whc profile

8/14/2019 WHC Profile

1/15


2/15

The unexamined lie is not worth living. Socrates


3/15

Many o you who are long time supporters o the Wisconsin Humanities Council may notice

that we have a brand new logo. This interlocking set o three dialogue balloons represents the

meeting o multiple points o view and the lively conversations that occur within the structure

o a WHC program. We think our new tag line community through conversation distills our

mission nicely, and we hope it inspires you to look into WHC-backed initiatives in your part o

the state. Better yet, perhaps you will be inspired to write your own grant proposal and design a

provocative, lively public humanities program or your own community.

Your support o the WHC demonstrates that you believe that the humanities help shape the

civic inrastructure o our nation. Indeed, while it is our physical inrastructureroads, bridges,

borders, and public utilitiesthat make us a nation, it is our civic inrastructureour stories,

songs, belies, and valuesthat make us a civilization worth celebrating and preserving.

We thank you or your continued support,

Dean Bakopoulos

Executive Director

DEAR FRIENDS OF THE WHC:

Karla MullenWHC Chair, Watertown, WI

CONTENTS

LetterfromtheWHC 3

WhatAretheHumanities? 4

WhatWeDo 5

WHCSpeakersBureau 6

Wiscons inBookFest ival 8

Motheread/Fatheread10

AMorePerfectUnion12

BetweenFences14

WHCGrantProgram 16

2006Grants 18

Suppo rt t he Humani ti es 20

PowerofPartnerships 21

MajorDonors 22

WHCBoardandStaff 23

ContactInformation 24


4/15

HISTO RY CULTURAL ANTHRO PO LO GY L ITERATURE

PHILOSO PHY AND ETHICS F O REIGN LANGUAGES

AND CULTURES THE HISTORY, THEORY, AND CRITICIS M

OF THE ARTS COMPARATIVE RELIGION LINGUISTICS

FOLKLORE PHILOSOPHY OF LAW ARCHEOLOGY

Established in 1972 as an independent aliate o the National Endowment o the

Humanities, the Wisconsin Humanities Council is a nonprot, nonpartisan organization

that supports public programs that engage the people o Wisconsin in the exploration o

human cultures, ideas, and values. We do this with the conviction that our communities

are strengthened with civil and inormed conversations.

Each year, the WHC receives ederal unding rom the NEH, which we use to leverage

state, individual, corporate, and oundation support at the local level. We also extend our

ederal dollars by orming partnerships with both state and local organizations. The WHC,

or example, works closely with the Cultural Coalition o Wisconsin and the University

o WisconsinExtension. In doing so, we help to build a stronger network among

cultural institutions.

WHAT WE DO


5/15

6Our library had the pleasure of having

Christopher Goetz come and give us his

Talk with the Past . Not only was he

well-prepared and personable, but he

captivated our audience for over onehour. The passion he has for his histor-

ical character and history were clearly

evident. Audience members said, Bring

him back; he was GREAT!

Jennier Einwalter,

slinger community library,

on christopher goetzs chautauqua

presentation on civil war lie, Talk with the Past

Since 1991, the WHC Speakers Bureau has oered educational and entertaining humanities

presentations and in-character historical Chautauqua perormances in nearly every county

in Wisconsin, bringing discussions about poetry, world religions, archaeology, olklore,

history, and much more to every corner o the state.

The size o our Speakers Bureau audiences continues to increase. For the 2004 2005 cata-

logue years, almost 12,000 people attended one of the 267 Speakers Bureau presentations

around Wisconsin. Encouragingly, one-third o these events were hosted by organizations in

Wisconsin that had never beore applied to host a Speakers Bureau event. These new requests

came rom proessional groups, librar ies, social clubs, m iddle schools, social advocacy groups,

conservation groups, religious centers, museums, and churches and attest to the growing

(and glowing!) reputation o the WHC Speakers Bureau.

WHC SPEAKERS BUREAU


6/15

8

The Festival served again as one of

Madisons most fantastic events, a ve-day

gathering that would make big-city dwellers

drop their reading glasses in awe. I heard

18 authors, seven poets, and a British

woman who translated a novel from

Spanish to English. Bolstered by Wisconsin

authors and others with signicant ties to

the Dairyland state, the Festival [delivered]

many memorable moments.

