Penn State Institute for the Arts and Humanities

Penn State’s Institute for the Arts and Humanities (IAH) was established by the University’s Board of Trustees in April 1966 as a research unit under the Office of the Vice President for Research. One of the first of its kind in the nation, the Institute was designed to be a center for advanced studies in the arts and humanities and for interdisciplinary work across those domains.

After many years of considerable success as originally conceived, the Institute was restructured in July 2001 to meet more effectively the needs of its constituents, the University, and the Commonwealth. Funding for programming such as lectures, symposia, exhibitions, and performances was increased, and wide-ranging, more inclusive competitive funding programs were developed to support the individual research and group projects of Penn State faculty and graduate students.

In 2002 the Institute was awarded a $2.5 million Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). These funds have made possible an exciting array of new and enhanced campus- and community-based humanities programs, providing additional resources to Penn State faculty and students and extending the programming to public school teachers and to community groups across central Pennsylvania.

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