UPCOMING WORKSHOPS.
PROJECT UPDATES.
REGIONAL COUNCIL NEWS.
A dozen speakers from the Humanities Resource Center of the Humanities Council of West Central Michigan have been participating in Big Rapids area Summer Academies in the Schools as well as at a June 19 Senior Enrichment Day program which drew more than 500 senior citizens from Mecosta and Osceola counties. HCWCM Executive Director Elizabeth Czinder said this spring's success of another regional council program, the Authors in the Classroom project, is expected to result in the program's expansion next year. In addition, she said the council has been instrumental in a networking effort in the two-county area which is bringing together a dozen cultural organizations to explore opportunities for joint efforts, including a newsletter. The proposed name of the group is the Mecosta-Osceola Cultural Alliance. For more information about the regional council's programs, contact Czinder at (616) 796-9365.
CALLING COUNCIL ALUMNI.
Outgoing Council member Robert Ferguson will remain active on behalf of the Council's work this summer as he assembles an advisory group of past members to explore the possibility of forming an alumni organization. Among potential activities being considered for such a group are an annual alumni event, programming assistance to Council activities around the state and advocacy support. Council alumni interested in formation of such an organization or with ideas for its activities may contact Bob this summer at (616) 845-7840 or in fall at (616) 796-6303.
ROADS CULTURE KITS PREVIEWS.
Teachers, librarians and other community groups interested in learning more about the Council's packaged multicultural education units, the ROADS ACROSS MICHIGAN Culture Kits, may request copies of a new brochure about the resource units from the Council's Central Office. In addition, the Council's Resource Center offers a seven-and-a-half-minute videotape for loan which introduces the colorful culture kits and their potential uses. The kits -- in separate units for elementary and secondary-adult audiences -- each examine a different ethnic heritage and culture of African, African-American, Hispanic or Middle Eastern peoples through use of books and lesson plans, videotapes and audiotapes, posters, artifacts and other resources. The kits are available for loan from the Resource Center for up to one-month periods. Contact the Central Office at (517) 372-7770 or by e-mail at mihum@voyager.net for more information.
PRESERVATION PLAN.
The Michigan Historical Center in the Michigan Department of State has just unveiled its 50-page guide to historic preservation in the state to the year 2000, Preservation Shore to Shore: Michigan's Comprehensive Historic Preservation Plan. An action agenda will follow its introduction, to help citizens throughout the state to become involved in implementation of the goals and vision presented in the plan. For more information or a copy of the plan, contact the office of State Historic Preservation Officer Kathryn Eckert in the Michigan Historical Center, 717 W. Allegan St., Lansing, MI 48918-1800.
CREATIVITY FELLOWSHIPS.
The Alden B. Dow Creativity Center at Northwood University in Midland offers four fellowships each summer to individuals in any field or profession, including the humanities, arts or sciences, to pursue a project through independent, non-scheduled study. Fellows are in residence on the campus for eight weeks in the summer. The award includes travel to and from Midland, room and board for the fellow only (no accommodations for family or pets), plus a modest stipend to cover project costs and/or personal expenses. Applications are due Dec. 31 for next summer's program. A brochure and information on the application process are available from: Northwood University, Alden B. Dow Creativity Center, 3225 Cook Road, Midland, MI 48640-2398.
WEB WATCH.
Internet users with interest in video materials on humanities topics might like to check out several World Wide Web sites mentioned in the spring newsletter of National Video Resources. NVR devotes the entire issue to Internet connections on the World Wide Web dealing with independent film and video productions (NVR's e-mail address for more information is: nvr@panix.com). Among interesting sites it lists in articles on "Independents in Cyberspace" and "Under Construction: Video Distributors on the Internet" are Documentary Educational Resources (its web address is http://der.org/docued) which distributes video resources on ethnographic, archaeological and anthropological topics; PBS (whose web address is http://www.pbs.org) which highlights and provides information on availability of materials from the system's past and future schedules; and California Newsreel, which distributes materials that emphasize cultural or social change in areas such as African-American history, Africa and media education. Its Internet address is: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/Newsreelcat.html.
COUNCIL TRANSITIONS
. At its May 23-24 meeting in Lansing, the Michigan Humanities Council recognized the service of two departing members and elected six new public and academic representatives to the 25-member board. Departing members Jean T. Curtis of Detroit and Robert C. Ferguson of Big Rapids were recognized for their service as Council officers (Secretary-Treasurer and Chair, respectively) as well as their contributions to Council work in their respective roles as director of the Detroit Public Library and founding board member of the Humanities Council of West Central Michigan.
Joining the Council at its September meeting
following their election in May will be:
The director of the Flint Public Library since 1984, Gloria Coles had previously served as a regional librarian at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, MD. Her undergraduate degree is from New York University, and she received a Master's degree in Library Science from Case Western Reserve University.
Gwendolyn Etter-Lewis has been an associate professor of English at Western Michigan University since 1984 and previously was an assistant professor at Georgia State University and an instructor at Central State University in Ohio. She has a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Michigan, an M.A. in English literature from the University of Dayton and a B.A. in English/speech and drama from Jackson State University in Mississippi. She has served as a project director and/or scholar for several Council-funded projects.
Douglas Haneline, a professor of English at Ferris State University since 1984, has been active with the Humanities Council of West Central Michigan for 12 years. Prior to joining the FSU faculty, he taught on the English faculty of Dakota State College in South Dakota and lectured at Ohio State University. His degrees include a Ph.D in English from OSU, an M.A. in English from the University of Delaware, and an A.B. in political science from Middlebury College.
June Bos Hamersma is director of "The January Series," Calvin College's nationally recognized lecture series, which she has been involved with since 1988. She has been active in Grand Rapids area community service organizations, particularly in the areas of the arts, hospice and medicine.
Hope College Provost Jacob Nyenhuis has held that position since 1984 and previously was a professor of Classics and served in humanities faculty-administrative positions at Hope since 1975. Prior to that, he taught on the Classics faculties of Wayne State University and Stanford University as well as served in faculty-administrative positions in the College of Liberal Arts at WSU. He has an A.B. degree in Greek from Calvin and A.M. and Ph.D degrees in Classics from Stanford. He previously served on the Council during 1976-84 and 1988-92 and on the national Federation of State Humanities Councils between 1979 and 1984, including in top leadership roles for both.
Melvin Vulgamore, president of Albion College, also returns to the Council for another term; his previous term was in 1985-89. Prior to assuming the presidency of Albion, he was provost and vice president/vice president for academic affairs at the University of Richmond in Virginia and served on the faculty of religion and in administrative positions at Ohio Wesleyan University. He received an undergraduate degree from Ohio Wesleyan and B.D. and Ph.D degrees from Harvard University and Boston University, respectively.
We welcome all to the Council!
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