GRANTHAM, Pa. (March 6, 2007) — The Center for Public Humanities at Messiah College has received a $200,000 Challenge Grant from the prestigious National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the largest benefactor of humanities programs in the United States.  NEH grants help educational institutions and public organizations secure long-term support for their humanities initiatives.  Messiah's receipt of an NEH grant is particularly distinct because the funds will endow the Center for Public Humanities, a sponsor of innovative forms of public humanities outreach through a variety of collaborative programs. 

The NEH Challenge Grant, which requires a match by the college, will permanently endow the Center for Public Humanities.  The endowment will in return secure the future of free, college-level instruction for disadvantaged adults through the Hoverter Course in the Humanities; free content-based seminars for local secondary school humanities teachers (for Act 48 professional development credit) through the Teachers as Scholars Seminar Series; the annual Spring Humanities Symposium, a week-long, campus- and community-wide conversation on a common theme, complete with lectures, colloquia, exhibits and film series; further development of a distinguished public lecture series for the wider community; educational partnerships with regional school districts as sponsors of the History Day and High School Debate competitions; and faculty- and student-designed programs of civic engagement of the humanities.  

Joseph Huffman, dean of the School of Humanities, concluded about NEH support: "This grant represents a major milestone in the continuing development of the humanities at Messiah College, and is a strong affirmation that our vision of public humanities is on the cutting edge of how humanities scholars are now taking the life-changing learning they offer to their immediate communities."

Messiah College's Center for Public Humanities fosters partnerships with patrons, educational and humanities organizations and governmental agencies.  Such collaborative efforts advance the Center for Public Humanities' mission to bring together various groups interested in humanities-based education, cultural events and civic issues of contemporary significance.  More information about the center is available at www.messiah.edu/schools/humanities/center/.

Messiah College, a private Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences, enrolls nearly 2,800 undergraduate students in 60 majors. Established in 1909, the primary campus is located in Grantham, Pa., near the state capital of Harrisburg. A satellite campus affiliated with Temple University is located in Philadelphia.