GUBERNATORIAL APPOINTEES. Three new members have been appointed and three current members reappointed to the Council by Governor John Engler, effective with the Jan. 23-24 winter Council meeting in Novi. Reappointed through 1998 are Sheila Cannatti of Battle Creek, who serves as the Council's vice chair; Karin Orr of Ada, and Rhonda Runco of Dearborn. Joining the Council for their first meeting will be: Robert L. Houbeck, Jr. of Flint, Lisa Rae Pelio-Whittaker of Grand Blanc, and Antony T. Sullivan of Ann Arbor. Pelio-Whittaker replaces outgoing member George Cushingberry Jr. of Detroit who left the Council last fall; the other two appointments fill gubernatorial position vacancies.
Robert Houbeck has served since 1991 as director of the Frances Willson Thompson Library of the University of Michigan-Flint, to which he moved from numerous administrative positions at the University of Michigan library in Ann Arbor. A native of Coldwater, he has B.A. and M.A. degrees in history and an A.M.L.S. in library science from the U-M.
Lisa Pelio-Whittaker is artistic director of Danse Michigan and president of Pelio School of Dance in Flint. Prior to her return to Michigan in 1994, she had built a career as a ballet performer, choreographer and master teacher with dance companies and academic programs in New York, Atlanta and Chicago.
Connecticut native Antony Sullivan has been with the Earhart Foundation of Ann Arbor since 1970, serving since 1991 as corporate secretary and director of program. A scholar of Arab and Islamic history and culture, European history and the Middle East, he has lectured and taught in U.S. and international academic settings since 1961. His undergraduate degree is from Yale University; he holds master's and Ph.D degrees in history from Columbia University and the University of Michigan, respectively.
Under federal legislation governing the National Endowment for the Humanities and affiliate state humanities councils, each state governor may appoint up to six persons to seats on the independent, nonprofit councils of their state for the duration of their terms in office.
NOMINEES, PLEASE. The Michigan Humanities Council regularly solicits nominations for Council membership, both academic and public representation from throughout the state. The 25-member Council includes six gubernatorial appointees (see related item) and 19 members elected by the board of directors for four-year terms. Council members' experience reflects a broad range of professional and/or personal interest in the humanities. They are people like you who participate in the Council's work and identify with its mission of fostering intellectual and cultural life in Michigan.
Members' responsibilities include participation in three Council meetings annually at sites around the state as well as committee work on program evaluation, proposal review, planning, fundraising, advocacy for public humanities, liaison to projects and other public representation of the Council. Members serve without pay but are reimbursed for travel expenses. Candidates should demonstrate a record of commitment to the humanities; ability to give time to Council activities; willingness to advocate for public and financial support of Council activities and vision to advance the Council's work throughout the state. To nominate a candidate, send a letter of nomination outlining the candidate's qualifications with a vita/resume to: Membership Committee, Michigan Humanities Council, 119 Pere Marquette Drive, #3B, Lansing MI 48912-1270, or fax it to 517/372-0027. Inquiries about the process may be directed to Ronald Means, Executive Director, at 517/372-7770.
FIVE SITES FOR TRAVELING EXHIBIT. A 10-month, five-community Michigan tour of "Produce for Victory: Posters on the American Home Front, 1941-45," a mobile exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), will be launched in fall, 1997, with Council support to five local institutions. Planning activities have already begun with the Bonifas Fine Arts Center in Escanaba (hosting the exhibit in September-October); the Tri-Cities Historical Museum of Grand Haven (November-December); the Alpena County Library in Alpena (January-February, 1998); the Carnegie Center Council for the Arts in Three Rivers (March-April), and the Port Huron Museum (May-June) for local and regional humanities programs in conjunction with the exhibit's scheduled appearances. The exhibit's focus is on the history and effect of production incentive posters on industrial output and patriotism during World War II. It was developed to reach rural audiences and small museums and libraries whose programming is constrained by cost and limited space. Supplemental funding for programming will permit these host organizations to collaborate with others in their communities to expand the educational impact of the exhibit, according to LuAnn Kern, assistant director of the Council. Watch for more information on these local venues in upcoming newsletters a nd on the Council's new Web Site.
PROGRAM/GRANT WRITING WORKSHOP. The Council will officially introduce its new program and funding guidelines for 1997-98 at a Program Planning and Grant Writing Workshop Feb. 5 in Lansing. The workshop, scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Forum of the Michigan Library and Historical Center in Lansing with registration beginning at 12:45 p.m., is free and open to the public. The program, "Creating Vision for the New Century: The Humanities and the Strengthening of Michigan's Communities," is directed at challenges facing Michigan society, its residents and institutions, with funding to encourage public humanities activities that strengthen civic life through meaningful exploration of values, experiences and issues within communities. It invites collaboration by a wide range of educational, cultural, civic and other community-based organizations around humanities topics as a means to mutually anticipate and prepare to meet the challenges of the coming century. The workshop will also highlight successful community projects as examples of programming encouraged by the new guidelines. For more information, copies of the program guidelines or to make reservations to attend the workshop, contact the Council's Central Office at 119 Pere Marquette Drive, Suite 3B, Lansing, MI 48912-1270, or telephone (517) 372-7770 or (800) 837-4532. Workshop space is limited.
HUMANITIES/ARTS FORUMS. A series of public forums at three locations in Michigan this spring, sponsored by the Michigan Humanities Council and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, will survey the interest, experience and ideas of representatives of the state's cultural and educational institutions for strengthening their ongoing partnership to better serve state residents. These regional meetings, "The Arts and Humanities: Partners at the Threshold of the 21st Century," will take place March 12 at Hope College in Holland, April 14 at Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Dearborn and May 19 at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie to bring together regional representatives to consider ways to best tap and utilize Michigan's human and fiscal resources for cultural programming in the state. The goal of the joint Arts/Humanities Steering Committee directing this initiative is to strengthen the collaboration of the state's two leading arts and human ities organizations and establish clear and appropriate direction for their mutual interest and state residents' benefit in the next century. Persons interested in participating in any of the regional forums may contact the Council's Lansing office at 517/372-7770 (e-mail: mihum@voyager.net) for registration information.
