Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities

Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities
Headquarters Louisiana Humanities Center at Turners' Hall
Location
  • 938 Lafayette Street, Suite 300, New Orleans, Louisiana 70113
President
 Miranda Restovic
Board Chairman
 Brad Adams
Affiliations National Endowment for the Humanities
Budget (Fiscal Year 2014)
$2,438,142
Website http://www.leh.org/

The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities is a nonprofit organization dedicated to furthering the education of residents of the state of Louisiana. In its mission, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities provides access to and promotes an appreciation of the history of Louisiana and its literary and cultural history.[1] It was founded in 1972 as a result of initial funding by the National Endowment for the Humanities.[2]

Founding and History

Beginning in 1971, the National Endowment for the Humanities initiated an experimental adult education program to various states, consisting of grants to the states to promote state-based programs of informal adult education in the humanities.[3] The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities came into existence in 1972, as the 17th program of its kind in the United States. Initially, the Louisiana Committee for the Humanities administered the program, as the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities was becoming a formalized institution. It is one of more than fifty state humanities councils established to give individual states greater autonomy in the humanities.

The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities has been headquartered at Turners' Hall in the Central Business District of New Orleans since 2007. Its location in this building is historically significant because of the construction of this building in 1868 by the Society of Turners as a social club for German-American citizens.[4]

Programs and Publications

During the period 2008 to 2012, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities funded $6.4 million in projects to institutions and individuals to preserve the cultural heritage of Louisiana.[5] The organization funds programs of types including: discussions, documentaries, digital media, exhibition development, festivals pertinent to Louisiana's cultural heritage, publications, and scholar-in-residence programs.

The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities administers the Louisiana Humanist of the Year Award.[6] Some representative winners of this award are listed in the table. Other awards administered by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities include, and are not limited to: the Champion of Culture Award, the Humanities Book Award, the Humanities Documentary Film Award, and the Light Up for Literacy Award.[6] Criteria for each award are articulated for purposes of nominations.[7]

Year Awardee Citation
1985 Stephen Ambrose Historian and Biographer
1997 Richard Ford Author
2006 Nick Spitzer Founding Director of Louisiana Folklife Program
2014 Walter Isaacson President and CEO, Aspen Institute
2015 Cokie Roberts Historian and Journalist
2016 Zachary Richard Poet, Film Producer, and Activist

Impact

The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities documents its impact in its annual report, which are publicly available.[8] As part of the Chronicling America program, during the period 2008 - 2012, it digitized approximately 100,000 pages of historic newspapers during their publication years 1860 to 1922, the newspapers including the Natchitoches Times and the Feliciana Sentinel. The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities established 1991 the Prime Time Family Reading Program, having reached approximately 40,000 at-risk children and parents, using several grants provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities. It has funded periodically the public radio program American Routes. Most importantly, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities established the KnowLA digital encyclopedia for Louisiana and Cultural Vistas magazine, as described in their annual reports.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Mission Statement". Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "Initial funding of state humanities councils by the NEH". National Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  3. ↑ "Grants Given for Education: Louisiana Among Group in Humanities". The New Orleans Times-Picayune. July 5, 1972.
  4. ↑ "History of Turners' Hall". Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "Talking Points: Louisiana". National Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  6. 1 2 "LEH Humanities Awards". Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  7. ↑ "Nominations accepted for the 2015 Humanities Awards". The Drum Newspaper. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Annual Reports". Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
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