Lecture and Q&A with Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities Shelly C. Lowe

Shelly C. Lowe, chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities, will give a public lecture and Q&A on Friday, March 3, in South College Room W245 at 12:30 p.m. The event, which is open to the public, is sponsored by the College of Humanities & Fine Arts. 

Following the lecture, Director of Public Interest Technology Francine Berman will moderate a roundtable conversation with HFA faculty on "The Current and Future State of Humanities Research" at 1:30 p.m., also in South College Room W245. Panelists include:  

• Anne Kerth, assistant professor, W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies 
• Ned Markosian, professor, Department of Philosophy 
• Sarah Patterson, assistant professor, Department of English 
• Joseph Pater, professor and chair, Department of Linguistics 
• Emiliano Ricciardi, associate professor, Department of Music and Dance 
• Malcolm Sen, associate professor, Department of English 
• Anthony Tuck, professor and chair, Department of Classics and Department of Languages, Literatures, & Cultures 

Lowe is a citizen of the Navajo Nation and grew up on the Navajo Reservation in Ganado, Arizona. From 2015 to 2021 she served as a member of the National Council on the Humanities, the 26-member advisory body to NEH, an appointment she received from President Obama.  

Lowe’s career in higher education has included roles as Executive Director of the Harvard University Native American Program, Assistant Dean in the Yale College Dean’s Office, and Director of the Native American Cultural Center at Yale University. Prior to these positions, she spent six years as the Graduate Education Program Facilitator for the American Indian Studies Programs at the University of Arizona.  

Lowe has served in a variety of leadership roles nationally, most recently as a member of the University of Arizona Alumni Association Governing Board and of the Challenge Leadership Group for the MIT Solve Indigenous Communities Fellowship. In addition, Lowe has also served on the board of the National Indian Education Association and as a trustee on the board for the National Museum of the American Indian.  

Lowe holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, a Master of Arts in American Indian Studies, and has completed doctoral coursework in Higher Education from the University of Arizona. 

South College Room W245