This was my rst time at the event

and it was amazing for me as a young

person. Events like these are crucial

for the expression and education of

young people through literature

and the arts.

Survey Respondent

Ive been to many book festivals

over the years and simply put, yours

was by far the most excellent and

most exciting.

Carol Houck Smith, Senior Editor

ww norton, new york

Tom Alesia,

Wisconsin State Journal

Through a unique partnership between the public, private, and academic sectors, the

Wisconsin Book Festival celebrates our states rich literary heritage, brings some o Americas

nest writers to the people o Wisconsin, and encourages Wisconsinites o all ages to read

widely and to read well. The Wisconsin Book Festival is the states largest literary festival

with annual attendance reaching 15,000 attendees and one of the largest free literary

events in the nation.

Each year the Festival hosts over 100 events, including author readings, panel discussions,

writing workshops, exhibitions, and youth poetry slams.

In recent years, Festival presenters have included Wisconsin avorites Jane Hamilton,

Lorrie Moore, Jacquelyn Mitchard, David Maraniss, Michael Perry, Denise Sweet, Mark

Turcotte, and Kevin Henkes. We have also welcomed nationally-acclaimed literary stars like

Michael Chabon, Isabel Allende, Edwidge Danticat, and Grace Paley; U.S. Poet Laureates

Billy Collins and Ted Kooser; nationally-acclaimed poets like Martn Espada, Sam Hamill, and

Luis Rodriguez; National Public Radio reporters Anne Garrels and Noah Adams; historians

Howard Zinn and Joseph Ellis; and graphic novelists Chris Ware and Marjane Satrapi.

WISCONSIN BOOK FESTIVAL


7/15

QUOTE

10

Motheread/Fatheread has truly touched the hearts

o many amilies in the La Crosse School District, both

through the power o the group and the power o the

stories themselves. Parents leave eeling empowered

and motivated to read with their children, and have

a true understanding o how reading together not only

benefts their child academically, but also brings them

closer as a amily.

Sandy Brauer,

Director of Curriculum & Staff Development ,

la crosse school district

Motheread/Fatheread is a amily literacy program that does something amazing: it helps

parents who are poor readers become condent and excited about reading aloud to their

children. And because it has been shown that the most important predictor o a childssuccess in school is whether he or she is read to at home, parents who participate in

Motheread/Fatheread are breaking the generational cycle o school ailure.

As the exclusive Wisconsin provider o the Motheread/Fatheread Family Literacy program,

the WHC trains teachers, literacy instructors, librarians, and other literacy proessionals in

this nationally acclaimed instructional approach and curriculum. Motheread/Fatheread

introduces parents with limited literacy to high quality childrens literature and encourages

amilies to read together. The curriculum appeals to a very powerul motivation in parents:

the desire to help their children learn.

MOTHEREAD FATHEREAD

Family Literacy Program


8/15

12

A More Perfect Union offers

themed book discussions to

our librarys book club. We

often talk about the future

of the United States in our

discussions. Going back to

our roots as a nation with

this series is a unique

experience for the club.

Cecilia Wiltzius, Library Director,

karl jungunger memorial library

The books dealt with difcult subjects,

sometimes horrible events. But we

need to face these things. Good change

is possible. We need to be hopeful

and active.

2005AMPU participant in Janesville

I read all the books, understood a little, and learned much

more from the discussions. It was well worth my time.

2005AMPU participant rom Presque Isle

Since its inception in 2004, hundreds o Wisconsin residents each year have joined our ree

book discussion series. A More Perect Union prompts readers to examine various aspects o

the U.S. Constitutionboth its ideals and its realities. We lend teen copies o the books

and accompanying discussion guides to any group in Wisconsin that meets in a public space

and publicly advertises its meetings. We will even pay or a scholar to join the group to

enrich the conversation about one or more o the books.

Taking its inspiration rom the Constitutions Preamble, the WHC structures each years

theme around its phrases. In 2005 the theme was The Common Deense. In 2006 it was

To Establish Justice. The theme in 2007 is To Ensure Domestic Tranquility.

