AAU President's Written Testimony on the FY13 Budget of the National Endowment for the Humanities

 2011 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities speech by Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust on May 2, 2011 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

We are writing to urge the Subcommittee to provide funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) at the fiscal year (FY) 2010 enacted level of $167.5 million for FY 2012. As you know, NEH is the primary source of federal support for humanities research and related activities in the U.S. The Endowment provides competitive grant funding for research and scholarship in history, literature, foreign languages, and other fields that provide individuals with critical ethical, cultural, and historical perspective..

On behalf of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization of 61 leading U.S. public and private research universities, I appreciate the opportunity to express strong support for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). AAU urges Congress to continue funding the NEH at the FY10 final funding level of $167.5 million. In particular, we remain committed to maintaining existing funding levels for the core competitive programs within the endowment..

 National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman Jim Leech in a speech to the College Art Association on February 9 that his agency recognizes the case for trimming federal spending, but is deeply concerned at proposals to totally eliminate federal cultural institutions like NEH and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Testimony of Robert M. Berdahl, President Association of American Universities Before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior and Environment March 16, 2010 Dear Chairman Moran and Ranking Member Simpson: On behalf of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization of 60 leading U.S. public and private research universities, I appreciate the opportunity to testify before you today on the FY2010 budget of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The Endowment is the single most important source of federal support for humanities research and humanities public education. We believe that the nation would benefit from a significant funding increase for the NEH, in part as a complement to the federal investment in science and engineering research.

AAU ENCOURAGES CONGRESS TO PROVIDE THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES (NEH) WITH AT LEAST $230 MILLION, AN INCREASE OF $50 MILLION FOR COMPETITIVE CORE GRANT PROGRAMS AND $25 MILLION FOR OPERATING GRANTS TO STATE HUMANITIES COUNCILS.

Dear Chairman Dicks and Ranking Member Tiahrt: On behalf of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization of 60 leading U.S. public and private research universities, I appreciate the opportunity to propose a new program at the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for your consideration. Since September 11, 2001, our nation has become acutely aware of our need to understand the languages, histories, religions, and cultures of other peoples and traditions. The logical federal investment in the post September 11 world should be in these areas, just as it was logical to invest in science and technology in the post-Sputnik world.

Oral Testimony of Robert M. Berdahl, President Association of American Universities Before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior and Environment April 19, 2007 Introduction: Good afternoon Chairman Dicks, Ranking Member Tiahrt, and subcommittee members: On behalf of the Association of American Universities, an organization of 60 leading U.S. public and private research universities, I appreciate the opportunity to testify before you today on the FY2008 budget of the National Endowment for the Humanities. I would like to use my time to explain the importance of NEH grants to the higher education community, to highlight an AAU effort to identify ways to increase the visibility and public support of the humanities, and to articulate our funding priorities for the NEH in FY2008.