LOOK US UP ON THE WEB. We're accessible and user friendly on the Internet! The Michigan Humanities Council Web Site's "inauguration day" comes two weeks later than the date observed by the rest of the nation. Effective Feb. 3, the Council's programs arrive at a computer near you, including complete humanities presenter and resource catalogue listings, grant information, cultural program activities and exhibit calendars, recent newsletters, web connections to interesting humanities web sites and an ever-expanding menu of offerings. Access all this and more at http://mihumanities.h-net.msu.edu. Thanks go to our partners at Michigan State University's H-Net humanities on-line service for their ongoing assistance in launching the site and improving those areas currently "under construction." We welcome your suggestions... contributions to make the calendar listings more complete (enter on the site's electronic form or e-mail items to: paomihum@voyager.net)... participation in our site's planned "chat" discussions...and continued use of this electronic link to public humanities programs in Michigan. We encourage other humanities-related organizations with web sites to link to the Michigan Humanities Council site by contacting Suzi Kyes (e-mail: skyesmihum@voyager.net) at the Council office in Lansing. Please visit the Council's site oft en and watch as it grows and improves.
RESOURCES YOU CAN USE. These timely suggestions from the Council's Resource Center can enliven those long days of winter or enrich your organization's celebration of Black History Month (February). Overcome the winter doldrums by organizing a reading and discussion group in your library, senior center, workplace or other public gathering place and utilize one of the many packaged book or book-and-video programs available from the Council. You might also bring in a scholar to facilitate your group's enjoyment of the literary odyssey. Let's Talk About It -- Voices and Visions -- Dynamics of Democracy -- Let's Talk About Michigan: these adult reading and discussion programs cover topics ranging from ethnic experiences and American history to the American family and literary trends -- plus much much more. /// Special materials to support school, museum, library and other public observances of Black History Month are highlighted in a "Black History Month Programming" guide to special resources offered by the Council. It gives program suggestions for using the items, such as exhibits, culture kits, video and print materials, and lists Council-recognized Chautauqua presenters whose live programs include related subject matter. Contact Suzi Kyes in the Lansing office (e-mail: skyesmihum@voyager.net) for information on these and other humanities program materials available through the Resource Center.
REGIONAL COUNCIL UPDATE. Representatives of the Grand Rapids Area Council for the Humanities and the Humanities Council of West Central Michigan will share their programming experience at the Council's Feb. 5 Program/Grant Writing Workshop in Lansing as part of the renewed emphasis on collaboration for community programs. Executive directors Linda Samuelson of Grand Rapids and Betsy Czinder of the west central Michigan council will present examples of effective community programs undertaken for metropolitan urban and small rural community audiences. /// Alice Bandstra is assisting the west central Michigan council in developing an inventory of special quilts in the five counties in the regional council's service area as part of an effort to develop a traveling display on quilters and quilting. Mecosta County's effort is focusing on story quilts of black settlers' families. Information on quilts may be referred to the project through Betsy Czinder at 616/796-9365. /// World Wa r II veterans' oral histories compiled as part of the west central Michigan regional council's WWII project have been donated to the White Pine Museum in Mason County, Czinder reports.
INSTITUTE/SEMINAR, FELLOWSHIP DEADLINES. Application deadlines for variety of summer humanities and related institutes for teachers, professors and students are just around the corner. NEH-supported summer institutes include "The Writing of African-American Identity: Self, Race and Gender" for high school English teachers (June 23-July 11, National Humanities Center, PO Box 12256, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709; 919/549-0661 or e-mail at summrins@ga.unc.edu), deadline is March 15, and "Mexico in Transition" for high school Spanish teachers (June 28-July 25, University of Oregon-Eugene, Foreign Language Resource Center, 1233 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1233; 541/346-4027), deadline is March 15. For brochures with a complete list of 34 seminars and institutes for elementary and secondary teachers and 25 for college faculty and information on how to apply, contact the Council's office or NEH directly at 202/606-8463 or e-mail research@neh.fed.us. /// The National Gallery of Art's 1977 Teacher Institute, "Mythology," will be presented July 14-19, July 28-Aug. 2 and Aug. 11-16 in Washington DC (contact: Teacher and School Programs, National Gallery of Art, Sixth and Constitution, NW, Washington 20565; phone: 202/842-6796; e-mail: h-applegate@nga.gov), deadline is April 4. /// Feb. 21 is the deadline at Michigan high schools for applications for Michigan Board of Education-sponsored summer institutes in the arts, sciences and technology for high school students. A booklet describing 1997 programs is available from the Summer Institute Office at the Ingham Intermediate School District (2630 W. Howell Road, Mason, MI 48854; phone 517/244-1243 or 244-1249). /// The James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation deadline is March 1 for applications for 1997 awards of up to $24,000 to in-service secondary school (grades 7-12) teachers of American history, government and social studies or graduating or graduated collegians planning teaching careers in the same fields. The stipends covers tuition, fees, books, room and board for five years of part-time advanced study by teachers or two years of full-time study by continuing college students in master's degree programs in American history, political science or education concentrated on the U.S. Constitution. (Contact: James Madison Fellowship Program, PO Box 4030, Iowa City, IA 52243-4030; phone: 800/525-6928; e-mail Recogprog@act.org). [an error occurred while processing this directive]