The WHC has also proudly hosted A More Perect Union authors (including Marge Piercy,

Tim OBrien, Anthony Grooms, and Jonathan Harr) at the Wisconsin Book Festival.

A MORE PERFECT UNIONBook Discussion Series


9/15

14

I was really impressed by the applications

we received, said Jessica Becker, Senior

Program ofcer at the WHC and coordinator

for the Between Fences tour. Clearly these

issues are extremely relevant in Wisconsin

today and the exhibition tour is a wonderful

opportunity for communities throughout

the state to explore their history, celebrate

their unique stories, and break down fences

that are no longer needed.

Support from the WHC allows the

River Arts Center to bring a Smithson-

ian exhibition to our small town.

We appreciate this unique opportunity

to explore our communitys history

and enhance our cultural programs.

B. Tracy Madison,

Sauk Prairie BetweenFences Coordinator

14We live between encespersonal, national, geo-political, conceptual. And as we dismantle

boundaries we no longer need, we also erect new barriers. From picket ences to chain links

to barbed wire and beyond, ences imply security, decoration, ownership, and industry.

They dictate our behavior and cement property lines. But who denes that property? How

have rivals negotiated boundaries in the past? And how do we reinorce our borders today?

Beginning in the all o 2007, Between Fences, a traveling Museums on Main Street exhibition

rom the Smithsonian Institute, will spend six weeks each in Waupaca, Hales Corners, LaFarge,

Sauk Prairie, Clear Lake, and Cable. The exhibition will be hosted by small museums,

community centers, libraries, and historic sites that were selected through a competitive

application process. Each community will celebrate the Smithsonian coming to town with

related events and programs.

Designed or communities o 10,000 residents or less, Between Fences reveals how central

the ence is to the American landscape. The exhibitions assemblage o tools, images, literature

and, o course, encesprompt us to refect on the role o the ence in our lives and see a

common icon in new ways.

BETWEEN FENCESA Smithsonian Museums on Main Street Exhibition


10/15

There would be no DC Everest Oral

History program without the fnancial

support o WHC This support has

allowed students at DCE to link integrally

with veterans, elderly olks, and business

and political leaders o our community.

WHC has created an opportunity or

our students to learn history through the

people o our community. The ability to

actually publish and share the end results

has given our community a lasting

record o its history.

Paul Aleckson,

Social Studies Coordinator,

d.c. everest area schools

16

in2006 the

WHC awarded one or more

GRANTSin21 countiesand hosted one or more

council - conducted

PROGRAMSin

46countiesacross wisconsin.

The WHCs grant program provides support or public humanities programs that encourage

audiences to converse, connect, and refect upon our world through the lens o the humani-

ties. From museum exhibitions to library book discussion programs, rom media projectsto programs that enhance humanities education or children, WHC grants enrich the civic

and cultural lie o the state. WHC-unded programs are designed or a public audience and

involve at least one scholar rom a humanities discipline.

WHC GRANT PROGRAM


11/15

New Berlin Public Library

$350for A More Perect Union: The Common Deense

Friends o the Dwight FosterPublic Library

$600for A More Perect Union: The Common Deense

Urban League o Greater Madison

$1,650for City o Madison-Dane County

Martin Luther King, Jr. Coalition

Wisconsin Veterans Museum Foundation

$2,000for Disentangling the Iraq War: History,

Politics, the Media, and the Veteran Experience

Center or the Study oUpper Midwestern Cultures

$2,000for Wisconsin Englishes

Kennedy Heights Community Center

$2,000for Many Cultures, One Community Exhibit

Kickapoo Valley Friends (Quaker) Meeting

$10,000for Vanished: German-American Civilian

Internment, 194148

Eau Claire CountySesquicentennial Commission

$8,500for Eau Claire County:

Changing Roles In Changing Times, 1856-2006

University o Wisconsin-La Crosse

$4,000for

International Conerence on Rivers

and Civilization: Multidisciplinary Perspectives

on Major River Basins

The Sterling North Society

$4,425for Edgerton Book Festival

The Board o Regents o theUniversity o Wisconsin System

$5,000for Production and Promotion o Literature

o the Indian Nations o Wisconsin

SELECTED GRANTS AWARDED IN 2006

Friends o the Dwight FosterPublic Library

$800for Jeerson County Reads, 2006

Milwaukee County Historical Society

$2,000for Miss Annie Maes Hats Public Programs

Justiceworks, Ltd.

