National Endowment chairman meets with UD faculty, students

Themes of public outreach, inclusiveness and civic engagement were clearly on the mind of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) chairman during a recent visit to University of Delaware programs and projects that emphasize those same qualities.

Jon Parrish Peede, a writer and literary editor who was sworn in as chairman in May after a year with the agency, spent Dec. 6 meeting with UD humanities faculty, students and staff. The NEH, an independent federal agency established in 1965, is one of the largest funders of humanities programs in the United States.

“It was an exciting visit,” said Lauren Petersen, interim associate dean for the humanities in the College of Arts and Sciences. “What all of the programs and initiatives have in common is that they’re very research-intensive but they also all reach out to the public and engage a wide audience.”