History

In February 1983 fifty University of Oregon (UO) faculty members attended an all-day workshop to discuss strengthening the UO’s humanities program. They developed a plan to create the Center for the Humanities. Donald S. Taylor (1924–2011), professor of English, was appointed to be the first director of the Center. In March 1983 he submitted an NEH Education Programs Grant proposal titled “Catalyst for Increasing Coherence in the Humanities, University of Oregon.” The narrative of the NEH proposal read: “We propose to foster greater coherence in the humanities at the University of Oregon with a program of freshman courses which builds more rigorous writing and critical reading standards into small-class contexts. The program will also enhance linkages between lower-division and upper-division courses and establish faculty seminars for the planning of courses and the further developing of the humanities faculty.” The NEH awarded the UO $300,000 for the term October 1983 to September 1986. The UO matched the NEH funds to create the Center for the Humanities.

UO president Paul Olum enthusiastically endorsed the three-year effort to strengthen the humanities program and pledged to seek additional funding to continue the activities of the Center.   

In October 1986 Olum appointed the President’s Committee on the Humanities to plan the future of humanities programs with a particular emphasis on the future of the Center. The committee advised that the Center, which was housed in Chapman Hall, find a space that had a meeting place for faculty. 

With the help of an NEH Challenge Grant (1987–1994) to create an endowment and with the support of a major capital campaign that prioritized the Oregon Humanities Center (OHC) as one of the UO’s highest priorities, the Center was expanded to fulfill its current mission. In 1989, the OHC moved to its current home in PLC—a space that includes a conference room and offices for fellows.  

Directors
Donald S. Taylor (1924–2011), 1983–1987
John J. Stuhr, 1987–1994
Steven Shankman, 1994–2008
Barbara K. Altmann, 2008–2013
Paul Peppis, 2013–2024
Leah Middlebrook, 2024–

Assistant and Associate Directors
Robin Cochran, 1987–1994
Holly Campbell, 1993–1998
Julia Heydon, 1998–2018
Jena Turner, 2018–

Staff
Ruthann Maguire, Administrative Program Assistant, 1995–1999; Administrative Program Specialist, 2000–2006
Rebecca Force, Producer of UO Today, 1996–2008
Elena Rudy, Office Specialist, 2002–2004
Peg Freas Gearhart, Office Specialist, 2004–2008; Communications Coordinator and Producer of UO Today, 2008–
Melissa Gustafson, Administrative Program Specialist, 2006–
Dylan Bragg, Office Specialist, 2008–2009
Lindsey Rodgers, Office Specialist, 2009–2013 

40th Anniversary publication (2023)

The Oregon Humanities Center is a member of the international Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes, the National Humanities Alliance, and the Western Humanities Alliance.

We have received financial support from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), corporations, foundations, scholarly societies, and individuals.