Oklahoma Humanities at 50 Years

About the Collection

The Oklahoma Humanities at 50 Years Oral History Collection is a series of interviews that examine and preserve the organization's history, work, and impact on humanities support in Oklahoma. This project was developed by the Oklahoma Humanities, with interviews conducted by interns recruited from the History Departments at Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma, with oversight from Oklahoma Oral History Research Program.

What is the history of Oklahoma Humanities?

In 1971, Oklahoma joined five other states in a program developed by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to launch the first state humanities councils. The NEH was established as a federal grant-making agency by the U.S. Congress in 1965 to support research, education, and public projects in the humanities. In creating state councils, NEH delegated some of its grant-making activities to the citizens where humanities programs take place.

Originally called the Oklahoma Humanities Task Force, the organization focused on public policy issues through grant-making and projects based on the theme “Citizen Values in Community Decisions.” Symposia, seminars, and radio/television broadcasts brought scholars, public figures, and citizens together to discuss broad humanities themes.

For 50+ years, Oklahoma Humanities has administered the distribution of over $42 million in federal funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities to all 77 Oklahoma counties and all 5 Congressional Districts. 

To find out more about Oklahoma Humanities, visit their website: https://www.okhumanities.org/ 

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Contact Us

Oklahoma Oral History Research Program
207 Edmon Low Library
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK 74078
Phone: 405-744-7685
liboh@okstate.edu

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