A $150,000 federal grant is helping to boost Peninsula College humanities staff positions and projects impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Funded through a National Endowment for the Humanities CARES Grant, the Indigenous Humanities Culture and Language Project will provide a short-term solution for adding faculty and staff positions, incorporating indigenous humanities into online instruction this summer and fall, and ensuring new digital collection resources and public programs related to indigenous humanities, culture and language preservation continue, college officials said last week.

The grant was awarded June 15 and runs through Dec. 30, 2020.

“This grant funding will help to support faculty and will provide quality instruction and innovative programs and services to students at a time when we need it the most,” Peninsula College President Luke Robins said in a press release.

In addition, the grant funding allows college library staff to create an audio/visual recording lab to digitize existing and new collections, and to engage faculty and students in podcasts and other formats.

“I’m thrilled to explore how this project will extend the PC Library Media Center as not only a provider of resources for the community but as an active partner in the creation of scholarly and artistic texts, media and art,” said Samantha Hines, Associate Dean for Instructional Resources and the NEH grant Project Director.

Funds also support development of a model for co-teaching a Nəxʷsƛ̓ay̓əmúcən (Klallam/S’Klallam language) course — Klallam 121 — in the fall. Linguist Dr. Tim Montler will be joined by three Klallam language-certified co-teachers who are local tribal citizens and tribal members.

In addition, funds will support the development and implementation of a Longhouse Culture Talks series, PC officials said.

For more information, email Hines at shines@pencol.edu.