Federal-State Partnership

Federal-State Partnership is NEH’s collaboration with fiftysix state humanities councils, which provide humanities programs that address local interests and needs. The partnership’s mission is to increase public awareness, access, and participation in the humanities. State councils respond by supporting literacy programs, professional development for teachers, lifelong learning, and cultural tourism programs.

Humanities councils operate in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and Guam. Federal-State Partnership makes annual operating-support grants to help councils fund locally developed programs and to design and conduct humanities initiatives. The councils attract nonfederal contributions usually exceeding the one-to-one match required by NEH’s legislation. And in 2001, they raised nearly $10 million from state legislatures.

In fiscal year 2001, the councils supported thousands of programs that reached millions of Americans: 3,232 Chautauqua-type performances; 2,507 exhibitions; 13,094 media programs; 5,730 speaker presentations; 4,347 literacy programs; 13,331 reading and discussion programs; 2,894 preservation and local history projects; and 1,738 teacher institutes and workshops. Council-funded exhibitions attracted more than nine million visitors and more than eighty million for media projects. Nearly five million people attended scholar-led seminars, conferences, and lectures, and tens of thousands participated in book discussions and K-12 programs.

Responding to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the councils sought opportunities for their constituents to reflect on the implications of the attacks, the qualities of American democracy, and education about issues of global concern. Many councils created specific speakers bureaus to address the crisis. The Maine Humanities Council sponsored pertinent text-based community discussions in libraries throughout the state on October 11, one month after the attacks.

Encouraging reading is a core function of many councils. Book festivals are the communal side of this commitment and programs devoted to individual literacy, reading, and literature appreciation represent the personal side. Councils support reading programs for children and youth, seniors, the newly literate, and professionals. The Prime Time Family Reading Time of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities--a nationwide partnership with the American Library Association-- introduces families to children’s books while encouraging participants to become comfortable in libraries. The Minnesota Humanities Commission, through its Elder Reading Initiative and Learning in Retirement Network, helps older people remain creative and vital by having volunteers--often active seniors--read aloud in nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, and adult day care.

One of the Endowment’s objectives is to strengthen humanities teaching and learning. State councils play a vital role in this effort by providing classroom materials for elementary and secondary school teachers and supporting programming that helps teachers respond to statewide initiatives and requirements. The councils create networks linking secondary schools with colleges and universities, state departments of education, and cultural institutions such as museums and libraries. In 2001, twenty-four councils offered seventy-nine humanities seminars for elementary and secondary teachers. Topics ranged from local history to classical studies and included “The State of War: Illinois and the American Civil War” in Illinois, “Beyond the Classroom: Using Museums to Teach” in Idaho, “The American Revolution and the United States Constitution” in Hawai’i, and “From Augustus to Augustine: The Roman World and Its Enduring Legacy” in New Hampshire.

By designing programs tailored to the specific demography and history of their states, the councils make lifelong learning a central part of American life. The West Virginia Humanities Council serves a sparsely populated rural state, where large areas are not served by higher educational or cultural institutions. Through grantmaking and programs, the council enhances West Virginia’s humanities network and emphasizes its history and culture. It achieves this through film and video discussion programs that explore West Virginia history and Appalachian stereotypes; through People & Mountains, its print and online magazine; and through tours of historic sites. The council is developing the West Virginia Encyclopedia, a comprehensive one-volume reference work of history, literature, biography, folklore, natural environment, industry, and education. In 2001, it launched the West Virginia Book Festival.

Cultural tourism extends the reach of the humanities. In Arizona, the council’s efforts resulted in a sell-out July 2001 Tombstone Film Festival that filled hotels and produced a more authentic experience for visitors through lectures and panel presentations, and featuring actors from Western films. The festival received national coverage on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition. The Connecticut Humanities Council launched Connecticut’s Heritage Gateway (www.ctheritage.org) in 2001. This website includes exhibits, a searchable directory of heritage organizations, a calendar of related events, teacher materials, links to\ more than eight thousand photographs and historical images, colonial records, a historical bibliography, a mini-encyclopedia, book and exhibition reviews, and a restaurant guide. These and other ongoing cultural tourism partnerships were publicized in the American Express Company’s Share Your Heritage: Cultural Tourism Success Stories.

