Delaware Valley University Receives a $35,000 Connections Implementation Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities
Delaware Valley University (DelVal) received a $35,000 Connections Implementation grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Dr. Brian Lutz, DelVal English department chair, and Dr. Jessica McCall, associate English professor, with support from Reg Hoyt, Animal Biotechnology and Conservation department co-chair, were the leaders in obtaining this grant.
This project aims at elevating the role of the humanities, particularly English and rhetorical studies, within the One Health initiative. One Health is a multi-disciplinary approach that works on all levels from local to global to attain optimal well-being for people and society, the environment, plants, and animals. The grant intends to broadly and intentionally infuse the humanities into the initiative by (1) creating a new minor entitled One Health Communications, which hopes to bridge the study of writing and rhetoric with pre-veterinary, pre-health, and science programs; (2) provide professional development workshops for DelVal faculty focused on integrating lessons from the field of Rhetoric into science programs; and (3) bring speakers to campus for the University's One Health series and Business and Humanities Colloquia. These speakers can discuss how important an understanding of rhetoric and communication is to the sciences.
When and where the STEM fields have failed, communication is often an issue. These fields have, at times, struggled to translate knowledge for public consumption and for the purpose of intellectual collaboration. The humanities, long-overlooked as a resource for improving the communication of scientific knowledge, not only provide a different lens for looking at today's problems, but also a path to bridge the breakdown between the sciences and the cultures they live in.
DelVal's One Health seminars are free to attend, open to the public, and often virtual. Topics of previous seminars included "Introduction to Organic, Ecological and Sustainable Land Care," "Thicker than Water: The Quest for Solutions to the Plastics Crisis," and more. The University is thrilled to receive this grant as it will help the institution provide knowledge and experience to tackle the most important issues of today and tomorrow.