UW lands $20 Million for humanities

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Tue, 21 Dec 2010 08:40:54 +0000

Broadcast email from Biddy:



Gov. Jim Doyle and UW System President Kevin Reilly joined me to help make
a very important announcement about the humanities at UW-Madison. I want to
share the news with all of you.

I’m delighted to announce that the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded
UW-Madison a $10 million grant in support of the humanities. This grant is
part of Mellon’s effort to preserve and enhance the humanities at public
research universities with records of scholarly and educational excellence.

Please read the story below.

Chancellor Biddy Martin

An extraordinary public-private partnership will allow the University of
Wisconsin-Madison to enhance education and research in the humanities. The
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded the university a $10 million grant
as part of an effort to preserve and enhance the humanities at public
research universities that have records of scholarly and educational
excellence.

The grant, which will be matched by the state, is intended to support and
sustain strength in core areas, hire new faculty, and support postdoctoral
and graduate students.

“I’m delighted by this support for the humanities at UW-Madison and by the
private-public partnership that made it possible,” says UW-Madison
Chancellor Biddy Martin. “The funding will allow us to strengthen fields
that are essential to the education of our students and to the body of
scholarship that preserves and reinvents culture.”

Mellon Foundation President Don Randel worked with Martin to develop the
details of the program, which requires a match of state funds. Martin and
Randel approached Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, who committed to matching the
Mellon Foundation’s grant.

“As governor, I have worked hard to make sure that our young people have
the opportunity to get a high quality education at Wisconsin’s world-class
universities,” Doyle says. “This funding will allow the great humanities
programs at UW-Madison to continue to grow and prosper. I want to thank
Chancellor Martin and President Reilly for their dedication and innovative
thinking and the Mellon Foundation for making this funding possible.”

Studies in the humanities span almost every college and school at UW-
Madison. More than half of UW-Madison students took a course in the
humanities in the last year, and more than 60 departments, centers,
libraries and programs offer learning, research and study abroad
opportunities in the humanities. UW-Madison is an international leader in
foreign language education, offering instruction in more than 80 modern and
ancient languages.

Among the areas of study that will be augmented through the grant is a
traditional one: ancient Greek philosophy. An endowed chair in ancient
Greek philosophy will be created from $2.5 million in funds from the grant;
the new faculty member is expected to be hired by fall 2011.

Other core areas in the humanities will receive support for the renewal of
faculty in the face of retirements and recent departures.

In addition to hiring faculty, the funding will allow UW-Madison to
continue a program for postdoctoral students in the humanities and
humanities-like social studies to take part in research, teaching and
mentoring by senior faculty.

The grant will also fund approximately 65 two-year fellowships for graduate
students who are in the proposal and writing stage of dissertations in the
humanities and certain social studies, freeing them from the need to serve
as teaching assistants during that time. The first round of funding for
graduate students is expected for fall 2011.