PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — The John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage has announced its inaugural class of fellows for the 2014-15 academic year. The Public Humanities Fellowship Program will bring Brown faculty and community leaders in the arts and humanities to the Center to serve one-year terms. It is aimed at faculty members interested in innovative methods for presenting their research to the public, conducting research in collaboration with community organizations, or seeking to incorporate public engagement in their courses. Culture workers from the nonprofit community can use their fellowship to pursue a program of reading, writing, and thinking or engage in a specific project with the support of center staff, faculty, and students.

All fellows will receive a research fund of $1,500 and a project assistant from among the public humanities graduate students to aid in their project. Susan Smulyan, professor of American studies and director of the center, will convene monthly meetings so fellows can discuss their projects together. Fellows will also present their work to students and faculty from the center and the Department of American Studies in a series of lunch seminars that will be open to the public.

This year’s community fellows are Holly Ewald, founder and artistic director of UPP Arts, and Christina Bevilacqua, director of programs and public engagement for the Providence Athenaeum. Faculty fellows are James Egan, professor of English; Jo Guldi, the Hans Rothfels Assistant Professor of the History of Britain and its Empire; Monica Martinez, assistant professor of American studies; and Dietrich Neumann, professor of the history of art and architecture.