Delaware Business Blog

National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman Visits Delaware – Jim Leach Will Speak on “Civility in America” at Free Public Event on November 9

The Delaware Humanities Forum (DHF) has announced a planned visit from National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman Jim Leach to the First State on Tuesday, November 9, 2010. As part of his visit, Chairman Leach will deliver a lecture on “Civility in America” on the campus of Delaware State University, 1200 N. DuPont Highway, Dover, Delaware. This free event will take place in DSU’s Education and Humanities Theater at 11am and is open to everyone (no RSVP required).

As with past NEH leaders, Chairman Leach has a “platform,” which he first discussed at his swearing-in ceremony in August 2009: “In an era where declining civility increasingly hallmarks domestic politics and where anarchy has taken root in many parts of the world, it is imperative that cultural differences at home and abroad be respectfully understood, rather than irrationally denigrated.” DHF is honored to have the nation’s most prominent humanities official, who was once a United States Representative, visit Delaware to shine a humanities spotlight on the way people speak to each other when they have different points of view. Chairman Leach will deliver his lecture to an audience of students and faculty, citizens and government officials, just one week after our national elections.

Says DHF Executive Director Marilyn P. Whittington:

“Civic discourse is a subject DHF has turned its focus on in 2010. It is our shared hope that Chairman Leach will achieve his goal of helping citizens find a common vocabulary and common points of understanding for issues that face them as people and as citizens of their states–issues that also face us as a nation and as a partner in the global community.”

Chairman Leach founded and co-chaired the Congressional Humanities Caucus and served on both banking and Asian affairs committees during his 30-year tenure as an Iowa Congressman, which began in 1976. He became Chairman of the NEH in August 2009.

Following the lecture, Chairman Leach will return to New Castle County for additional opportunities to meet the citizens of Delaware.

If you have questions about Chairman Leach’s visit and lecture, contact the DHF staff by email at info@dhf.org or by phone at (302) 657-0650 or toll free (800) 752-2060.

About the Delaware Humanities Forum

The humanities—subjects which include literature, ethics, political science and history—help people make connections between their own experiences and other people, cultures and ideas. Through grants and public program offerings, the Delaware Humanities Forum builds partnerships to connect the daily lives and work of Delawareans to the universe of human experience, thought and imagination. The Forum focuses on issues of public interest and concern and brings the public in contact with cultural, educational and civic institutions and their programs statewide.

As a state division of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Delaware Humanities Forum supports organizations by awarding grants and implementing project initiatives such as lectures, symposia, exhibitions, classroom programs and media projects. Your non-profit organization, school, library or government agency may qualify for funding from the Forum. To learn more about funding opportunities and the other resources available through the Delaware Humanities Forum, visit our website at www.dhf.org or call (302) 657-0650 or toll free (800) 752-2060.

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