April 10, 2019

UW-Superior receives award from National Endowment for the Humanities

The University of Wisconsin-Superior has recently received a Humanities Connections Planning award from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The proposal from UW-Superior was one of 19 out of 139 applicants to be selected and was developed by Dr. Jayson Iwen, associate professor; Dr. Lynn Goerdt, associate professor; Jayant Anand, interim dean; Sarah LaChance Adams, associate professor; Dr. Khalil (Haji) Dokhanchi, professor; Dr. Sakib Mahmud, associate professor; Jenice Meyer, community engagement director; and Laurel Eaton, grants and research specialist. With the nearly $45,000 grant, research will begin this summer with the community to assess the development of a new program.

“This is a grant to research and design an academic program in civic engagement,” said Iwen. “This would help people identify community challenges that are not being addressed or needs that are not being met by government or other entities and then identify and implement ways to help solve those problems.”

The proposed planning process will begin with a market study to determine the level of interest for prospective students and then efforts will focus on curricular development including the establishment of learning outcomes and program objectives, the identification of existing, redesigned, and newly created courses, and the creation of a curriculum map.

“We’re hoping to meet with people in the community and others whom UW-Superior serves to find out what the best manifestation of this degree would be,” said Iwen.

The National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 created the National Endowment for the Humanities as an independent federal agency. The law identified the need for a national cultural agency that would preserve America’s rich history and cultural heritage, and encourage and support scholarship and innovation in history, archaeology, philosophy, literature, and other humanities disciplines.

The University of Wisconsin-Superior has recently received a Humanities Connections Planning award from the National Endowment for the Humanities.