$1,440for Jail in the Justice System: A Symposium on

Incarceration in Our Community and Alternatives

Ashland/Bayfeld County Leagueo Women Voters

$2,000for Toward A More Perect Union: League o

Women Voters as a Champion o Good Government

and Participatory Democracy in Two Rural Wisconsin

Counties, 1956-2006

Forgotten Wisdom, Inc.

$1,100for Frank Belanger Settlement Project

River Falls Community Arts Base

$1,955for The River in Literature and History:

A Childrens Poetry Writing Project

Telemark Educational Foundation, Inc.

$1,951for Northwest Wisconsin Childrens

Book Conerence

Labor Education & Training Center

$2,000for Madison Sesquicentennial Labor Mural

Rusk County Community Library$600for A More Perect Union: To Establish Justice

Superior Public Library

$800for A More Perect Union: To Establish Justice

Portage County Public Library


The Center or the Humanities(The Board o Regents o UW-System)

$9,900for Don Quixote in Wisconsin

D.C. Everest Junior & Senior High Schools

$9,875 for The 1920s

Fox Cities Childrens Museum

$10,000for En Mi Familia: Celebrating

Family Traditions

Literary Arts Committee,Eau Claire Regional Arts Center

$8,795for Chippewa Valley Book Festival

Jane Morgan Memorial Library


Viterbo University$2,000for The Viterbo Womens Studies Symposium,

Women Speak: Listening to Womens Voices Within

& Beyond the Academic Disciplines

Mississippi Valley ArchaeologyCenter at UW-La Crosse

$2,000for Archaeology Day at Silver Mound

Neillsville Public Library


UW-Marathon County

$10,000for Shared Reading/Shared Though

A Campus/Community Dialogue about Afu

UW-Parkside Benevolent Foundatio

$10,000for The Racine Odyssey Project,

a Clemente Course in the Humanities

UW-Oshkosh

$9,807for Black Thursday Remembered:

An Oral History o the 1968 Arican AmericanProtests at Wisconsin State University-Oshko

Wisconsin Academy o Sciences,Arts and Letters

$2,910for Wisconsins People on the Land

Heritage Hill Foundation

$10,000for Chie Oshkosh on Trial


12/15

Please make a tax-deductible contribution to

the Wisconsin Humanities Council today.

Your donation helps us make the humanities

part o everyday lie or everyone in Wisconsin.

HELP SUPPORT THE HUMANITIES

20

$50: Travel expenses for one in-state humanities scholar to visit witha book discussion group.

$100: Ten books for the ongoingA More Perfect Union statewide bookdiscussion series.

$500: All expenses for one WHC Speakers Bureau event in one ofhundreds of towns around Wisconsin.

$1,000: Three scholarships for literacy instructors to be trained in thenationally acclaimed Motheread/Fatheread Family Literacy

curriculum. (In turn, each of these instructors reaches upwards of100 Wisconsin families per year.)

$2,000: One mini-grant to support a cultural event or exhibition at oneof Wisconsins hundreds of vibrant cultural centers.

$5,000: Events with nationally renowned authors at the WisconsinBook Festival

$10,000: A grant partnership pool to the district or interest area ofyour choice.

Here are examples o what your

donation can contribute:

We truly appreciate your support.

The Wisconsin Humanities Council workswith a number o businesses and organiza-

tions to expand our services across the state.

Most notably, the WHC arranges partner-

ship pools that match private donations

with ederal unding, thus expanding the

capacity o our grant program and channel-

ing resources into specic areas o interest.

