40 Years of History, Culture and the Humanities

An interview with Dr. Robert Walrond

This February marks the 40th anniversary of the Missouri Humanities Council, which started building its roots in the fall of 1970. A group of Missourians from the continuing education and extension colleges of Saint Louis University, the University of Missouri and Washington University were invited to Washington, D.C. to meet with the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), a grant-making agency of the federal government that supports research, education, preservation and public programs in the humanities.

“This was just when the Vietnam War was at as high point,” said Robert Walrond, one of the original committee members. “When we went to Washington, every federal building was on lock down. It was a really a tough situation, and the NEH thought if when we were promoting the humanities, we talked about public policy, it would give people a new perspective on public issues.”

Despite the tense mood, the meeting was a success, and the visiting Missourians were asked to form an “extension model” to run the NEH state based program in Missouri. Originally, the NEH tested three types of models to run state based programs—the extension model, a combined arts and humanities council and the third, a tripartite model, was a diverse committee of humanities scholars, educational administrators and the general public.

Upon returning to Missouri and without NEH financial support, these individuals conducted an extensive planning process, concluding with the submission of a proposal to the NEH in December 1970. The proposal was approved and on February 15, 1971 the Missouri State Committee for the Humanities was officially formed and began operating with NEH funds. The first committee consisted of Dr. Walrond who acted as chairman; Malcom C. Van Deursen, member and part-time executive director; and Walter B. Wright, member. It was supported by Washington University, Saint Louis University and the University of Missouri and by a 40 member volunteer advisory committee, half of whom were humanities scholars and half members of the general public.

“Because there were only three people on the committee, we felt that it wouldn’t be in the best interest of the organization for only us to make decisions,” said Dr. Walrond. “So we organized a large advisory council from all over the state. The advisory council read many of the proposals and helped recommend what should be funded.”

In the second year, the NEH adopted the tripartite model for all state programs and the shift expanded the state committee to eight members. In 1973, the committee was told by the NEH to hire a full time staff. Mr. Van Deursen, the part-time executive director didn’t want to take the position on full time, so Dr. Walrond stepped up as the first full-time executive director, a position that he held until 1986. He worked along with a full-time secretary, Jackie Houck, who later became the assistant director.

Over the next few years, the Committee became more independent of the three universities as they separated funding. Initially they shared NEH funding with the universities to help support programs. As the committee grew larger due to the tripartite model and at NEH’s urging, they decided to terminate the advisory council as there was less of a need.  In 1975, the committee incorporated and became the Missouri Committee for the Humanities, Inc., although it wasn’t until 1987, that the name was officially changed to the Missouri Humanities Council. In 1976, due to the reauthorization of the NEH, The Missouri Humanities Council along with other state committees reached a turning point and were given more freedom to direct their programs.

“With each new NEH director and American president there are new ideas of what should be achieved through the NEH. This is particularly true in public programming,” said Dr. Walrond. “After President Ford, the public policy section began to decrease and the other programming increased. That was certainly a tremendous change.”

Today, the Council is supported by a full-time staff and a statewide board. Although initially created to help the public understand public policy, the Council has become a catalyst for cultural organizations, helping them to connect with people and communities across the state, by providing programming and grants that support the humanities.

“I think the Council is doing a good job with the programming they’re doing now,” said Dr. Walrond. “Now and in the future, I’d like to see them get the attention that they deserve.”

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