Rob Townsend

Attacks on the humanities at Australian universities are not new – but they are now more lethal | Julianne Schultz Punishing fees for arts degrees must be ended if the country seriously wants to take part in the information age and give students the opportunities we need them to have

"AI may yet be as transformative as its boosters suggest, but it would not be possible without the humanities and social sciences. These are the disciplines that have built the knowledge the bots are now mining." bit.ly/45yfao3

Radford to host new governor’s school for arts and humanities The New River Valley Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities will be the first academic-year governor’s school to open in more than 15 years. It will initially serve high school students from…

"He said an investment in arts and humanities education in the region could improve talent retention. “When we show our most promising students that their gifts are recognized and nurtured here, we increase the chances they will stay, contribute and lead here in our communities”" bit.ly/40J0f80

NEH Announces $34.79 Million for 97 Humanities Projects

NEH Announces $34.79 Million for 97 Humanities Projects: bit.ly/45fVpQO

How AI Will Reshape K-12 and Higher Education for Future Readiness Here's why humanities skills are becoming just as important as STEM, the new category of “bilingual” employees, and how educators and employers can navigate the transition.

"As AI automates an increasing number of specialized, often white-collar tasks, we will witness a shift in the skills that employers value most. This moment could create a potential renaissance for #humanities and social science education" bit.ly/45wPet2

Mellon Foundation The Mellon Foundation makes grants to actively unlock the power in the arts and humanities that helps connect us all.

"the UNCG internship program, called Humanities at Work, also has a course component focused on career development. This includes helping students with job searches, providing mentorship, and connecting with humanities professors and professionals." bit.ly/3IVUw8Q

NHA reports "the Senate Appropriations Committee passed its version of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, which included $207 million for the NEH for FY26...significantly higher than the House’s proposed $135 million" bit.ly/46D2cGQ

Mellon Foundation The Mellon Foundation makes grants to actively unlock the power in the arts and humanities that helps connect us all.

"In short, there is a serious mismatch between the actual employment landscape for humanities graduates and the general perception of it among relevant constituencies...a misunderstanding that became acute during the 2008 recession and has not appreciably abated since then." bit.ly/46v59cm

First publication from the new job! This gathering is the beginning of more work to come from the Academy on cultural spaces and their communities.

Interesting opportunity for my digital humanities friends at the John Carter Brown Library: bit.ly/3IU5b3S

Opinion - Nicholas Hartlep: Cuts to humanities funding would weaken the very soul of the Commonwealth - NKyTribune While flying to a national education conference several years ago, I received a call that would deepen my commitment to the cultural fabric of Kentucky. Kathleen Pool, then the Associate Director of K...

"Some might argue the humanities aren’t essential. But in Kentucky, we know better. When a student in Covington learns about the Civil Rights Movement from a local oral history project, that’s NEH at work." bit.ly/44VQ2HN

How the state’s new law will affect the liberal arts at IU Indianapolis Indiana’s public colleges cut over 400 degree programs after a last minute addition to the 2025-2027 state budget in April.

"Liberal arts faculty were already taking steps to adjust their programs. Those changes include starting a new interdisciplinary studies department which combines four liberal arts programs into one in hopes of combating declining enrollment." bit.ly/4labFsF

"Together we need to think about how we articulate the value of culture with a steady and compelling beat—to say these are a set of key principles that we are willing to defend." bit.ly/3IOS8AF

Here’s who would be hurt in Idaho by cuts to arts, humanities | Opinion “To cut the arts and humanities, frankly, is cutting your right arm off.” | Opinion

“the funding from the government has always been, I thought, based on improving things for people in rural communities in particular, who don’t have the means.” bit.ly/45biVhU

Federal judge blocks Trump’s $175M humanities grant cuts over DEI ties | The College Fix Judge cites First Amendment violation, halting cancellations of DEI-related projects.

“Judge Colleen McMahon ruled that the Trump administration engaged in viewpoint discrimination when it canceled the NEH grants. She ordered that the funds tied to the grants remain unallocated until a trial is held on the “merits” of the case.” bit.ly/4lTWFQX

As part of a new Academy initiative on cultural organizations and their communities, we gathered leaders from a wide array of institutions for a meeting in Chicago. A report: bit.ly/4mefC0j

Tim Winton among 100 high-profile Australians calling for university fees that don’t ‘punish’ arts students Open letter urges Labor to reverse JRG scheme, introduced by Coalition in 2021, as cost of humanities degrees reaches more than $50,000

“For a thriving humanities infrastructure, you need people in the community, but you also need academics.... We’re going to risk losing a whole generation of academics" bit.ly/3H57YGG

Top Australian writers urge Albanese to abolish Job-Ready Graduates, calling their humanities degrees life changing Tim Winton, Helen Garner and Peter Garrett are just a few of the high-profile signatories to an open letter against Job-Ready Graduates – and for the humanities.