POWER OF PARTNERSHIPSThe Boldt Company, a Wisconsin construction services firm based

in Appleton, sponsors our newest partnership pool: The Future

of Farming & Rural Life in Wisconsin. This initiative encourages

organizations in smaller cities and towns to generate creative

public humanities programs that examine the changing nature of

agriculture and community life in rural Wisconsin. Thanks to the

Boldt Company, the WHC will award grants in 2006 and 2007 to

organizations based in communities with populations of 5,000

residents or less, whose programs explore the rich and diversehistories, stories, and values of Wisconsins evolving rural and

agricultural heritage.

Another of our partnership pools pairs resources from the WHC

and the Jeffris Family Foundation to create a special fund to sup-

port Historic Preservation Program Grants. These funds are set

aside specifically for projects that enhance our appreciation of

historic preservation, and increase public awareness of the impor-

tance of particular historic buildings or decorative art works

in Wisconsin.

For more

inormation,

contact

Dean Bakopo

Executive Di

at 608-265-5

Perhaps your organization

should consider a

WHC partnership pool.


13/15

Major Donors& Sponsors($10,000 or more)

Argosy Foundation

The Boldt Company

Borders Group, Inc.

Cyberius Network

Dane County Cultural Aairs Commission

Distillery Design Studio

The Evjue Foundation(the charitable armofThe Capital Times)

IMS

Isthmus

Jeris Family Foundation

National Endowmentor the Arts

Pleasant T. RowlandFoundation

Verizon Foundation

VQR: The VirginiaQuarterly Review

Wisconsin StateDepartment o Tourism

Other Corporate& OrganizationalSupport

Alliant Energy Foundation

All Writers Workplace& Workshop

American FamilyInsurance Group

Cooperative ChildrensBook Center

The Country Today

Douglas Stewart Company

Federation o StateHumanities Councils

Friends o theUW-Madison Libraries

Harry W. SchwartzBookshops

Herbert H. Kohl Charities, Inc.

Madison Arts Commission

Madison AreaReading Council

Madison CommunityFoundation

The Madison ConcourseHotel and Governors Club

Madison Public Library

Mosse/Weinstein Centeror Jewish Studies

Shepherd Express

Starbucks

The SWC Group

TargetUniversity o Wisconsin Press

UW-Extension

UW-Madison Libraries

Wal-Mart

Webcraters, Inc.

Wisconsin Academy oSciences, Arts and Letters

Wisconsin Public Radio

Directors Circle($300 or more)

