The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has awarded the UC Merced Library in partnership with the Center for the Humanities a $750,000 Infrastructure & Capacity Building Challenge Grant. This grant is the largest that UC Merced has received from the NEH, and we were awarded the maximum amount. The funding for this capital project will establish a research archives with secure storage to house priceless archival collections and spaces where researchers, students, and the community can engage with those collections. The UC Merced Library has focused on acquiring primary sources that capture the cultural, social, and environmental history of the Sierra Nevada and Central Valley, and this grant will grow our capacity to continue this important work.
We would like to thank Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Gregg Camfield, Presidential Chair in the Humanities & Literature Professor Ignacio López-Calvo, and many others for their support!
Read the full press release for more details about Sierra Nevada-Central Valley Archive, the value of regional collections, and the project timeline.