The Guam Humanities Council

The Guam Humanities Council (GHC or the Council) is an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), an independent grant-making agency of the United States government. Founded in 1991, the Council is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting community humanities programming for the people of Guam. GHC was organized through an effort spearheaded by George J. Boughton, a professor at the University of Guam. The Council was officially incorporated on September 19, 1991. The original incorporator members were George J. Boughton, Nerissa Bretania-Shafer, Sr. Francis Jerome Cruz, RSM, Eulalia J. Harui-Walsh, Alberto Lamorena, Antonio Leon Guerrero, John Morvant, Rosa Palomo, Remington Rose-Crossley, Robert Underwood and Mary Louise Wheeler.

The Guam Humanities Council was initially established as a granting organization, and since its beginning, GHC has provided community grants every year for local organizations to develop exhibitions, workshops, oral history collections, language preservation projects and publications. While the Council has worked hard to provide foundational support for Guam’s people, GHC also strives to make accessible a variety of humanities-focused programs. Over the years, the Council has even developed its own special projects and activities. Some of the programs offered by GHC include the Motheread/Fatheread® family literacy program, student workshops and concerts for Jazz Appreciation Month, traveling exhibitions from the Smithsonian Institution Museum on Main Street (MoMS) project, and Guampedia, an online encyclopedia about our island home. GHC also works in partnership with local and regional governmental and nonprofit organizations and businesses, including the Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency, the Guam Preservation Trust, the Guam Visitors Bureau, and Pacific Islanders in Communication. These connections help the Council carry out the mission and vision of its founding board, and to make the humanities relevant to everyday people daily lives.

The Guam Humanities Council is governed by an eleven-member volunteer Board of Directors, made up of representatives of academia, the business community, private individuals and gubernatorial appointees. Directors serve an initial three-year term renewable for an additional term. New directors are elected by the sitting members of the Board.

The Council is managed by an Executive Director who oversees the day-to-day operations and reports to the Executive Council of the Board of Directors. As an affiliate of NEH, the Council receives an annual operational grant. The Council raises additional funds for programming and activities through fundraising activities, grant-writing and limited product sales.