Call for Nominations for LEH Board

The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities is seeking nominations for its Board of Directors. As the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the LEH is the major source of grants for public humanities programs in Louisiana. The LEH has supported such projects as the nationally acclaimed PRIME TIME FAMILY READING TIME® literacy project, KnowLA - The Digital Encyclopedia of Louisiana, Teacher Institutes for Advanced Study, the RELIC adult library reading programs, documentary films, conferences, lecture series and interpretive exhibits. In 2010-2011 the LEH provided in excess of $3 million for humanities projects.

The LEH board consists of 27 people, six of them appointed by the governor. The Board includes individuals from the academic community and from the general public. Board members are selected on the basis of their knowledge of or involvement with the humanities and represent a broad cross-section of the community, including colleges, universities, museums, libraries, politics, business, journalism, labor, minorities, professions, and civic organizations.

Letters of nomination and resumes should be sent to the LEH by May 25, 2012. Included should be a letter from the nominee confirming his or her interest in and potential contribution to the LEH board.  Individuals may not nominate themselves.  Nominations should be sent to: Chair, Nominations Committee, Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, Louisiana Humanities Center at Turners' Hall, 938 Lafayette Street, Suite 300, New Orleans, LA  70113. Nominations also may be faxed to Michael Sartisky, PhD at 504-529-2358 or emailed to sartisky@leh.org.

Board members usually serve three-year terms. Membership is voluntary, but all LEH related travel expenses are reimbursed. Members attend three meetings a year to review applications or to formulate policy and conduct on-site evaluation of LEH funded projects. Board members are responsible for fund-raising, political contacts, and the development of the LEH program.

According to the act that established the Endowment, the term "humanities" includes, but is not limited to, the study of history, philosophy, languages; linguistics; literature; archeology; jurisprudence; the history, theory, and criticism of the arts; ethics; comparative religion; and those aspects of the social sciences that employ historical or philosophical approaches.  Other areas include cultural anthropology; folklife; and political or social theory.

Save the Date - June 21st - Louisiana Humanities Center

Mark your calendars for Thursday, June 21st! The LEH will celebrate 40 years of delivering the history and culture of Louisiana to citizens across the state. Champagne and cake will be served at the Louisiana Humanities Center in New Orleans and we'll be joined by some very special guests.

Very exciting details to come!

Video of this year's LEH Awards Event 

Click here to watch video from this year's event, including presentations of the 2012 Humanist of the Year award to Dr. Patricia Brady and the 2012 LEH Lifetime Achievement award to filmmaker Glen Pitre.  

And don't forget to visit our website for a slideshow from the event.  

PRIME TIME Announces Fall 2012 Louisiana Sites

Congratulations to all Fall 2012 PRIME TIME grant recipients! Approximately 40 requests for PRIME TIME funding were received for the Spring 2012 term in Louisiana. Due to a limited amount of available funding, 23 of those requests were approved. Grants and support solicited from corporate and private sources will fund 100% of programs awarded throughout the state. Additional information on these programs will be available soon at  www.primetimefamily.org.

Fall 2012 PRIME TIME Sites:

• Allen Parish Libraries - Oakdale Public Library
• Communities In Schools of New Orleans, Inc. - Ben Mays Prep
• East Baton Rouge Parish Library - Carver Branch Library
• Jackson Parish School Board - Student Service Center
• Kaufman Elementary School
• Louisiana Children's Museum
• Mamou Elementary School
• New Orleans Outreach - Langston Hughes Academy
• Pointe Coupee Parish Public School System - Valverda Elementary Library
• Queensborough Elementary School
• Rapides Parish Library - Westside Regional
• St. Bernard Parish School Board - Smith Elementary
• West Feliciana Parish Library
• Asbury United Methodist Church
• Florien High School
• Jefferson Parish Library - Lafitte Library
• New Orleans Public Library - Rosa F. Keller Branch
• Oak Grove Primary School
• West Baton Rouge Parish Library - Chamberlin Elementary School
• La Familia Resource Center
• Lafourche Parish Public Library - Golden Meadow Biblioteca Hispana
• LaPlace Elementary School
• New Beginnings Schools Foundation - Pierre A. Capdau Charter School
• New Orleans Outreach - Green Charter School
• Prairie Elementary School
• STAIR - Lafayette Academy

The annual conference of the American Library Association (ALA) will be held in sunny California at the Anaheim Convention Center. Referred to as "the world's largest event for the library community," the ALA Conference brings together more than 25,000 librarians, educators, authors, publishers, literacy experts, illustrators and the leading suppliers to the market. Providing librarians a once-a-year opportunity to advance their careers and improve their libraries.

The PRIME TIME staff maintains a presence at the conference and attempts to educate attending librarians on ongoing innovations as well as details on how the program might benefit their library. On Monday, June 25, 10:30 a.m. to noon, PRIME TIME is scheduled to host a session entitled: "PRIME TIME Preschool: A Primer for the Humanities." PRIME TIME Senior Consultant, Faye Flanagan will be joined by a panel of speakers to explain how families with preschool age children will have the same opportunity to bond as a family around the act of reading and discussing humanities themes together as those with school age children have had for the past twenty years. Join our panel discussion and explore PRIME TIME Preschool, an early childhood development model, and other new PRIME TIME initiatives. Panelists include: Lainie Castle, Project Director, Public Programs Office, ALA; Karen McPheeters, Director, Farmington Public Library, NM; Flo Trujillo, Youth Services, Farmington Public Library, NM.

Please visit the 2012 ALA conference website for additional details on the conference.

Announcing July 2012 Training Workshop Dates!

Affiliate project directors should begin considering whether any team members will need training and prepare to alert the PRIME TIME via online Affiliate Data Forms by Friday, June 1, 2012. Louisiana and affiliate trainees will receive preliminary details on the training in May. All others should contact the PRIME TIME staff with questions regarding upcoming training opportunities.

This spring, the LEH supported the publication of a remarkable new book, Lin Emery, by Philip Palmedo. A renowned Louisiana sculptor, Emery is also the subject of a new entry on KnowLA, the LEH's digital encyclopedia of Louisiana history and culture. In the entry, scholar John Kemp describes the combination of grace, form, and motion in Emery's work and the unspoken connection between the artist, metal, and nature. In addition to scholarly biographical information on the artist, the entry features an extensive image gallery.