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PROJECT FILES
<br />Each issue of News 6T Notes reports on
<br />innovative programs funded in whole or
<br />in part by the Indiana Humanities
<br />Council and the National Endowment for
<br />the Humanities.
<br />IHC offers a series of grant programs to
<br />support creative public programming in
<br />the humanities for the citizens in Indiana.
<br />Annually about $500,000 in direct cash
<br />support and matching gifts is awarded on
<br />a competitive basis to Indiana
<br />educational, civic, library, museum and
<br />historical groups.
<br />Any Indiana not for profit organization
<br />is eligible to apply for a grant. The
<br />Council funds a wide range of grants
<br />focused on a variety of subjects, using
<br />many different formats, occurring in
<br />diverse settings. Staff assistance is
<br />available to help develop good ideas into
<br />substantial projects.
<br />Project Files features funded projects
<br />which deserve recognition.
<br />IHC's Indiana International
<br />Forum, with support from the Lilly
<br />Endowment, is creating a new grant
<br />program for projects that promote
<br />public awareness of Indiana's ties to
<br />the rest of the world. Guidelines
<br />will be available in February, and
<br />projects may begin in June 1993. If
<br />you would like to be on the mailing
<br />list for this grant program, call or
<br />write IHC.
<br />WHAT ABOUT SPORTS?
<br />With "Hoosier Hysteria" nearly upon
<br />us, we might pause a moment to consider
<br />the relationship between the humanities
<br />and sports. Is there one?
<br />As a matter of fact, the Indiana
<br />Humanities Council has—on a few
<br />occasions—supported scholarly activities
<br />involving the meaning of sports in
<br />American life.
<br />In 1987 IHC helped to fund a public
<br />conference on "Sports, Leisure, and Play
<br />in Cultural Contexts." Sponsored by
<br />Indiana University at Indianapolis, the
<br />conference examined such topics as
<br />"Religion and Sports: Symbols and
<br />Sacrifices," "The Athlete as Cultural
<br />Hero," and "Violence, Play and
<br />Performance."
<br />Two other projects took a humanities
<br />approach to the subject of sports by
<br />looking at their role in Hoosier history.
<br />In 1990 LU.'s physical education
<br />department received an Indiana Heritage
<br />Research Grant (IHRG) to document and
<br />depict the emergence of girls' high school
<br />sports in the state of Indiana.
<br />Researcher Susanne Bair found that
<br />competitive athletic programs for girls
<br />flourished in the 1920s but were soon
<br />dismantled in favor of recreational, "play
<br />for fun" sports. The Indiana High School
<br />Athletic Association was asked to sponsor
<br />girls'sports in 1938 and 1948 but turned
<br />down both requests. Not until 1971 did
<br />the I.H.S.A.A. finally agree to make
<br />organized competitive sports available to
<br />girls again.
<br />RON NEWLIN: HOOSIER HUMANIST
<br />In one sense, J. Ronald Newlin may be
<br />the ultimate Hoosier Humanist. He's the
<br />executive director of the Indiana
<br />Basketball Hall of Fame.
<br />Like many historians today, Ron
<br />Newlin works in the field of public
<br />humanities, outside the university. His
<br />training, though, was traditional,
<br />beginning with a B.S. in history from Ball
<br />State, where he was a Whitinger Scholar,
<br />and an M.A. in U.S. history from Indiana
<br />University.
<br />The next step was an assignment as
<br />historian at the Indiana State Museum.
<br />Newlin eventually became director of
<br />public programs, supervising educational
<br />programs and exhibit research, writing,
<br />design, and fabrication.
<br />While at the State Museum, Newlin
<br />received an IHC grant for a special gallery
<br />installation depicting a 1910 variety store,
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<br />Indiana
<br />Humanities
<br />Council
<br />I-,00 N. Ddaw.4re mrect
<br />Indianapolis, IN 46202
<br />;17/638-1500
<br />■ Council Names New Board Members
<br />■ William Plater on Imagining Nature
<br />■ Regional Focus on Indiana's Cultural
<br />Climate
<br />■ Ron Newlin and the Indiana Basketball
<br />Hall of Fame
<br />along with interpretive programs.
