Education: National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities, Subject Files I (1973-1996)

The series contains records regarding the Education Subcommittee's work on the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities and the Institute for Museum and Library Services. The National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities are federal independent agencies established under the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act authored by Senator Pell and signed into law by President Johnson on September 29, 1965. The agencies provide grants and support for the arts, preservation of cultural heritage, and the education of all Americans.

The Institute for Museum and Library Service Act was created to improve museum, library, and information services by consolidating federal programs for museums which are administered by the Institute for Museum Services and programs supporting libraries, which are administered by the Department of Education. The legislation was signed into law by President Clinton on September 30, 1996.

Subjects include art education, censorship bills, Christian Action Network, museum funding, individual grants, gay and lesbian art, support for minority projects, and budgetary issues. The series also includes records concerning the President's Committee for the advancement of public understanding of the arts and humanities and the establishment of partnerships with the private sector and federal agencies to address critical issues facing cultural life in the United States.

For more information about Senator Claiborne Pell and his work as a United States Senator, please visit the University of Rhode Island Archives and Special Collections website: http://web.uri.edu/specialcollections/political_papers_list2/senator_pell_papers2/