AUSTIN, Texas—The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded three research fellowships to members of The University of Texas at Austin faculty. The awards, valued at $30,000 each, are among $9.7 million in grants and fellowships provided to 172 scholars and 14 colleges and universities nationwide. Approximately $7.5 million was awarded to other institutions, including libraries, museums and historical societies.
The National Endowment for the Humanities is the largest provider of funding for humanities programs in the United States. An independent federal agency, its mission is to enrich American cultural life by promoting knowledge of human history, thought and culture. It provides grants for high quality humanities research projects on a competitive basis.
UT Austin was among only a handful of institutions where three or more faculty members won prestigious NEH grants.
Dr. Joseph C. Carter, a Centennial Professor in Classical Archaeology who teaches in the classics department, received a grant to research the archaeology of the ancient countryside of Southern Italy and the Black Sea from 3,000 B.C. to 700 A.D.
Dr. Susan Deans-Smith, an associate professor in the department of history, received a grant for a project titled: “Artists, Artisans and the Royal Academy of San Carlos: Culture, Politics and Power in Mexico City, 1681-1821.”
Dr. Samuel M. Wilson, an associate professor in the department of anthropology and archeology, received a grant for a project titled “A New Vision of Caribbean Prehistory.”
NEH makes awards to an average of one out of every five applicants. In 1998, about 650 scholars, professionals in the humanities and other experts served on more than 120 panels evaluating projects. From its creation in 1965 through the end of fiscal year 1998, NEH has awarded more than $3.1 billion for 56,000 fellowships and grants.
