The Utah Humanities Council (UHC) is pleased to announce that Jim Leach, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), will speak on Thursday, May 27, at 6:00 p.m. at the Salt Lake City Library Auditorium, 210 East 400 South. Chairman Leach will speak as part of UHC’s 22nd Annual Human Ties Awards, in conjunction with his nationwide "Civility Tour." The event is free and open to the public.
A private reception with Leach will be held in the City Centre/Chamber of Commerce Building after the awards. The reception is $35 per person. Checks may be mailed to 202 W 300 N, Salt Lake City UT 84103 or you may register online at www.utahhumanities.org.
Chairman Leach, who was sworn in as NEH chair on August 12, 2009, spent three decades as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa. He launched a 50-state tour in November 2009, “not to express judgment on any issues of the day, but simply to try to make clear that coarseness in public manners can jeopardize social cohesion.”
With name-calling, grandstanding, and stifling of dissent by both civilians and members of Congress becoming commonplace, civil discourse is certainly a timely topic.
“Bridging cultural divides and developing a sense for a common humanity are moral and social imperatives," Mr. Leach said in launching the tour. "Civilization requires civility. Words matter...little is more important for the world's leading democracy in this change-intensive century than establishing an ethos of thoughtfulness and decency of expression in the public square."
“The Utah Humanities Council has spent the past 35 years promoting civic engagement—the idea that it is incumbent on each of us to read, discuss, and reflect on important issues of the day,” said UHC Executive Director Cynthia Buckingham. “The humanities enhance our understanding of different traditions, values, and ideas and help us to imagine other ways of living and thinking. We are delighted to welcome Jim Leach to Utah to reinforce our message.”
During his Salt Lake City visit, Leach will also deliver the commencement address at Westminster College, on Saturday, May 29, and will receive an honorary degree.
About Chairman Leach
Representing southeastern Iowa in the U.S. House of Representatives, Leach chaired the Banking and Financial Services Committee, the Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, and founded and co-chaired the Congressional Humanities Caucus.
After leaving Congress in 2007, Leach joined the faculty at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School, where he was the John L. Weinberg Visiting Professor of Public and International Affairs until his confirmation as NEH chairman. In September 2007, Leach took a year's leave of absence from Princeton to serve as interim director of the Institute of Politics and lecturer at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He graduated from Princeton University, received a Master of Arts degree in Soviet politics from the School of Advanced International Studies at The John Hopkins University, and did additional graduate studies at the London School of Economics.
About the Human Ties Awards
UHC’s annual awards began in 1998 in order to recognize individuals whose work exemplifies UHC’s mission of helping Utahns explore the past, participate actively in the present, and shape the future. In most cases, nominations have come from the board of directors, alumni, and staff. UHC also receives occasional nominations from the public and has been conscious of highlighting various disciplines, institutions, and locations.
Annual awards:
- The Governor’s Award in the Humanities is UHC’s highest honor, presented to a distinguished scholar whose career has enhanced understanding of the humanities among the general public.
- Founder’s Awards honor individuals who have been instrumental to UHC’s success over the past 35 years.
- Humanities Partnership Awards acknowledge long-term collaborative and cooperative relationships with entities that share UHC’s vision.
- Human Ties Awards recognize individuals and organizations who work behind the scenes of highly successful public humanities projects and programs that have received UHC support in the past year.
The Utah Humanities Council is an independent nonprofit organization that provides lifelong learning across the state through programs that explore diverse traditions, values, and ideas.
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