The Obermann Center is pleased to announce that Director Teresa Mangum has been invited to serve on the Board of Directors of the National Humanities Alliance. For over 30 years, the NHA has been the nation’s leading public policy and advocacy organization for the academic and public humanities. This non-partisan advocacy coalition works to advance humanities education and research, preserve cultural treasures, and promote public cultural programs.

The NHA further serves the public by providing regular updates on bills and financial debates in Congress that affect education and research in the humanities. The organization also documents the impact of the humanities—from the classroom to research centers and from local museums to the Library of Congress—through initiatives such as the Humanities Indicators Project.

Representing the UI's Humanities Mission

In recent years, Mangum (pictured here with colleagues in Washington, D.C.) has represented the University of Iowa at the NHA Annual Meeting and Humanities Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. She and other local participants learn about current issues affecting the humanities, then meet with Iowa legislators on Capitol Hill to share the impressive accomplishments of scholars and students at the University of Iowa.

While the Obermann Center serves artists, scholars, and researchers from across the University, both the Center and director have deep roots in the humanities. At the University of Iowa, Mangum co-directs the Public Humanities in a Digital World faculty cluster with Professor Jon Winet. Nationally, she serves on the advisory boards of North American Victorian Studies (NAVSA) and Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life and is active in the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes. At the state level, she initiated the Iowa Humanities Festival—a collaboration that will include Drake University, Grinnell College, Iowa State University, the Des Moines Art Center, and the Salisbury House and Gardens, among other partners in 2014.

As a member of the Board of Directors, Mangum will meet throughout the year with leaders of the American Council of Learned Societies, the Modern Language Association, the American Historical Association, the Association of Research Universities, the Association of American Universities, and other organizations and universities. Their goal will be to spread the word about the insights, cross-cultural understanding, wisdom, and compassion we gain when we support the humanities.