“Earning a humanities degree was not only life changing, in terms of opening up a world of knowledge otherwise beyond my reach, it also turns out to have been enormously productive – for me and many, many people around me” bit.ly/459lDoj

Humanities applications fall, international students rise New reports from Denmark show a changing higher education landscape, with student applications to study French and German in free fall, applications f...

"The Danish Ministry Yearly Statistics on Application Numbers reveals that the number of students applying for humanities...has fallen by 42% in the past decade, with the trend continuing into 2025." bit.ly/44R29pA

Opinion: Gutting humanities signals the end of innovation in business and STEM Lose the humanities, and you lose the very ground of science and business that depend on it.

"without my humanities leanings and studies, I would not have been a very good scientist. My humanities classes were a master class in creativity, envisioning new futures and how to think." bit.ly/4of8P8D

Exclusive | The Most-Taught Books in American Classrooms Have Barely Changed in 30 Years “Romeo and Juliet,” “The Great Gatsby” and other classics still dominate school reading lists.

"The staying power of the classics, Kirkpatrick and English teachers say, has as much to do with inertia as literary merit." bit.ly/40zwd6t

Five Steps to Revive the Liberal Arts — The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal For centuries, the liberal arts have been a cornerstone of academic life at Western universities. A liberal-arts education offers an interdisciplinary foundation in the humanities, natural and social ...

"state legislators need to hear from citizens who care about liberal-arts education and academic renewal. Their decisions can either help revive the liberal arts or deliver a decisive blow to its future." bit.ly/3IJr0Ty

NEH Announces Funding Opportunity for Museums and Historic Sites on the History of American Excellence

NEH announces new grant opportunity "to support public programs focusing on: American Military History and Valor; The American Dream and Economic Freedom; America’s Role on a Global Scale; or the U.S. Semiquincentennial." bit.ly/45bCC9A

University of Chicago considers restructuring arts and humanities division to cut costs The University of Chicago is weighing restructuring its Division of the Arts and Humanities, citing financial strain under the Trump administration.

“If we do nothing, or if we become divided, we will essentially hand over control of shaping the future of the arts and humanities at UChicago to others outside our division” bit.ly/4f7YM0L

Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results In a March 2025 analysis, Google users who encountered an AI summary were less likely to click on links to other websites than users who did not see one.

This validates the concerns of creators that Google AI is diverting traffic away from from their content: bit.ly/46I9Fo7

"We want students to...explore how arts and humanities perspectives can be integrated dynamically into the open-ended and complex networks of knowledge, interpretation, and practice that make up contemporary society." bit.ly/4nXIwn3

A Trump Executive Order Prompts Park Workers to Report Displays That ‘Disparage’ Americans Descriptions and displays at scores of parks and historic sites have been flagged for review in connection with an executive order from President Trump.

“employees of the National Park Service have flagged descriptions and displays at scores of parks and historic sites for review in connection with President Trump’s directive to remove or cover up materials that “inappropriately disparage Americans.”” nyti.ms/44YjlIn

“We firmly believe that the humanities play an indispensable role in addressing humanity’s challenges, from expanding artificial intelligence and climate migration to autocratic intellectual clampdown. Understanding their past will prepare us better for our future.” bit.ly/4m66evD

UChicago Arts & Humanities Division to Restructure Amid “Historic Funding Pressures” “The status quo is not an option,” Deborah Nelson, dean of the Division of the Arts & Humanities, wrote to division faculty on June 18.

"The charges, Delogu said, stem from a growing need in higher education to justify the existence of the humanities at large and to demonstrate the value of humanities students beyond academia" bit.ly/46TruQP

NEH, AmeriCorps and Others Face Financial Freezes, Layoffs As groups like the Institute of Museum and Library Services lose staff and grant funding, the consequences trickle down to colleges and universities.

“It could take decades to recover from the proposed cut if it were to pass, Hill said. 'It’s just less to go around in a field that’s already feeling the lack of support.'” bit.ly/4m3sV3s