The seeds of the initiative began in 2005 with a New Directions Grant from the Mellon Foundation, and is currently partially funded by a gift to Carleton from David and Marian Adams Bryn-Jones.
The original Steering Committee included Deborah Appleman (Educational Studies), Shahzad Bashir (Religion), Jorge Brioso (Spanish), Susan Jaret McKinstry (English), Silvia López (Spanish), Susannah Ottaway (History), Diet Prowe (History), and Founding Director Cathy Yandell (French and Francophone Studies).
With the support of Carleton President Robert Oden, Dean Scott Bierman, and Director of Corporate & Foundation Relations Mark Gleason — and continued by President Steven Poskanzer and Dean Bev Nagel — the initiative has become a lively and vibrant program.
The faculty remain the driving conceptual force behind the Center, but our programming serves all constituencies: faculty, students, staff, and the surrounding community. We invite you to peruse the website and to participate in the seminars, discussions, lectures, and symposia sponsored by the Humanities Center, as well as the numerous interdisciplinary events that we promote on campus.