An Open Letter to Faculty in the Humanities

My name is Dot Porter, and I'm the Program Coordinator at the Collaboratory for Research in Computing for Humanities (RCH) here at UK. RCH has been around for a number of years, but not many faculty are even aware of its existence. The stated mission of RCH is "[to bring] together faculty and students from Engineering and the Humanities for research projects with benefits for all involved. RCH provides infrastructure, technical assistance, and grant writing assistance to individuals and groups who propose projects under its auspices. RCH also encourages and supports interdisciplinary projects among individuals and groups from UK and around the world." We have an office and computer lab (which is also outfitted for meetings) in the William T. Young Library.

RCH website: http://www.rch.uky.edu/

As you can see from our website, we have several active projects. Some are funded, some not yet; some are very small and some involve large numbers of collaborators. The size and organization of the various projects really depends on the needs and comfort level of the scholars involved. We are actively seeking out faculty on campus who are interested in applying technology to their research. We are especially interested in assisting with new projects at the earliest stages, with the eventual aim of continuing project development through the support of outside funding. Most of our grant experience has been with National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Science Foundation, but we are also able to assist with grant writing on the state and local level, as well as for other national granting agencies.

This year I am reaching out to faculty across campus to make them aware of our existence, and to encourage them to consider digital/electronic applications as part of their research strategy. Now is the time to make a push. As you know, this Fall the National Endowment for the Humanities announced their Digital Humanities Initiative, which stresses electronic editing and dissemination in current and future government funding in the humanities.* RCH is in a position to assist with a shift towards digital research, and as RCH continues to grow we will rely on faculty input to determine what kind of organization would best reflect the interests and meet the needs of UK humanists interested in generating e-scholarship.

Thank you very much for your time, and I look forward to meeting you.

Dot Porter, MA, MSLS
RCH Program Coordinator

*NEH Digital Humanities Initiative: http://www.neh.gov/grants/digitalhumanities.html