Edythe Manza
Director
Federal-State Partnership

FEDERAL-STATE PARTNERSHIP

Alabama Humanities Foundation
1100 Ireland Way, Suite 101
Birmingham, AL 35205-7001
(205) 558-3980
Michael E. Malone, Chairman
Robert Stewart, Executive Director
$555,118

Alaska Humanities Forum
421 West First Avenue, Suite 300
Anchorage, AK 99501
(907) 272-5341
Perry Eaton, Chairman
Ira Perman, Executive Director
$544,913

Amerika Samoa Humanities Council
P.O. Box 5800
Pago Pago, AS 96799
(684) 633-4870
Mataio Fiamalua, Chairman
Niualama Taifane, Executive Director
$239,671

Arizona Humanities Council
The Ellis-Shackelford House
1242 North Central Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85004-1887
(602) 257-0335
Suzanne Pfister, Chairman
Dan Shilling, Executive Director
$544,494

Arkansas Humanities Council
10800 Financial Centre Parkway
Suite 465
Little Rock, AR 72211-0000
(501) 221-0091
Ben Johnson, Chairman
Robert E. Bailey, Executive Director
$505,500

California Council for the Humanities
312 Sutter Street, Suite 601
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 391-1474
Mary Curtin, Chairman
James Quay, Executive Director
$1,517,290

Colorado Endowment for the Humanities
1490 Lafayette Street, Suite 101
Denver, CO 80218
(303) 894-7951
Herb Zimmerman, Chairman
Margaret A. Coval, Executive Director
$533,534

Connecticut Humanities Council
955 South Main Street, Suite E
Middletown, CT 06457
(860) 685-2260
Stuart Parnes, Chairman
Bruce Fraser, Executive Director
$525,194

Delaware Humanities Forum
100 W. 10th Street, Suite 1009
Wilmington, DE 19801
(302) 657-0650
Jeffrey Mask, Chairman
Charlotte D. Staelin, Executive Director
$449,594

Florida Humanities Council
599 2nd Street S
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
(727) 553-3800
Frank Helsom, Chairman
Fran Cary, Executive Director
$892,514

Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades
Box 9023920
109 San Jose St., 3rd Floor
Corner of Luna Street
San Juan, PR 00902-3920
(787) 721-2087
Agustin Echevarria, Esq., Chairman
Juan M. Gonzalez Lamela, Executive Director
$550,601

Georgia Humanities Council
50 Hurt Plaza SE, Suite 1565
Atlanta, GA 30303-2915
(404) 523-6220
Thomas E. Dasher, Chairman
Jamil Zainaldin, Executive Director
$649,342

Guam Humanities Council
426 Chalan San Antonio
Center Pointe Building, Suite 101
Tamuning, GU 96911
(671) 646-4461
Judy Flores, Chairman
Jillette Leon Guerrero, Executive Director
$266,074

Hawai’i Council for the Humanities
First Hawaiian Bank Building
3599 Waialae Avenue, Room 23
Honolulu, HI 96816
(808) 732-5402
Eileen Tamura, Chairman
Annette M. Lew, Executive Director
$519,893

Humanities Council of Washington, D.C.
925 U Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 387-8393 EXT. 1
E. Ethelbert Miller, Chairman
Joy Austin, Executive Director
$447,194

Humanities Iowa
100 Oakdale Campus, Northlawn
Iowa City, IA 52242-5000
(319) 335-4153
John M. Lewis, Chairman
Christopher Rossi, Executive Director
$515,481

Humanities Tennessee
1003 18th Avenue South
P.O. Box 24767
Nashville, TN 37212
(615) 320-7001 EXT. 1
Michael Osborn, Chairman
Robert Cheatham, Executive Director
$582,024