<br />In 1987, the Indiana Basketball Hall of
<br />Fame hired Newlin as executive director,
<br />whereupon he instituted a successful
<br />$2.5 million capital campaign for the
<br />Hall's new home in New Castle, Indiana.
<br />The 14,000 square -foot facility opened its
<br />doors to the public in June of 1990, with
<br />1,200 items in its collection.
<br />Newlin says that his museum
<br />experience was particularly valuable at
<br />this point as he and his staff developed
<br />exhibits for the new Hall. The museum
<br />tells the story of Indiana high school
<br />basketball, from its roots in
<br />Crawfordsville in 1894 to the legendary
<br />Milan state championship in 1954 and up
<br />to the '90s with a life-sized cutout of 7 -
<br />footer Eric Montross. A video feature,
<br />"Only in Indiana," brings back the sights
<br />and sounds of this long history.
<br />Johan Wiian
<br />W
<br />The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame
<br />received a 1989 IHRG grant for a project
<br />entitled "Civic Cathedrals." Noting that
<br />Indiana claims eight of the world's nine
<br />largest high school gymnasiums, the Hall
<br />of Fame researched and produced a video
<br />presentation on this form of architecture
<br />and community spirit. The documentary
<br />recounts the steps leading to each of
<br />successively larger facilities built between
<br />1923 and 1960 as towns struggled to gain
<br />a "home court advantage."
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<br />Since moving to New Castle, Newlin has
<br />taken an active role in the community,
<br />serving on the board of Heritage in
<br />Progress, New Castle's Main Street
<br />Program, and as vice president of the East
<br />Central Indiana Tourism Council.
<br />Despite his current status as a busy
<br />executive, Newlin still feels a need to
<br />"communicate history." The latest vehicle
<br />he has dreamed up for this purpose is the
<br />Hall of Fame's new quarterly publication,
<br />Indiana Basketball History.
<br />As he writes in the introduction, "For
<br />every thrilling game this year that is,
<br />fleetingly, the province of today's media,
<br />there are hundreds of past great games
<br />that people look to us to recall. Every
<br />coaching milestone passed, every pep
<br />rally, every time a young person puts on
<br />the school colors for the first time — it is
<br />news for a day, then history forever."
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<br />IM1533 Lincolnwary West:
<br />South Bend, IN 4662ci
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<br />Non -Profit Org.
<br />U.S. Postage
<br />PAID
<br />Permit No. 3918
<br />Indianapolis, Indiana
<br />ABOUT THE INDIANA
<br />HUMANITIES COUNCIL
<br />— The Indiana Humanities Council actively
<br />supports the public's use of the humanities to
<br />enrich personal and civic life in Indiana. IHC is
<br />an independent, statewide not for profit
<br />educational corporation supported by private
<br />gifts, grants and contributions and a major annual
<br />grant from the National Endowment for the
<br />Humanities.
<br />— By promoting better public understanding and
<br />appreciation of the humanities IHC hopes to raise
<br />Indiana's level of civic dialogue, increase attenrion
<br />given to cultural issues, and engage Hoosiers in
<br />substantive intellectual activity.
<br />— The Council sponsors competitive grant
<br />programs, a multi media resource center,
<br />educational projects, conferences and seminars,
<br />and special events for the citizens of Indiana.
<br />For the purposes of its programs the Council
<br />defines the humanities as the study of history,
<br />philosophy, literature and related disciplines. The
<br />Council is particularly interested in programs having
<br />to do with history, literacy, civics and ethic.
<br />For more information about the Council and its
<br />programs contact: Kenneth Gladish, Executive
<br />Director at 317(638-1500.
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