It’s not an easy time to be in the humanities. It’s often seen in our news cycles and in stories of universities consolidating departments, programs being cut, and sometimes entire divisions dissolved. At Colby, we are certainly lucky to be in a position where the humanities are promoted and supported by administration, faculty, and staff across all levels. Departments such as the Center for the Arts & Humanities (CAH), started in 2009, have been interwoven into all facets of the learning experience at Colby.
As members of the CAH Student Advisory Board, we have seen how the humanities supplement and increase critical understanding in fields not considered to be in the humanities, and how lessons learned from the humanities continue to grow in importance. When the opportunity arose to join the Director and Faculty Associate Director for the CAH to the National Humanities Alliance’s (NHA) Annual Meeting and Advocacy Day (3/10 – 3/12), we were excited to bring our work and learning outside of Mayflower Hill, and to Capitol Hill instead.
In our three busy days in Washington, we had the opportunity to hear from and meet some incredible people who promote and advocate for the humanities, and among them: Shelley Lowe, chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Sen. Susan Collins and Rep. Chellie Pingree, co-recipients of this year’s NHA Humanities Award, and the office of Sen. Angus King as well
Even in the formal award reception, we found connections to our learning here at Colby. Rep. Chellie Pingree, in her acceptance speech, spoke about Wabanaki baskets, and the importance of cultural preservation in rural areas. As some of us may know, the Colby College Museum of Art has a strong collection of Wabanaki and other indigenous baskets and handiworks – which Nathan had the privilege of learning about in his English course as part of a in-museum learning day.
On the first day of the trip, which comprised of the NHA’s Annual Meeting, several sessions expanded our knowledge and awareness of the going-ons across the humanities, in all senses. A session that stood out to both of us was regarding careers in advocacy and policy post-graduation, featuring a panel of speakers from a variety of roles, but all placed their skills acquired in the humanities as a cornerstone. It was fascinating to hear about the different pathways that other young adults have taken post-graduation, and how the humanities have been critical part of the journey and continue to support them in their jobs today. Subsequently, another session on the humanities and professional education expanded on the benefit of the humanities in post-secondary schooling, and the specific ways that the humanities benefit
When we embarked into the halls of Congress on our second day, we found Congresspeople and their staffers to be understanding, and broadly supportive of the goals of the NHA, and NEH. As part of our advocacy, we asked Congresspeople to sign onto “Dear Colleague” letters, often circulated around the Hill as a way to gain support for funding, initiatives, etc. This year, the Presidential Budget Request, was published just on the first day of our trip, so we were working on a short timeline. Tied to this, a term frequently used in our advocacy was parity, and advocating for parity in the FY2025 budget for the NEH compared to the National Endowment for the Arts. Historically, these two agencies have been appropriated the same amount, but the FY25 budget request had the NEH budget marked for 10 million less than the NEA. In our conversations with Congresspeople and their staff, we clearly outlined our points, heard their feedback, and have been following up since. What truly makes the humanities special is that most everyone has a had a experience with the field, and likely learned a valuable skill from it, used in their job. We certainly came across this in talking to Congressional staff, especially those recently out of school.
Returning to Mayflower Hill, we’ve carried a sense of confidence in our work that there is support for the humanities at the top tier of government, and that the humanities are critical for any and every profession. We are again truly grateful for this opportunity from Colby, and the Center for the Arts and Humanities.
Written by
Rory H. Hallowell ‘24 and Nathan W. Dunn ‘27
