"This challenge grant is a major endorsement of the LEH's efforts to expand its statewide programs through the most advanced digital, web-based technology available," said LEH president and executive director Michael Sartisky. "It will help the LEH build even greater partnerships across the state with colleges, libraries, museums, and with state and community cultural organizations. It also will be the foundation for a dazzling new web-based encyclopedia on Louisiana history and culture that will benefit everyone in Louisiana from school children to cultural tourism."

The new Louisiana Humanities Education Center includes a multi-use auditorium and seminar rooms equipped with the fastest Internet and latest presentation and video-conferencing technology. It will be used to conduct PRIME TIME family literacy training sessions and advanced teacher professional development seminars. New computer hardware and software also will support a web-based format for LEH's quarterly magazine, the development of a comprehensive grant and program database, and LEH's newest venture, an on-line Encyclopedia of Louisiana History and Culture. Click here for Center Rental
NEH panelist praised the LEH project with comments such as:

• "The supporting materials indicate that this is much more than a pedagogical project, but has the broad vision of enhancing knowledge and experience generally in the humanities in Louisiana."
• "This funding will allow LEH to address significant problems and improve the lives of Louisianans, especially in literacy and improving the qualified teaching base."

"The new Encyclopedia of Louisiana Culture and History," said LEH President and Executive Director Michael Sartisky, "will be an amazing educational and cultural resource for teachers, students, visitors to the state and anyone else interested in Louisiana's history and culture. In addition to being a major educational resource, it will play a prominent role in the state's cultural tourism efforts." To create the encyclopedia, now in the research and development phase, the LEH will partner with archives, universities and cultural organizations throughout the state.

Increased funding for the LEH received wide support during the recent legislative session. Representative Elcie Guillory of Lake Charles authored the amendment to increase LEH funds. Co-authoring the bill were Representatives Dan Morrish of Jennings and Jalila Jefferson-Bullock of New Orleans. House Appropriations Committee Chairman John Alario Jr. also supported Guillory's amendment. In the Senate, Senator Butch Gautreaux of Morgan City authored the funding increase with co-sponsors Senators Diana Bajoie of New Orleans, Sherri Cheek of Keithville and Lydia Jackson of Shreveport, all members of the Senate Finance Committee. Senator Willie Mount of Lake Charles, Chair of Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee, also co-sponsored the amendment.

Louisiana Cultural Vistas swept the Photo Story category, winning all top three awards. First place honors went to L.J. Goldstein for "The Beat of the Street" (Spring 2006), a portfolio of images depicting second-line parades, Mardi Gras Indians, and New Orleans' vibrant street culture. Second place honors went to Frank Relle for "New Orleans Nightscapes" (Summer 2006), a series of artistically-lit nighttime photographs of New Orleans' iconic architecture, both in restoration and in ruins. Photographer Nell Campbell won third place for her documentation of Hurricane Rita's aftermath in Southwest Louisiana in "A Reckoning With Rita" (Spring 2006). Louisiana Cultural Vistas has placed first in the Photo Story category twelve times in the past fifteen years.

Since 1993, Louisiana Cultural Vistas has garnered 95 awards from the Press Club of New Orleans, including seven first-place honors as Best Publication, a category that mysteriously was eliminated this year.

Hurricane Digital Memory Bank
The University of New Orleans' "Hurricane Digital Memory Bank," funded by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, has received an Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History for its outstanding work in recording the voices of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and southeast Louisiana. www.hurricanearchive.org

• Selections from the lifetime work of the father/son photo studio of Burch and Bill Grabill in Shreveport, documentarians of Northwest Louisiana during its boom years in the early to mid-20th century.
• A profile of New Orleans modern sculptor Lin Emery.
• A history of early efforts to preserve the French Quarter in the 1920s and '30s.
• A portfolio of photographs of famous individuals in South Louisiana in the late 20th century - from Tennessee Williams and the Neville Brothers to Lindy Boggs and Professor Longhair -- shot by Christopher R. Harris.
• Paintings, sculptures and other media by artists responding to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

The current issue and five previous back issues are also available on-line in their entirety in digital format at www.leh.org. Using innovative new technology, on-line readers are able in electronic form to view and read the magazine as usual while taking advantage of several dynamic, web-only features. Several facets of the on-line version of LCV enhance the reading experience. On the toolbar, browsers will find a Search button that allows browsers to enter keywords and find their location within the issue. The Table of Contents button allows readers to select and go straight to individual stories. The web-version of LCV functions as a nexus for our humanities community: every listing for a website in the print version is linked online to that site through the mere click of a button. See LCV in digital format.

PRIME TIME FAMILY READING TIME® is set to host its second in-state Training Workshop in New Orleans on July 28 - 29, 2007 at LEH's state-of-the-art Humanities Education Center in Turner's Hall. PRIME TIME Training Workshops offer intense instruction and practice in program philosophy, methodology, and implementation for new scholars, storytellers, pre-school coordinators, and program coordinators. The PRIME TIME staff is pleased to welcome team members from 24 Louisiana sites, 2 Kansas sites, and 1 Georgia site with approximately 80 registered participants. For more information regarding the PRIME TIME Training Workshop, contact Shantrell Adams at adams@leh.org.

On June 24 in Washington, D.C., Prime Time Director Faye Flanagan served as a panelist at the American Library Association's 2007 Annual Conference. Flanagan and other panelists discussed ways in which PRIME TIME FAMILY READING TIME® is a successful model outreach program. Approximately 100 ALA members from the U.S. and Canada attended this session.

After Flanagan provided background information on PRIME TIME, while other panelists elaborated on the partnerships of the NEH and the ALA with PRIME TIME, the three librarians then shared personal stories about the difference PRIME TIME has made with the low-literacy population in their communities. According to Flanagan, "The interest in PRIME TIME at the ALA conference was exciting, and our entire session was extremely upbeat. It obviously generated a positive response for our program with over 50 librarians signing up to receive News and Views the Prime Time bimonthly newsletter. "

New Orleans
In the New Orleans area, 63 elementary, middle and high school teachers from Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, St. Tammany, Lafourche and River Parishes completed 4 institutes in American history at Loyola University. Those institutes covered topics in American history from the Colonial and Antebellum periods through the Civil War to the Modern Era. Teachers received 3 hours of graduate credit, 45 continuing learning units, free textbooks and stipends - a $3,250 value for each teacher. This was the third and final year for the Orleans Parish project.

Shreveport
Starting June 4th, 69 elementary, middle and high school teachers from Caddo, Bossier and surrounding parishes in northwest Louisiana began participating in 3 institutes on American and Louisiana history at LSU-Shreveport. The institutes explore colonial American history, the American presidency and Louisiana history. Teachers will receive 3 hours graduate credit, 45 continuing learning units, free textbooks and stipends for a total value of $1,788 per teacher because of the lower tuition at LSUS. This is the second year in a 3-year program in Shreveport.

The LEH, through the Teaching American History grant, is paying all costs, including teacher stipends, for teachers to participate, and Loyola University and LSU-Shreveport have waived tuition and most fees for teachers.

The Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival provides a wonderful opportunity for people to learn about folk traditions and culture in Louisiana. Cultural traditions-be they Native American, Scots-Irish Protestant, African, among the many others-are being handed down to children and grandchildren, ensuring that our heritage is not lost. That's why this year's them is "Passing It On-the Next Generation" to highlight these next generation artists who are carrying on family and community traditions.