Middle Tennessee State University will play a major role in the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration thanks to a new grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The Honors College and the university’s American Democracy Project have been awarded funding through the NEH’s “Celebrate America!” initiative to support a yearlong series of programs marking the United States Semiquincentennial in 2026.
Project director Joan McRae, a resident Honors College faculty member, said the $25,000 grant will allow MTSU to bring the humanities to the forefront of public life during this historic milestone.
“We are thrilled that this grant offers us the opportunity to bring the humanities out of the classroom and into the public sphere, using the Semiquincentennial celebration to spark conversations about freedom, democracy, and the ideas that are foundational to our American life,” McRae said.
The initiative, titled “Celebrating America’s Semiquincentennial at Middle Tennessee State University,” is supported by the MTSU Foundation and will feature academic lectures, community events, museum exhibitions, documentary screenings, and educational programming for both university students and the broader Middle Tennessee community.