History Prof. Edward L. Ayers earned a presidential appointment to the National Council on the Humanities, which will hold its first meeting of the year next week.
President Bill Clinton selected Ayers to serve on the Council, a 26-member group that advises the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the U.S. Senate approved his appointment. Ayers was sworn into office March 10.
The Council is responsible for advising NEH Chairman William R. Ferris on programs, procedures and policies, NEH Spokesman Jim Turner said.
Receiving an appointment to the Council is very prestigious, Turner said.
The NEH provides funding for projects in the Humanities and focuses on preserving and studying the nation's cultural past. Universities and historical societies usually receive the NEH funds in the form of grants.
Ayers said he looks forward to working with the NEH during his six-year term.
"The NEH sets policy of how the United States deals with the entire record of the human experience," he said. "This is a big responsibility to have any role in."
He added that the U.S. does not devote much funding to the humanities, and he hopes to be a "better advocate for the humanities in American culture."
Ayers said this position will enable him to gain an understanding of how the general public views the humanities, and he believes this outside experience will enhance his teaching.
At next week's meeting, the Council will be reviewing funding requests for humanities projects.
A panel of outside experts first reviews each project and suggests whether the Council should approve funding. The Council then decides which projects it ultimately will recommend to Ferris for funding, Turner said.
Recent projects range from endowment for the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum to funding for a documentary of the First Federal Congress prepared at George Washington University.
Council members serve six-year terms, and each member's term starts at a different time. This provides a mix of old and new members, Turner said.
Ayers now is conducting research at Stanford University as a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences. He will return to the University this summer.
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