About Us: History
While the Center's influence on the academic program has been felt since 2000 through various nascent initiatives, its launching was made possible with gifts from generous donors the Haverford College's successful capital campaign that began in 2001 under the leadership of Board Chair, John B. Hurford '60. By the end of the campaign, three years later, the Humanities Center was fully funded and had been named to honor the memory of John Hurford. Haverford's academic centers - The Hurford Humanities Center, The Center for Peace and Global Citizenship, and the Koshland Integrated Natural Sciences Center - were established to encourage integrated learning that crosses disciplines, avoids fragmentation of knowledge, and enhances the College's strong curriculum.
2004-05 was its first full year of programming supported by a professional staff. In January 2005, the Center moved to dedicated offices and meeting rooms in Stokes Hall, which is when it arrived in a physical sense, and is poised to foster challenging exchange among faculty and students here on campus, as well as encounters with diverse communities of innovators, artists, writers and thinkers beyond the confines of Haverford.
Funding for the Humanities Center comes from income from its endowment, grants, and restricted gifts.
Established by grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in 1998, the Mellon Fellows Program is a dedicated part of the Hurford Humanities Center's program that brings recent humanities Ph.Ds to campus—to work with faculty (in their first year, the Faculty Humanities Seminar), with students (with two courses each year), and with the wider community (in a public symposium mounted during each Fellow's second year). In the Fall of 2005, the Mellon Foundation invited Haverford to apply for a grant to endow the Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellowships. In December, the $1.5 million Mellon challenge grant was matched within days by a generous Haverford donor and alumnus, and the Mellon Fellowship program has permanent funding.
The Center's annual Performance Arts Series is anchored by a generous grant from The Leaves of Grass Foundation. Funds from Leaves of Grass support visits from distinguished artists, filmmakers, public intellectuals, musicians, dancers, and others who not only offer significant presentations to the public but also lead smaller groups of faculty, students, and community members in sustained reflection on the meaning and significance of what they do.
The Kessinger Family Fund for Asian Performing Arts supports Humanities Center performances and residencies dedicated to the rich artistic heritage of South Asia, East Asia, and Indonesia, and was started by former Haverford President Tom Keissinger and his wife, Varyam.