Dean Bakopoulos and Amanda Okopski

Oscar C. and Patricia H. Boldt

Tom and Renee Boldt

Paul and Ann Boyer

David Brostrom

Elaine Burke

Henry Drewal

Joyce and William Erickson

Peg and Dan Geisler

Terry Haller

Max and Ann Harris

Jacqueline and James Klimaszewski

Nancy and Arthur Laskin

Kathleen McElroy andDavid Newby

Karla and Bill Mullen

Stephen Myck

Ellen Nelson

Shawn Schey

Carol Smart

Lynde B. Uihlen

Daniel and Selma Van Eyck

Gerald Viste

Arthur and Clarice Wortzel

Friends o the WHC

Seymour andShirley Abrahamson

Dwight Allen

Lynn Archer

Richard and Elizabeth Askey

George and Patricia Bakopoulos

Robert and Janice Baldwin

Jessica Becker

Maurice and Sybil Better

Bennett Berson

Allan G. and Margaret R. Bogue

Jane Bowers

Stephen J. Books

Bonnie G. Buchanan

Roger Buett

Deborah Buton

Glenna Carter

Martha and Charles Casey

Alison Jones Chaim

Jack and Beverly Christ

Carol Cohen

Anne M. and Timothy J. Connor

Donald Cress

James P. Danky

James DeLine

M. DeMatties

Jerome K. Dombraski

Janet Dykema

Joseph and Joann Elder

Karen Faster

Reggie Finlayson

Julie Frankl

Gail Geiger

Harlan and Elaine Grinde

Joan and George Hall

Jane Hamblen

John Hanson

Wayne and Janet Hanson

Bev Harrington

Standish and Jane Henning

Rebecca Holmes

C.J. Hribel

Margaret Banta Humleker

Barbara andThomas Hulseberg

Beverly Jambois

Steve Klaven and Merija Eisen

Constance Klotz

Mary Knapp

Heidi Stibbe Knight

Mary Knight

Robert J. andBarbara B. Knowlton

Don Kynaston

Ann Lacy

Marvin G. Lansing

Ed Linenthal

Connie Loden

Eddie R. and Astride H. Lowry

Anne Lucke

Nancy O. Lurie

Lesleigh Luttrell

Esther Mackintosh

Helen H. Madsen

Richard MagyarKathy Engen Malkasian

Denise Marino andHerbert Paaren

Tilney Marsh

Susan McLeod

Charlotte Meyer

Judith Claire Mitchell

Judy Moore

Steven Nadler

Kathleen Orosz

Joseph L. and Mary D. Ousley

Lloyd W. and Margaret T. Page

Kay Plantes

Hannah Pinkerton

Agnes Posbrig

Charlie P. Ries

donors to the

WHC in the

2005 and 2006

fscal years

include:

Karla Mullen, Chair

watertown

Ral Galvn, Vice-Chair

Milwaukee Public Television

Steven M. Taylor, Treasurer

Marquette University

milwaukee

David Brostrom

Waukesha Public Library

Henry John Drewal

UW-Madison

Janet Dykema

Wisconsin Historical Society

eau claire

*Joyce Erickson

kenosha

Reginald Finlayson

Milwaukee Area

Technical College

Jean M. Fleet

Riverside University

High School

milwaukee

John Hanson

Northern Pictures, Inc.

bayfeld

Jacqueline Klimaszewski

Appleton Area School District

*Mary Knapp

Madison Public Library

*Connie Loden

Heart o Wisconsin

Business and

Economic Alliance

wisconsin rapids

Stephen R. Myck

The Douglas Stewart

Company

madison

Wayne Patterson

St. Norbert College

de pere

Joyce E. Salisbury

UW-Green Bay, Emerita

*Kou Vang

Cardinal Stritch University

milwaukee

*Bobbi Webster

Oneida Nation

Kris Adams Wendt

Rhinelander District Library

Susanne Wofford

UW-Madison

Margarita Zamora

UW-Madison

Dean Bakopoulo

Executive Directo

Dena Wortzel

Associate Directo

Director o Progra

Jessica Becker

Senior Program O

Alison Jones Cha

Director,

Wisconsin Book

Michael Kean

Director o Admi

& Finance

Shawn Shey

Administrative

Masarah Van Eyc

Director o Develo

& Communicatio

WHC Board

Members* Governors Appointee

WHC Sta Joseph RodriguezJane Roeber

Janet Ross

Mike Russell

Martin and Melissa Scanlan

Renie Shapiro

P.M. and Carrie Sherrill

Carol and Dean Schroeder

Judith L. Strasser

Steven M. Taylor

Libby Temkin

Carol Tennessen

Mr. and Mrs.L. William Teweles

Sara Toenes

Sandi Torkildson

Michael andCarol Troyer-Shank

Harry Van Camp

Masarah Van Eyck

Linda VandenBerg

Peg and Ron Wallace

G. Lane and Linda Ware

Norma and Ralph Wehlitz

George Wells andSally Hammond

Kris Adams Wendt

Amanda Werhane

Robin Whyte

Ralph and Jo Wickstrom

David K. andKaren M. Williams

Dena Wortzel

Margarita Zamora


14/15

contact inormation:222 South Bedord Street, Suite F

Madison, Wisconsin 53703-3688P: 608.262.0706 F: 608.263.7970

E-Mail: [email protected]

www.wisconsinhumanities.org

For more on how the humanities help us

examine our lives, please see the specialWHC section, The Humanities in Our Lives,

in each issue oWisconsin People & Ideas.

This publication was produced with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, f indings, conclusions, or recommendations

expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of the NEH.


15/15

Non-Proft O

U.S. POSTA

P A I DMAD I SO N ,

PERMIT NO.

c o m m u n i t y t h r o u g h c o n v e r s a t i o n

222 S. Bedord St., Suite F Madison, WI 53703-3688

whc profile

Documents