Hackney leaves NEH, will return to U. to teach history

Former University President Sheldon Hackney vacated his post as Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities this week, although the White House requested that he stay until a successor is named. Hackney -- who plans to return to the University to teach history in September -- recently published a book entitled One America Indivisible, which finds that people define their identities more through participation in their local community than as citizens in a national context. The book -- which reports to the nation on the lessons learned in the NEH project called "A National Conversation on American Pluralism and Identity" -- discusses the issues that "challenge Americans in their attempts to define a coherent national identity on the cusp of a new millennium." "For anyone interested in questions of citizenship, One America, Indivisible is rich in information, diverse points of view and empirical analysis," Hackney said. "In view of the public's continuing concerns over affirmative action, immigration, race conscious districting, public funds for parochial schools and various other incarnations of identity politics, the book should be of interest to a broad spectrum of readers." William Ferris -- a scholar of southern folklore -- is the leading contender to replace Hackney, who headed the NEH for six years. Also under consideration for the position are Benjamin Barher -- a political science professor at Rutgers University -- and RIchard Franke -- president of Americans United to Save the Arts and Humanities. Congress founded the NEH in 1965 to support scholarship in many disciplines, including language, literature, history, archaeology and law. Hackney was in charge of the NEH at a time when its budget caused much controversy. Two years ago, it's funds were cut by 36 percent. Three weeks ago, an amendment to eliminate the agency was defeated in the U.S. House of Representatives and a total of $110 million was appropriated to the NEH for 1998. A Senate subcommittee later increased funding to $110.7 million. Ferris said he thought such problems were caused by a lack of information about the NEH and what it does. "I think a lot of it is a communications problem," he said. "The kind of programs that the NEH does should be enthusiastically embraced by all Americans." Ferris is the director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, which holds an annual; conference on William Faulkner. He added that his own research in folklore and anthropology has been enhanced by NEH grants.