Dear Friends and Supporters,

2005 will be an extraordinary year for the Council. As we celebrate our 30th anniversary and continue to present the best in humanities scholarship to New Yorkers across the state, we will work to bring the humanities directly to you through new interactive features on our website and through collaboration with public radio.

Ensuring the presence of the humanities in the cultural and intellectual lives of every New Yorker is more important than ever. Through institutional partnerships with over 4,000 non-profit organizations, we provide opportunities for the discussion and exploration of the values and ideas that help us sustain a thoughtful and informed citizenry. In May 2005, we are planning a 30th Anniversary Conference in Rochester in collaboration with our colleagues at the George Eastman House. Leading scholars, business and civic leaders, and non-profit professions will discuss contemporary issues in the humanities. Details will be posted here beginning in March.

Thanks to a recent We the People grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, we will expand our reading and discussion book groups for adults. This program is the result of a wonderfully successful partnership with the Center for the Humanities at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. New reading and discussion groups—for adults who love to read and who seek a setting for the exchange of ideas and opinions—will be held at historic sites, libraries, and museums throughout New York State .

In addition, the We the People grant funded structural changes to our website's architecture. The Speakers in the Humanities section now features an interactive catalog that allows organizations to browse by lecture topics or speakers, and even to design a series by selecting lectures on related themes. A monthly events calendar searchable by region will display the range of cultural and educational programs that the Council directly presents as well as those that we help make possible. I am also very pleased that we can now accept donations on-line.

Reaching 19 million New Yorkers is a prodigious challenge. We offer—either directly or in partnership with sister organizations—literally hundreds of lectures, seminars, and discussions groups throughout the year. But we must extend our reach even further and so this year we will work to bring the humanities directly to you through a unique collaboration with public radio. No matter where you are, whether in your home, your car, or at your workplace, we will be there via radio to provide thought-provoking discussion. When funding has been secured for the radio program and the next design phases of our website, we will be able to post a complete schedule of broadcasts on our website and present an archive of broadcasts you may have missed or wish to hear again.

All of us at the New York Council for the Humanities—from the board of directors to the staff—are deeply committed to presenting programs that have vitality and relevance for all New Yorkers. In that regard, we welcome your thoughts on our programs and future initiatives. Please feel free to email us at nych@nyhumanities.org

Yours sincerely,

David Cronin

Executive Director