The Salmon P. Chase Center has received a $4.1 million federal grant to create endowed chairs and professorships at the civics education center at The Ohio State University.
The grant was announced Wednesday, July 22, by the National Endowment for the Humanities. It includes $4 million in matching funds and $100,000 in outright funds to create the Chase National Humanities Endowment for American Civic Thought. This was the largest of the 81 nationwide humanities projects totaling $41.4 million NEH announced July 22.
The grant was announced during a time of rapid growth for the Chase Center. Now approaching just its second year offering courses, the Chase Center is already launching its first major of Civics, Law, and Leadership; it is offering 10 courses this fall, many of which are at capacity; and enrollment already exceeds 440 students for the coming semester.
“Grants from the National Endowment support organizations and scholars working to illuminate and educate about the great ideas and events of the past,” said NEH Acting Chairman William English. “As we celebrate our nation’s 250th anniversary this year, NEH is proud to help foster robust public engagement with our national history, ideals, and intellectual achievements through funding for an array of exhibitions, preservation projects, books, education initiatives, and advanced research.”
Lee J. Strang, Chase Center Executive Director, said grants of this magnitude greatly enhance an academic unit’s ability to attract and retain the very best scholars, who will help Ohio State further distinguish itself from peer institutions across the country.
“The Salmon P. Chase Center already has been successful in attracting excellent scholars from diverse academic disciplines, ranging from law, literature, and political theory to history and economics,” Strang said. “This NEH grant will enable us to take the next logical step in our maturation as a leader in the field of civic thought.”
These endowed positions will directly benefit Ohio State students by drawing more world-renowned thought leaders in civic education to the University.
“We are honored that the NEH believed so much in the quality of the Chase Center’s growing academic program that they chose us for this nation-leading investment, which will provide our students even more robust educational opportunities in the classroom,” Strang said. “The faculty we hire for these endowed positions are important to support our rapidly growing course enrollments.”
The Chase Center’s $4.1 million grant is one of 81 nationwide humanities projects totaling $41.4 million NEH announced July 22. The NEH announcement of these grants said they support “the preservation of foundational documents, museum exhibitions and historic sites, humanities initiatives, and collaborative research.”