Appropriations Request For Fiscal Year 2022 Submitted to Congress May 2021 NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES FY 2022 Appropriation Request Submitted to Congress May 2021 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................1 II. BUDGET TABLE .......................................................................................................6 III. PROGRAMS ...............................................................................................................8 A More Perfect Union ....................................................................................................8 Education Programs .....................................................................................................12 Federal/State Partnership ............................................................................................20 Preservation and Access .............................................................................................28 Public Programs ..........................................................................................................36 Research Programs.......................................................................................................44 Digital Humanities ......................................................................................................52 Challenge Programs .....................................................................................................58 Treasury Matching Funds ...........................................................................................63 IV. PERFORMANCE PLAN .........................................................................................66 V. ADMINISTRATIVE BUDGET ...............................................................................86 VI. NEH ORGANIZATION CHART ...........................................................................93 NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES FY 2022 Budget Request to Congress “Democracy demands wisdom and vision in its citizens.” (National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965) OVERVIEW The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) request for FY 2022 is $177,550,000: • $122,926,000 for NEH’s grant programs in support of projects in the humanities, including $54,376,000 in awards to NEH’s partners in each of the 56 states and jurisdictions; • $6,224,000 for a special initiative, A More Perfect Union, which builds on NEH’s 56- year investment in projects that catalog, preserve, explore, and promote American history; • $15,600,000 in federal matching funds, including funding for the NEH Infrastructure and Capacity Building Challenge Grants program to help stimulate and match nonfederal donations in support of humanities institutions and organizations; and • $32,800,000 for salaries and expenses needed to operate the agency in an efficient and effective manner. NEH serves our republic by providing vital support for projects and programs in all areas of the humanities, including history, philosophy, literature and languages, archaeology, political theory, comparative religion, and other areas. Its support reaches every state and territory, and the direct beneficiaries of its funding include libraries, museums, historic houses, community colleges, universities, K-12 teachers, as well as other humanities professionals and organizations. Since its inception, NEH has awarded almost $6 billion in grants that have helped build the nation’s cultural capital. Yet today, perhaps more than any other time in our history, NEH is poised to make a difference by helping all of us to better our understanding of the challenges of the day – from addressing systemic racism in our nation, to confronting the climate emergency, to strengthening our constitutional democracy. Deeply rooted in humanities research, NEH-supported projects bring the past into sharper focus, thereby bringing about, as our founding legislation affirms, “a better analysis of the present and a better view of the future.” 1 Enhanced Programmatic Priorities in FY 2022 In FY 2022, NEH will continue the core work of its existing grant programs while also infusing the priorities of the Biden-Harris Administration into them. The Administration’s priorities for NEH fall into five categories: advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities; confronting the climate emergency; restoring America’s global standing; responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis; and strengthening our democracy. Each of NEH’s grant-making divisions and offices will address these new priorities in ways that are best suited to the characteristics of, and grant opportunities provided by, their funding programs. Division- and office-specific programmatic emphases are described in detail in the program-related sections of this budget. Special Initiative: A More Perfect Union In FY 2022, NEH will expand the scope of A More Perfect Union, a special initiative that NEH first launched in FY 2019. This initiative is designed to demonstrate and enhance the critical role that the humanities play in our nation, while also supporting projects that will help Americans commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. The initiative builds on NEH’s investment over the past six decades in projects that catalog, preserve, explain, and promote American history and civic engagement. NEH’s A More Perfect Union initiative encourages projects that explore, reflect on, and tell the stories of our quest for a more just, inclusive, and sustainable society throughout our history. NEH especially welcomes projects that bring the perspective of the humanities to questions of racial justice, gender equality, the evolution of the American landscape, as well as America’s place in the world. Projects that strengthen Americans' knowledge of our principles of constitutional governance and democracy are strongly encouraged, as are projects that address the experiences of Native Americans and other underrepresented communities. In addition, NEH welcomes projects that develop innovative approaches to sustaining the nation’s humanities infrastructure and preserving its historical record. For a fuller discussion of the A More Perfect Union initiative, including plans to broaden its focus in FY 2022, please see pages 8-11 of this budget request. Core Programs of NEH Highlighted below are NEH’s current programmatic offerings and emphases, which NEH proposes to continue in FY 2022. The goals, accomplishments, and plans for these programs are described in detail in the individual division, office, and program sections of this budget submission. • Preserve and increase access to cultural heritage resources. In FY 2022, the agency's Preservation and Access grant programs will continue to focus on projects that preserve and reformat the intellectual content of historically significant books and periodicals; preserve and provide access to important archival materials and library special collections; and create 2 humanities research tools and reference works such as dictionaries, bibliographies, and encyclopedias. • Support research and scholarship that expand our knowledge and understanding in the humanities. NEH’s FY 2022 budget request will provide critical support for advanced humanities research and scholarship in the United States, leading to the publication of articles and books in the humanities. Funding will allow NEH to make hundreds of awards to individual scholars, as well as grants to teams of scholars engaged in collaborative projects, field work, and scholarly editions that enrich our knowledge of the people, ideas, and events that make up the record of civilization. • Strengthen teaching and learning in the humanities in elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education. In FY 2022, NEH will continue its support for teacher and faculty professional development, the creation or expansion of higher education humanities curricula, and the agency’s veterans’ initiative. These programs foster a deep engagement with the disciplines of the humanities and help participants acquire knowledge that is crucial for an educated citizenry. The ultimate beneficiaries of these programs are the hundreds of thousands of American students who annually are taught by reinvigorated and intellectually engaged instructors. • Provide opportunities for Americans to engage in lifelong learning in the humanities. In FY 2022, NEH will provide support for public humanities projects that will enable millions of Americans to engage deeply with significant works, ideas, and events through the lens of the humanities. NEH supports a wide range of public humanities projects that reach large and diverse audiences. These projects make use of a variety of formats including educational programming for television and radio, documentary films, museum exhibitions, and historic sites, as well as for websites, virtual games, and other digital media. • Support for the programs and activities of the state and jurisdictional humanities councils. NEH’s work in FY 2022 will be complemented and extended by the programs and projects of the NEH-affiliated humanities councils in the states and U.S. territories. With their strong networks of cultural and educational institutions within their states and jurisdictions, the councils are able to reach citizens in diverse and remote settings that NEH’s national programs may not be able to reach. Every