Our 40th Anniversary!
Our 2015 Human Ties Celebration Was A Tremendous Success!
Many thanks to all of our friends and associates who spent the evening with us. We enjoyed a conversation with William "Bro" Adams, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Dianne Harris, Dean of the University of Utah College of Humanities on the topic of "Common Good: Humanities in the Public Square."
Conversation on the "Common Good"
Within the context of the Common Good initiative he recently announced, Chairman Adams shared his perspective on the role of the humanities in public dialogue. He stressed that the humanities should not avoid the grand challenges of our contemporary issues but, rather, embrace and advocate for the humanities' role in addressing them.
Cynthia Buckingham, Executive Director of Utah Humanities, shared her thoughts on the power of conversation and the role of the humanities in facilitating face-to-face dialogue on important topics, all within a safe, supportive environment. "For communication about issues of complexity and consequence, there is no substitute for face-to-face conversation." Read her full remarks in this PDF document.
Ami Comeford, Utah Humanities Board Chair, welcomed everyone to the evening's celebrations by recognizing the people and accomplishments so integral to our 40 year history. "Since 1975, as first the Utah Endowment for the Humanities, then the Utah Humanities Council, and now as Utah Humanities, we have contributed more than 30 million dollars to the state's cultural and educational health, matched easily 2 to 1 by cash and in-kind contributions from our partners around the state." Read her full remarks in this PDF document.
Human Ties Awards
We also honored three 2015 Human Ties Award Recipients.
Visit our Human Ties Awards page for descriptions of their
award-winning humanities work.
Cassie Cox
Two Rivers High School, Ogden
Uintah County Heritage Museum
Vernal
State Representative Brad Wilson
Kaysville
Admission was free, thanks to the generous sponsorship of Zions Bank.
Visit our Ideas in Action page for more stories about how our work in the humanities is improving communities across the state, and visit this page throughout the year for updates on how we are commemorating 40 years of public humanities in Utah.
40th Anniversary Press Release
Celebrating 40 Years of Improving Utah Through the Humanities
The Humanities in 40 Words
We challenged our followers on Facebook and Twitter to help generate a list of 40 words representing what the humanities mean to them, what influence and relevance the humanities have in our modern world, and simply what comes to mind when they hear the word "humanities." Here is the thoughtful result:
