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Vermont Humanities has awarded the 2024 Victor R. Swenson award to Meg Allison, a librarian and teacher at U-32 Middle and High School in Montpelier.
A federal judge in Oregon issued a preliminary injunction on August 6 ruling that the termination of humanities councils’ operating grants in April by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) was unlawful. The lawsuit was initiated by the Oregon Humanities and Federation of State Humanities Councils (on behalf of its member councils).
“The Lives of Lamoille County” podcast is about people with lived experience of homelessness or housing insecurity. Each episode features a person telling the story of the intersection of their life and homelessness. Vermont Humanities recently awarded a $4500 Project Grant to support this podcast, produced by the Lamoille Community House, a year-round shelter located in Hyde Park.
Vermont Humanities has recently supported the Heritage Winooski Mill Museum with two grants to help fund a new exhibit at the museum focusing on child labor. The grants will cover the design, layout, printing, and installation of the exhibit, which will include a global map showing how child labor remains an issue in the overseas textile industry.
The Mellon Foundation announced a $15 million emergency funding commitment to the Federation of State Humanities Councils (the Federation) in response to federal funding cuts that have devastated state humanities councils. This emergency funding will help provide support to all 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils across the United States, including up to $250,000 for Vermont Humanities.
DOGE (Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency) is targeting the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) with the aim of eliminating the agency. NEH is the only federal agency that funds our nation’s 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils. The loss of NEH funding to humanities councils will decimate our ability to serve communities in our states, eliminating programs that are essential to each state’s cultural infrastructure. Loss of federal support will be particularly hard-hitting in rural communities and other under-resourced areas throughout the country.
Lily Brooks-Dalton, author of “The Light Pirate” which has been selected as our Vermont Reads book for 2025, shares reflections on writing the book, the different sides to the question “should I stay or should I go?” in the wake of a climate crisis, and the importance of finding a balance between hope and gloom when writing about big problems.
The Vermont Civic Health Index offers a look at the state’s civic life, revealing considerable strengths as well as areas for growth across six key domains. The Index also spotlights some of the organizations that offer unique support for civic health across the state and presents original data from the Vermont Youth Civic Health Survey.
Vermont Humanities staff and partners reflect on a milestone 50th anniversary year and explore the impact that Words in the Woods, Veteran’s Book Groups, and more can have on our sense of community and understanding of the humanities in everyday life.
With hundreds of our own events and those of our community partners, it was exciting to engage new audiences with so many celebratory gatherings. Vermont Humanities endeavors to embrace this value in every aspect of our work. Join us in fostering and facilitating connections and experiences that have the power to impact all Vermonters. Please give now!
Today, January 1st, 2024, we celebrate our 50th anniversary with deep gratitude for our extraordinary founding leadership. We are grateful for the work of everyone who has had a hand in bringing the humanities to life in Vermont communities over the past five decades.
Brenda Bisbee joined Vermont Humanities board of directors as a Governor’s appointee from 2000-2004, was reelected to a three-year term until 2007, and continued to serve as a community member on our program and development committees through 2010. Her generous bequest in 2023 creates a lasting impact on the future programming of Vermont Humanities.
This has been one of the stranger years on record for Vermont’s cultural organizations – and just one in a string of very challenging years, albeit a period filled with many lessons about improving access and inclusion. It is only with your support that we can continue to bring the humanities to street corners, town halls, libraries, and schools across Vermont. Please give now!
The Floods Cultural Recovery Fund is designed to support non-profit organizations impacted by the historic flooding in Vermont as they seek to return to providing cultural or humanities-based programming to their communities.
Vermont Humanities has named Annette Goyne, a librarian at Richford Jr. Sr. High School, as its 2022 Victor R. Swenson humanities educator of the year.
In this year-end video playlist, Vermont Humanities staffers share their most memorable moments from the last year including a visit from New York Times Best-selling author Jason Reynolds, the return to in-person Words in the Woods events, the release of the new Freedom and Unity comic, and the quiet moments in between that make our work so rewarding.
Sarah Henstra, the author of the Young Adult novel “We Contain Multitudes,” will visit Vermont from April 12-15 for a series of free events, including two in-person public talks in Essex Junction and Middlebury and a virtual discussion with a panel of Vermont high school students.
Vermont Humanities staffers describe the virtual visit to Vermont by author Angie Thomas, a humanities camp focused on indigenous knowledge, our Words in the Woods collaboration, and our Fall Conference on climate change and the humanities.
Vermont Humanities has named Susan Piccoli, the librarian for Woodstock Union High School and Middle School, as its 2021 Victor R. Swenson humanities educator of the year.
“Dreaming of Timbuctoo” is a traveling exhibit that will be displayed through October at Town Hall Theatre in Middlebury, with support from a Vermont Humanities Rapid Response grant.
Vermont Humanities recently announced its Vermont Reads book choice for 2021: We Contain Multitudes by Sarah Henstra.
The mastermind behind the vision of Mi Vida, Mi Voz (My Life, My Voice) is a 17-year-old senior at Hinesburg High School, Lena Ashooh of Shelburne. Her project aims to draw attention to Vermont’s migrant community and to rural youth through annual workshops.
Vermont Humanities is delighted to announce the creation of the Anne Commire Fund for Women in the Humanities, created through a legacy gift of $125,000 from Anne’s estate. The fund will support projects at Vermont Humanities that focus on women writers.
Our staff and board have had many complex conversations since the December announcement that the University of Vermont plans to eliminate 23 programs in the coming years, most in humanities disciplines.
Vermont Humanities staffers share their favorite moments from this sad, strange, and sometimes uplifting year. Includes clips from our Words in the Woods, First Wednesdays, Speakers Bureau, and Vermont Reads programs.
Our seasonal “Words in the Woods” program allows Vermonters and visitors to enjoy our state’s natural beauty while listening to and reading literature in the outdoors.
Humanities Camps are filled with reading and writing projects, field trips, and outdoor activities.
We won a 2020 Schwartz Prize for best public humanities programming in the U.S. for Vermont Reads 2019: “March: Book One.”
We supported the Chandler Center for the Arts’ Global Connections Youth Outreach program, which highlights artists from around the world.
Our free public events help bring the power of the humanities to communities across Vermont.
