U.S. Rep. David Price, the former Duke professor of political science and public policy who has represented the university's district in Congress for all but two of the past 25 years, will be honored Friday, Oct. 21, for his long-time support of the humanities.
Thomas Ross, president of the 17-campus University of North Carolina system, will present Price with the 2010 John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities on behalf of the North Carolina Humanities Council. Duke President Richard H. Brodhead also will deliver the annual Caldwell Lecture in the Humanities at the event, which is free and open to the public. The event begins at 7 p.m. at Duke's Nasher Museum of Art.
Brodhead is co-chair of the National Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences, which Price and other congressional leaders called on the American Academy of Arts and Sciences to establish earlier this year. The commission seeks to bolster teaching and research in the humanities and social sciences through efforts in Congress, state governments, universities, nonprofits and schools. Its members range from musician Emmylou Harris, actor John Lithgow and filmmaker George Lucas to former Supreme Court Justice David Souter, scholars, corporate leaders, policymakers and the current presidents of Harvard, Stanford and other universities.
The North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, presents the Caldwell Award annually. The honor pays tribute to "individuals whose life and work illuminate one or more of the multiple dimensions of human life where the humanities come into play: civic, personal, intellectual, and moral."
Previous recipients with ties to Duke include John Hope Franklin, Reynolds Price and Mary Duke Biddle Trent Seamans.
Additional information about Friday's event is available from the council's Jennifer McCollum, (336) 334-5704, jmccollum@nchumanities.org.