Senate Approves President Obama's Nomination of James Leach as Chair of National Endowment for the Humanities
The fifteen-term Congressman from Iowa will serve as the next chair of the national agency.
13 August 2009 | Permalink
The United States Senate has approved President Obama’s nomination of James Leach, an Iowa Congressman and university professor with a long and distinguished career, as the next chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Oregon Humanities, an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the NEH, joins the NEH and the Federation of State Humanities Councils in celebrating this confirmation.
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which voted on the confirmation, describes Leach as “a public servant of this first order. I’m appreciative that Iowa and our nation will continue to benefit from his leadership.”
Calling the confirmation “very welcome news to all of us in the humanities community,” Esther Mackintosh, President of the Federation of State Humanities Councils, stated, “Mr. Leach brings to this position a deep understanding of the vital role the humanities play in helping citizens address the most urgent issues our society faces.”
Leach served as Chair of the House Committee on Banking and Financial Services (1995-2001), a senior member of the House Committee on International Relations, and Chair of the Committee’s Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs (2001-2006). Since 2007, he has taught at Princeton University and served as the interim director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
In 2004 Leach co-founded, along with Rep. David Price (D-NC), the bipartisan Congressional Humanities Caucus to increase awareness of the importance of the humanities in public life. He received the 2005 Sidney R. Yates Award for Distinguished Public Service to the Humanities from the National Humanities Alliance in recognition of his work as a champion for the humanities.
An important component of the agency Leach will be heading are the fifty-six state humanities councils, of which Oregon Humanities is a member, which were established to extend the reach of the NEH to communities in every state, the five territories and commonwealths, and the District of Columbia. The state humanities councils offer programs that support families and teachers, provide resources for community institutions, and bring citizens together to collectively address issues of importance.
Oregon Humanities’ statewide programs include The Conversation Project: A New Chautauqua, which offers Oregon nonprofits free programs that engage community members in thoughtful, challenging conversations about ideas critical to our daily lives and our state’s future; Think & Drink, a happy-hour conversation series that brings Portlanders together to discuss provocative ideas; summer Teacher Institutes, free weekend institutes for Oregon secondary school teachers; Humanity in Perspective (HIP), a free two-semester, college-level course in the humanities offered to economically and educationally disadvantaged Oregonians; Summer Honors Symposium, which provides bright teens from around the state the opportunity to explore humanities topics; and Public Program Grants, which OCH awards to nonprofit organizations in Oregon that support activities that encourage critical thinking and public engagement with the humanities.
Oregon Humanities connects Oregonians to ideas that transform communities. More information about our programs and publications, which include the Conversation Project: A New Chautauqua, Humanity in Perspective, Teacher Institutes, Summer Honors Symposium, Public Program Grants, and Oregon Humanities magazine, can be found at oregonhumanities.org. Oregon Humanities is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities and a partner of the Oregon Cultural Trust.
For more information, please contact Kathleen Holt, Communications Director, at (503) 241-0543, ext. 115, or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
