Jefferson Day is an advocacy event organized by the National Humanities Alliance and co-sponsored by twenty-nine organizations to promote support for the National Endowment for the Humanities. This is an important opportunity for scholars and others working in the humanities to communicate the importance of federal support for the humanities to leaders in Washington. Grassroots advocacy is needed on an ongoing basis to ensure the continuation and vitality of the endowment's programs. With increased pressures on state and federal budgets in Fiscal Year 2003, the upcoming appropriations cycle is especially critical.

REGISTRATION

There is no fee for registration. To REGISTER, please visit our online registration site at http://www.nhalliance.org/jd/ or send contact information to .

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1965. The largest single funder of humanities programs in the United States, the NEH has as its mission the enrichment of American intellectual and cultural life. The Endowment accomplishes that mission by providing grants for high-quality humanities projects in four funding areas: preserving and providing access to cultural resources, education, research and public programs. NEH grants typically go to cultural institutions such as museums, archives, libraries, colleges, universities, public television and radio stations, and to individual scholars. They preserve and provide access to cultural and educational resources essential to the American people; strengthen teaching and learning in history, literature, language and other humanities subjects in schools and colleges across the nation; facilitate research and original scholarship in the humanities; provide opportunities for lifelong learning in the humanities for all Americans; and strengthen the institutional base of the humanities. The National Endowment for the Humanities extends its reach through annual grants to its partner institutions, the state humanities councils, located in every state and U.S. territory.

PROGRAM

[Thursday, March 21]

• Registration (1:30pm - 2:30pm)    Washington Court Hotel, Lobby    525 New Jersey Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.

• Advocacy Briefing (2:30pm - 5:30pm)    Washington Court Hotel, Atrium Ballroom

     Government affairs professionals and congressional staff will    brief participants on the mechanics of advocacy, the current    status of NEH funding and programs, and developments in other policy or legislative areas impacting work in the humanities.

• NHA and College Art Association Reception (6:00pm - 7:30pm)    Folger Shakespeare Library, Great Hall    201 E. Capitol St., SE, Washington, DC

     A reception in honor of Bruce Cole, art historian and new    Chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities.

• Congressional Visits (9:00am - 4:00pm)    U.S. House and Senate Office Buildings

• Debriefing (4:30pm - 5:30pm)    U.S. Capitol, Location to be announced

• 31st Annual Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities (7:30pm - 8:30pm)    Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center    1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC

     This year's lecturer is Harvard professor and cultural    critic Henry Louis Gates, Jr. A public reception, also    to be held at the Ronald Reagan Building, follows the    lecture.

Appointments for Congressional visits should be scheduled in advance by participants, with assistance provided by NHA staff as needed. Participants from higher education institutions are urged to contact their school's government relations office for additional assistance and coordination. NHA staff will contact all participants to coordinate appointment times, with the objective of assigning advocates to state/district teams. Every attempt will be made to pair first-time advocates with experienced colleagues. Participants will receive a legislative handbook, as well as advocacy material to deliver to Congressional offices.

THE JEFFERSON LECTURE

The Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities is the highest honor the federal government bestows for distinguished intellectual and public achievement in the humanities. Selected by the National Council on the Humanities, NEH's 26-member advisory board, the award recognizes an individual who has made significant scholarly contributions to the humanities and who has the ability to communicate in a broadly appealing way. The lecture is open to the public, and attendance is free. To request an invitation, call the NEH Public Affairs Office at (202) 606-8400 or send e-mail to info@neh.gov.

HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS

A limited number of rooms is available at the Washington Court Hotel, located on Capitol Hill near the Union Station Metro. Individuals must call to make reservations by Thursday, February 21, 2002 to receive the "Jefferson Day" group rate of $144. A list of additional hotels and discounted rates is available from the NHA staff.

   Washington Court Hotel 
   525 New Jersey Ave., NW 
   Reservations: (800) 321-3010 

Jefferson Day 2002 is organized by the National Humanities Alliance and co-sponsored by the following organizations:

• American Academy of Religion
• American Association for State and Local History
• American Association of Museums
• American Association of University Professors
• American Council of Learned Societies
• American Historical Association
• American Library Association
• American Philological Association
• American Political Science Association
• American Sociological Association
• Association for Documentary Editing
• Association of American Colleges and Universities
• Association of American Universities
• Association of American University Presses
• Association of Research Libraries
• College Art Association
• Community College Humanities Association
• Council of American Overseas Research Centers
• Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes
• Federation of State Humanities Councils
• Linguistic Society of America
• Modern Language Association of America
• National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges
• National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History
• Organization of American Historians
• Society of Biblical Literature
• The George Washington University
• Walter Chapin Simpson Center for the Humanities (U. Washington)