Hall Center receives $255,000 to expand programs in Wichita

An anonymous donor has pledged $255,000 to help the Hall Center for the Humanities at KU bring public and educational programs to residents of the Wichita area.

The gift to the KU Endowment Association will have an even greater impact with the addition of a $62,500 match from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The NEH match is part of a $500,000 challenge grant pledged to the Hall Center in 2000 that provides a one-to-four match. The goal of the challenge grant is to help raise a combined total of $2.5 million for KU humanities outreach programs and to help the Hall Center expand its programs for individuals and communities both within and outside of the university.

Planned programs include summer seminars conducted by KU faculty for secondary education and community college teachers; an expansion of the Humanities Lecture Series; graduate internships at regional museums; and graduate fellowships in the humanities.