Leslie Carrier talks with the director of the Missouri Humanities Council, Jim Weidman, about the organization and its mission.
The Missouri Humanities Council (MHC) was established by the U.S. Congress as one of the 56 state and territorial humanities councils which are affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities. Jim Weidman, Interim Executive Director for the Missouri Humanities Council, explains why humanities are important to a strong democracy and describes the type of programs and exhibits available to Missouri residents. He discusses how the MHC is funded and how grants are awarded each year to specific projects throughout the state to support such projects as family reading initiatives, veterans’ self-expression creative writing programs, historical and cultural displays, and traveling exhibits for rural Missourians. In addition, the MHC supports economic development in communities by preserving historic elements of Missouri through the Heritage Tourism program.
The mission of the MHC is to build a thoughtful, informed and engaged society through programs associated with encouraging family reading, supporting local museums, libraries, and other organizations promoting humanities education, facilitating the sharing of our stories, and generating public conversation on topics including history, religion, archaeology, anthropology, philosophy, literature, law and languages.
For more information on the Missouri Humanities Council, contact:
Jim Weidman
Interim Executive Director & Development Director
Missouri Humanities Council
1-800-357-0909
www.mohumanities.org
mail@mohumanities.org
