{"id":75247,"date":"2026-01-22T11:45:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T16:45:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/?p=75247"},"modified":"2026-01-22T11:46:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T16:46:25","slug":"willson-center-announces-second-phase-of-penn-center-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/willson-center-announces-second-phase-of-penn-center-partnership\/","title":{"rendered":"Willson Center announces second phase of Penn Center partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”text-container first-paragraph”]The\u00a0Willson Center<\/a>\u00a0has received a $1 million grant from the Mellon Foundation for a second phase of its public humanities partnership with the historic\u00a0Penn Center<\/a>\u00a0on St. Helena Island, South Carolina. The grant-funded project,\u00a0Culture and Community at the Penn Center National Historic Landmark District<\/a>, launched in 2021 with an initial $1 million award from Mellon to build and implement programs in collaboration with the Penn Center and surrounding Sea Islands communities in the\u00a0Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Kendrick Lamar and SZA say, \u2018All the stars are closer,\u2019\u201d said Barbara McCaskill, Distinguished Research Professor of English and associate academic director of the Willson Center.\u00a0\u201cThis collaboration has enabled students to learn how the history and culture of Gullah Geechee communities, which trace to West Africa, can inform how we may collectively resolve national concerns from climate change to land preservation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Program activities for the Culture and Community partnership began in 2022 with annual artists-in-residence and community fellows, twice-yearly community conversations, and summer student research residencies that bring scholars and faculty from academic institutions including UGA, Georgia Tech, Emory University, Howard University, Spelman College, Morehouse College, the University of Michigan, and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis funding will take the Willson Center past a decade of continuous funding from the Mellon Foundation,\u201d said Nicholas Allen, Baldwin Professor in Humanities and director of the Willson Center. \u201cWe\u2019re all proud of that recognition and recognize the responsibility we have to work through the humanities and arts to build curiosity, inclusivity, and opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The project\u2019s next phase will continue to deepen and evolve its programs, with a view toward building greater collective capacity and bolstering its future sustainability. Angela Dore, who has coordinated the project\u2019s activities at Penn Center since the partnership\u2019s inception, will continue and expand upon her role. The grant\u2019s principal investigators are Allen and McCaskill, in collaboration with Valerie Babb, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Humanities at Emory University.<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially in difficult times, programs like this remind us that our histories are shared. When we remember this, we remember our humanity,\u201d Babb said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur partnership will continue to catalyze creative synergies among participants from the U.S., Caribbean, and African Diaspora, and to work with Penn Center alongside Mellon-funded \u2018sister projects\u2019 on Gullah foodways, cemeteries, history, memory, and music,\u201d said McCaskill. \u201cWe are excited about the learning experiences which will continue to unfold over the coming years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Robert L. Adams, the Penn Center\u2019s executive director, serves on the project\u2019s steering committee and personally supervises the Penn Center\u2019s contributions to the partnership.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are delighted that the Mellon Foundation\u2019s support for the Penn Center\u2019s collaboration with UGA\u2019s Willson Center highlights the importance of our shared efforts,\u201d Adams said. \u201cThis grant affirms the value of our work and encourages us to continue translating our overlapping histories into a brighter future for the region. Our\u00a0partnership offers an excellent opportunity for students, faculty, and community members to experience the diversity of the humanities through the lens of Gullah Geechee culture and history.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHumanities research is a core pillar of the university\u2019s research mission, and I\u2019m grateful to Nicholas Allen for providing steady, wise leadership of the Willson Center in service of our humanities faculty,\u201d added Chris King, UGA\u2019s interim vice president for research. \u201cResearch into the humanities provides context, ethical grounding, and public meaning to discovery across all disciplines, ensuring that innovation is responsible, impactful, and trusted. This ongoing partnership with the Penn Center is a wonderful resource to explore that context.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”text-container first-paragraph”]The\u00a0Willson Center\u00a0has received a $1 million grant from the Mellon Foundation for a second phase of its public humanities partnership with the historic\u00a0Penn Center\u00a0on St. Helena Island, South Carolina. The grant-funded project,\u00a0Culture and Community at the Penn Center National Historic Landmark District, launched in 2021 with an initial $1 million award from Mellon … <\/p>\n

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