U of S Awarded NEH Challenge Grant

The University of Scranton has been awarded a highly competitive Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The NEH promotes knowledge of human history, thought and culture and enhances the role of the humanities. The $300,000 grant in support of the Weinberg Memorial Library humanities collection is one of only 10 awarded to colleges and universities throughout the United States. In 1996 the University launched The Campaign for Scranton: Shaping the Future of a Jesuit University. The NEH Challenge Grant is an incentive in this fundraising effort. Since this is the University's second Challenge Grant, 64 for every $1, or $1,200,000, must be raised from non-federal sources: private and public foundations, corporations, businesses, professional and trade associations, affiliated groups, special events and benefits, non-federal governmental units and individual supporters. The first NEH Challenge Grant, also in the amount of $300,000, was awarded in 1977, at a $ 3 to $1 match. This grant was a cornerstone to the University's first capital campaign, Commitments to Excellence. The grant and matching 5900,000 supported visiting professorships and lectureships in English, history, philosophy, foreign languages and religious studies and enhanced holdings in the Library's humanities collection.

 

This NEH Challenge Grant will support the enhanced emphasis on the humanities in the University's new general education curriculum which is slated for implementation in fall 1997. The public-private fundraising partnership will place $1.4 million into an endowment for secure funding for Library print, non-print and electronic sources of humanities information. The remaining $100,000 is allocated for immediate expenditures in the humanities curriculum, cultural diversity, women's studies and Judaic studies. Part-time clerical support and an adjunct faculty librarian position are also included. The NEH grant continues the active research relationship between the faculty and the Library, supporting academic excellence and preparing students for an increasingly diverse world.