UW Madison gets a major humanities grant. Chancellor Biddy Martin made the announcement Monday: the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded the university a $10 million grant as part of an effort to preserve and enhance the humanities at research universities. “The grant . . . which will be matched by the state, will be used to support and sustain our strengths in core areas in the humanities,” Martin said. “It will allow us to hire faculty, support postdoctoral fellows, and support graduate students.
While some may see the humanities and humanities research as luxuries, Martin said that’s not the case. She noted the UW has delivered about 69,000 credits in humanities courses over the last five fall terms. Governor Jim Doyle, who joined Martin for the announcement, noted UW’s reputation for the humanities goes back well before it’s development as a center for science. “You know it isn’t just for the humanities students. These brilliant scientists need a little bit of humanities in their education as well,” said Doyle. “People who are going into all walks of life really need that as part of a well rounded education.”