NEH grant will help Ohio State’s Chase Center create named chairs, professorships

NEH grant will help Ohio State's Chase Center create named chairs, professorships

$4.1M supports work illuminating and educating about nation's history

The Ohio State University's Salmon P. Chase Center has received a $4.1 million federal grant to create endowed chairs and professorships at the civics education center.

The National Endowment for the Humanities grant 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.

The grant was announced during a time of growth for the Chase Center. Now approaching its second year offering courses, the Chase Center is launching its first major: Civics, Law, and Leadership. The center 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 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."

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