June 10, 2024
University of Portland has been awarded a $150,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to build engaged humanities curriculum, experiences and infrastructure that connect UP faculty and students with timely issues in the local community.
The three-year project — Hub, Pathway, Core: Implementing Engaged Humanities Curriculum Across the University of Portland — is directed by Dr. Jen McDaneld (English/Public Research Fellows), Dr. Molly Hiro (English/Public Research Fellows) and Dr. Andrew Guest (Psychology/Director of the UP Core Curriculum). It is one of only eight awards funded nationally in 2024 through the NEH Humanities Connections program.
The award, the largest humanities grant in UP history, will bring together interdisciplinary faculty working groups from 10 academic disciplines to focus on Civic Humanities, Environmental Humanities and Health Humanities.
Working in conjunction with student fellows and community partners, the groups will develop signature engaged humanities courses for the UP Core, high-impact student experiences and programming that convenes the campus around local community challenges. The grant will also fund the implementation of an Engaged Humanities Hub at UP to sustain this work in the future.
A growing field, the engaged humanities seek to connect experiences and conversations that happen in humanities classrooms with the outside world. Dr. Hiro says such humanities engagements enhance students’ professional and personal growth while supporting the University’s liberal arts core and mission.
"We are excited about the multi-level impact this grant project will have — not just innovative curricular and high-impact experiences for UP students — but a sustainable Engaged Humanities Hub ready to energize connections between UP and local communities for years to come,” Dr. Hiro said.
The award is the UP project directors’ second NEH grant in three years, building from a successful “Core Humanities” planning grant project in 2022-23. That project laid the groundwork for the latest NEH grant by researching humanities centers at universities across the country, surveying current UP students and faculty and piloting engaged humanities curriculum development and events.
The initial project identified three key impact areas: polarization and civic life, environment and sustainability, and health and wellness. Dr. McDaneld lauded the multi-disciplinary approach of the new, three-year project.
“None of these problems is going to be solved without talking to each other and building relationships,” Dr. McDaneld said. “Engaged humanities build connections across different disciplines so we can imagine new ways of intervening in the challenges we face.”
In addition to connecting the University to local issues and new community partners, the three-year project aims to invigorate liberal arts on the UP campus. The working groups will create an engaged humanities curricular pathway and undergraduate research opportunities, as well as developing engaged humanities internships with local organizations to help students explore professional pathways.
University of Portland
5000 N. Willamette Blvd.,
Portland, Oregon 97203-5798
503.943.8000
This website uses cookies to track information for analytics purposes. You can view the full University of Portland privacy policy for more information.
