Skip to main content

The APA is a member of the National Humanities Alliance, a consortium of learned societies and other institutions that advocates for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and other relevant agencies. Thanks to the efforts of the Alliance, several members of Congress, Representatives David Price (D-NC) and Thomas Petri (R-WI) and Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) are circulating “Dear Colleague” letters in their respective chambers that support funding for the NEH. “Dear Colleague” letters are a way for members of Congress to express their backing of legislation in advance of a vote on the relevant bill.

You can assist in this work by urging your representative and your senators to sign these letters. The Alliance has set up an electronic form that you can use to send your message. Once you provide some basic contact information that will direct your message to the correct members of Congress, you will have access to a template that describes the importance of humanities funding and provides contact information for the Congressional staff members gathering signatures for these letters. You should feel free to add to this template examples of how you have used federal funding to reach audiences both on your campus and off it or of effects you have observed of recent cuts in federal funding for the humanities.

Please visit the Alliance’s electronic form soon. The deadline for members of Congress to agree to sign the letter in the House is March 31, 2014; for the letter in the Senate the deadline is April 4.