humanities Center

Robert D. Newman Installed as President and Director of the National Humanities Center

At a celebration October 22, 2015, Robert D. Newman was installed as the sixth president and director of the National Humanities Center. In his inaugural remarks, titled “Humanities Moments and the Heroic,” Newman shared his vision for the Center as the premier destination for humanities scholars, a national leader in the effort to strengthen teaching, and a vital resource for all who seek greater understanding of themselves and the world in which they live.

China delegates visit NHC

China Delegation Visits the Center

A delegation from the Counselors’ Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China visited the National Humanities Center the afternoon of October 20. After a tour of the Center’s award-winning building, the group joined Elizabeth Mansfield in the main conference room for a presentation on the mission and history of the Center. Delegates expressed appreciation of the architecture, with Director-General Zhang Yantong observing that the open, light-filled, and friendly character of the building mirrored the Center’s mission in support of free and open inquiry.

Scholarly Communication Institute

Scholarly Communication Institute Meets at the Center

Participants in the 2015 Scholarly Communication Institute gathered at the Center recently for an evening reception and short program. They were joined by Fellows, local scholars and librarians, and others interested in enhancing digital access to scholarship in the humanities. Center director Robert Newman delivered opening remarks on the importance of openness and innovation in humanities research. Don Waters, senior program officer at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, delivered an address that highlighted the need for diverse models for assessment, access, and preservation of digital scholarship.

Richard Schramm

National Humanities Center VP for Education Retiring

Richard Schramm, longtime vice president for education programs at the Center, has announced his retirement effective July 2016. Schramm joined the NHC in 1984 and has been instrumental in developing the Center’s innovative approach to professional development programs for teachers, which links scholarship to improved teaching and provides teachers with new materials and strategies to make them more effective in the classroom.