Idaho Humanities Council
217 West State Street
Boise, ID 83702
(208) 345-5346
Marc Johnson, Chairman
Richard Ardinger, Executive Director
$461,586

Illinois Humanities Council
203 N. Wabash Avenue, Suite 2020
Chicago, IL 60601-2417
(312) 422-5580
J. Paul Hunter, Chairman
Kristina Valaitis, Executive Director
$822,482

Indiana Humanities Council
1500 North Delaware Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202
(317) 638-1500
Robert S. Kaspar, Chairman
Scott T. Massey, Executive Director
$607,450

Kansas Humanities Council
112 S.W. 6th Avenue, Suite 210
Topeka, KS 66603
(785) 357-0359
Morey Sullivan, Chairman
Marion Cott, Executive Director
$505,831

Kentucky Humanities Council
206 E. Maxwell Street
Lexington, KY 40508
(606) 257-5932
Karen Carothers, Chairman
Virginia Smith, Executive Director
$544,108

Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities
938 Lafayette Street, Suite 300
New Orleans, LA 70113-1027
(504) 523-4352
Neil T. Erwin, Chairman
Michael Sartisky, Executive Director
$559,934

Maine Humanities Council
674 Brighton Avenue
Portland, ME 04102-1012
(207) 773-5051
Geoffrey Gratwick, Chairman
Dorothy Schwartz, Executive Director
$466,434

Maryland Humanities Council
674 Brighton Avenue
Portland, ME 04102-1012
(207) 773-5051
Taunya Lovell Banks, Chairman
Dorothy Schwartz, Executive Director
$579,200

Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities
66 Bridge Street
Northampton, MA 01060
(413) 584-8440
Johanna Branson, Chairman
David A. Tebaldi, Executive Director
$617,494

Michigan Humanities Council
119 Pere Marquette Drive
Suite 3B
Lansing, MI 48912-1270
(517) 372-7770
Frank Ettawageshik, Chairman
Rick Knupfer, Executive Director
$735,885

Minnesota Humanities Commission
987 East Ivy Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55106-2046
(651) 774-0105
Kareen Ecklund, Chairman
Stanley E. Romanstein, Executive Director
$572,842

Mississippi Humanities Council
3825 Ridgewood Road, Rm. 311
Jackson, MS 39211
(601) 432-6752
Audrey Haw Sidney, Chairman
Barbara Carpenter, Executive Director
$508,898

Missouri Humanities Council
543 Hanley Industrial Court
Suite 201
St. Louis, MO 63144-1905
(314) 781-9660
Betty K. Wilson, Chairman
Michael Bouman, Executive Director
$587,914

Montana Committee for the Humanities
311 Brantly Hall
University of Montana
Missoula, MT 59812-8214
(406) 243-6022
Lyndel Meikle, Chairman
Mark Sherouse, Executive Director
$454,456

Nebraska Humanities Council
Lincoln Center Building
Suite 225
215 Centennial Mall South
Lincoln, NE 68508
(402) 474-2131
Pamela Snow, Chairman
Jane Renner Hood, Executive Director
$478,872

Nevada Humanities Committee
1034 North Sierra Street
Reno, NV 89507
(775) 784-6587
Nancy Remington, Chairman
Judith K. Winzeler, Executive Director
$467,950

New Hampshire Humanities Council
19 Pillsbury Street
P.O. Box 2228
Concord, NH 03002-2228
(603) 224-4071
John Blackford, Chairman
Marianne Jones, Executive Director
$462,594

New Jersey Council for the Humanities
28 West State Street, 6th Floor
Trenton, NJ 08608
(609) 695-4838
Michael J. Bzdak, Chairman
Jane Rutkoff, Executive Director
$679,406

New Mexico Endowment for the Humanities
209 Onate Hall
University of New Mexico
Corner of Campus & Girard Street
Albuquerque, NM 87131
(505) 277-3705
Ned Miller, Chairman
Craig Newbill, Executive Director
$475,182

