In recognition of the centrality of the humanities to its research and educational mission, the University of Connecticut recently elevated the Humanities Institute to the status of a university-wide research institution.

The Humanities Institute, which has garnered over $7 million in grant funding over the past three years, is internationally recognized as a leading center of scholarship in the humanities, producing and promoting research in history, literature, philosophy, social sciences, and the arts.

“UConn has extraordinary strengths in the humanities; and a world-class humanities faculty deserves a world-class institute. We welcome this opportunity to promote the ideas that will in turn shape our future,” says Michael Lynch, director of the institute and professor of philosophy.

The Humanities Institute is in the third year of a major international research and engagement project, Humility and Conviction in Public Life, which is examining how to produce more meaningful discourse in this fractured political climate. Funded by the John Templeton Foundation and led by Lynch and Brendan Kane, associate professor of history, the grant is one of the largest ever awarded for  humanities research.

The Humanities Institute awards yearly fellowships on a competitive basis to both graduate students and faculty pursuing research projects, from both UConn and other institutions. The fellows spend a year pursuing their scholarly projects together at the Institute. The Humanities Institute also funds forums, conferences, public talks across the University and in Hartford, and hosts a podcast.