The National Humanities Center has changed in the past twelve months.

The Center's core mission--to strengthen the humanities through support for scholarship of uncompromising excellence--remains constant. If anything, the institution is more sharply focused on that mission than ever before. The informal collegiality which characterizes the daily life of the institution continues to be the way in which this Center helps excellent projects become even better. This has not changed. The core belief behind the founding of the institution, that good scholarship invigorates teaching, informs public policy, and enriches our personal lives, remains the basis of our support of research, outreach efforts, and vibrant educational programs.

Yet the means by which the National Humanities Center seeks to reach these goals are changing and indeed must change as the context within which we work changes. This year's report reflects some of these changes. It is less concerned with documenting the successes of the past than with the new course. As it reflects change at the Center, the annual report is itself somewhat changed this year. Much of the information contained in previous reports, such as detailed accounts of each Fellow's year or lists of events and accomplishments during the year, are now available electronically. Therefore, throughout this document you will find invitations to explore our World Wide Web site (nationalhumanitiescenter.org) for more information. For increasing numbers of people, this information will be easy to find. For anyone who is not yet on line, we will be happy to provide a printed copy of this material.

more . . .
(to part 2 of 6)