NMI Council for the Humanities
AAA-3394, Box 10001
Saipan, MP 96950
(670) 235-4785
Robert T. Torres, Chairman
Isaac Magofna, Executive Director
$255,129

New York Council for the Humanities
150 Broadway, Suite 1700
New York, NY 10038
(212) 233-1131
Samuel D. Waksal, Chairman
David Cronin, Executive Director
$1,054,834

North Carolina Humanities Council
200 South Elm Street, Suite 403
Greensboro, NC 27401
(336) 334-5325
Elizabeth K. Minnich, Chairman
Alice Barkley, Executive Director
$644,070

North Dakota Humanities Council
2900 Broadway, Suite 3
P. O. Box 2191
Bismarck, ND 58502
(701) 255-3360
Thomas Trenbeath, Chairman
Everett Albers, Executive Director
$459,293

Ohio Humanities Council
471 E. Broad Street
Suite 1620
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 461-7802
George R. Garrison, Chairman
Gale E. Peterson, Executive Director
$790,790

Oklahoma Humanities Council
Festival Plaza, Suite 270
428 West California
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
(405) 235-0280
Martin R. Wing, Chairman
Anita May, Executive Director
$522,564

Oregon Council for the Humanities
812 SW Washington Street
Suite 225
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 241-0543
Charles Walker, Chairman
Christopher Zinn, Executive Director
$518,510

Pennsylvania Humanities Council
325 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106-2607
(215) 925-1005
Jeanne H. Schmedlen, Chairman
Joseph J. Kelly, Executive Director
$828,294

Rhode Island Committee for the Humanities
385 Westminster Street, Suite 2
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 273-2250
Charles Sullivan, Chairman
M. Drake Patten, Executive Director
$459,234

South Carolina Humanities Council
1308 Columbia College Drive
P.O. Box 5287
Columbia, SC 29250
(803) 691-4100
Suzanne Ozment, Chairman
Randy L. Akers, Executive Director
$538,078

South Dakota Humanities Council
Box 7050, University Station
Brookings, SD 57007
(605) 688-6113
Richard L. Kline, Chairman
Donald Simmons, Executive Director
$450,786

Texas Council for the Humanities
Banister Place A
3809 South Second Street
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 440-1991 EXT. 1
Wright L. Lassiter, Jr., Chairman
Monte K. Youngs, Executive Director
$1,046,644

Utah Humanities Council
202 West 300 North
Salt Lake City, UT 84103
(801) 359-9670
Thomas G. Alexander, Chairman
Cynthia Buckingham, Executive Director
$483,094

Vermont Council on the Humanities
200 Park Street, RR1, Box 7285
Morrisville, VT 05661-0058
(802) 888-3183
Dorothy Bergendahl, Chairman
Victor R. Swenson, Executive Director
$446,117

Virgin Islands Humanities Council
5-6 Kongens Gade Corbiere Complex
Suite 200B-201B
St. Thomas, VI 00802
(340) 764-044
Tregenza Roach, Chairman
Simon Caines, Executive Director
$255,661

Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
145 Ednam Drive
Charlottesville, VA 22903-4629
(804) 924-3296
Richard T. Wilson, III, Chairman
Robert C. Vaughn, Executive Director
$629,759

Washington Commission for the Humanities
615 Second Avenue, Suite 300
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 682-1770
Jack Faris, Chairman
Margaret Ann Bollmeier, Executive Director
$590,764

West Virginia Humanities Council
1310 Kanawha Boulevard, East
Suite 800
Charleston, WV 25301
(304) 346-8500
Nancy Bulla, Chairman
Kenneth Sullivan, Executive Director
$489,006

Wisconsin Humanities Council
222 South Bedford Street
Suite F
Madison, WI 53703-3688
(608) 262-0706
Michael P. Douglass, Chairman
Max Harris, Executive Director
$581,895

Wyoming Council for the Humanities
P.O. Box 3643
University Station
Laramie, WY 82071-3643
(307) 721-9244
Kate Healy, Chairman
Robert G. Young, Executive Director
$443,661