Joe Blake Center for Engaged Humanities
Formally named the Joe Blake Center for Engaged Humanities in 2024, the Blake Center’s mission is to support and cultivate the humanities at Colorado State University such that the university intensifies its national and international recognition as a leader in fundamental, public, and engaged humanities and as a leading voice in humanities and critical social science approaches to democracy.
The Blake Center intends to realize its mission by focusing on three interconnected goals.
The goals and related key initiatives are:
To support research—both engaged and fundamental—in the humanities and adjacent disciplines, through a faculty Fellows program, funded research collaboratives, and extensive sponsored research presentations.
To advocate for the humanities within the university and in our various communities, by celebrating humanities work, developing white papers, and training the next generation of humanities leaders.
To serve as a convenor and collaborative hub for CLA and CSU’s democracy initiatives, through an annual Democracy Summit, an engaged symposium, and curriculum development.
Research
Blake Research Fellows
The Blake Research Fellows programs provides funding for course releases and other research support fostering basic and engaged humanities research. Research fellows are expected to meet regularly to build research community.
Democracy Initiatives
Democracy Summit: March 5-7, 2025
Save the date for the university's second Democracy Summit. Organized by the College of Liberal Arts Steering Committee on Democracy, the Summit will be held in the Lory Student Center March 5-7, 2025.
The event is open to both the campus and local community and will feature nationally prominent keynote speakers.
Center Leadership
Director
Greg Dickinson
- Professor
- Director - Joe Blake Center for Engaged Humanities
Steering Committee
Facilities
The Blake Center for Engaged Humanities will move into its purpose-built space on the top floor of the new Clark B (Image) in June, 2027. The Center space will included a 100-person, multi-purposed space ideal for research presentations, community meetings, and donor functions. This meeting room opens onto a west-facing deck, provided outdoor gathering spaces. There will be catering kitchen offering coffee and tea throughout the day and offering ideal space for before or after presentation receptions and offering a space for caters to stage meals. The Center will also have a library, smaller meeting spaces, and offices that will house Center staff and the staff and faculty of associated centers.
History
In 2023, the National Endowment for the Humanities stamped the approved Center’s early plans, awarding CSU a $500,000 Infrastructure and Capacity-Building Challenge Grant to help build the physical space of the Blake Center on the fourth floor of the reimagined Clark B Building. The College of Liberal Arts is raising funds to match the NEH grant. The first $500,000 comes from a $5 million gift from former Chancellor Joe Blake and an additional $1.25 million has been placed in an endowment as seed funds for the Blake Center’s programming.
Joe Blake was the Chancellor of Colorado State University from 2009-2011. He continued to serve as Chancellor Emeritus until 2022 advocating for CSU until his death in 2022.
News
