Kentucky Museum News

The Kentucky Museum at Western Kentucky University has received a $48,384 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through the Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections Grants program. One of 226 projects from across the country to receive funding, the Kentucky Museum is one of three successful applications from Kentucky program-wide to receive an NEH grant.

“NEH is proud to support the many scholars, curators, storytellers, filmmakers, and teachers who are helping preserve, examine, and share the country’s rich and expansive history and culture,” said NEH Chair Shelly C. Lowe (Navajo). “From books and documentaries to the preservation of cultural heritage materials, these 226 exceptional projects will foster the exchange of ideas and increase access to humanities knowledge, resources, and experiences.”

“It is an exciting honor to be recognized as one of three applicants from our state to receive this Sustaining Cultural Heritage grants from such an important federal partner,” shared Brent Bjorkman, Director of the Kentucky Museum.   “As a trusted repository of Kentucky art, history and culture for WKU and the Commonwealth, the Kentucky Museum is grateful to the NEH for their support to allow us to further our ever-evolving work to safeguard our publicly-held treasures.”

This grant will be used to upgrade the functioning of the existing climate control systems in the Kentucky Building. It will initiate low-cost, high-impact measures at the Kentucky Building designed to stabilize temperatures and humidity levels. This project will be a collaboration of the Kentucky Museum staff, WKU Planning, Design & Construction, Facilities Management, Kerr-Greulich, Inc., and Conservator Steven Weintraub. These actions are part of the museum’s Preservation Environment Improvement Plan (PEIP), a multi-year initiative – so far entirely grant-funded – to sustainably upgrade the Museum’s climate control systems and achieve preservation standards that protect collections while maintaining visitor comfort. 

“Preservation is a largely unseen, yet major part, of museum’s duty to the public. Temperature, humidity, and light levels can impact the lifespan of artifacts, so ensuring that every space is able to meet the needs of artifacts on display and in storage is critical to prolonging the useful life of our collections,” stated Tiffany Isselhardt, the Museum’s Exhibit Curator and Development Coordinator. “The continued support of NEH for this project has been invaluable to us, and we are thrilled to continue our journey of ensuring that Kentucky’s heritage is preserved long into the future.”

About the National Endowment for the Humanities

Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at www.neh.gov.

About the Kentucky Museum

The Kentucky Museum is an integral part of WKU’s campus and the South-Central Kentucky community. The Museum actively supports the academic and cultural goals of WKU while providing quality educational experiences and opportunities to engage with Kentucky’s heritage and our relevance in a global society. Thanks to the implementation of free admission, the Museum has grown exponentially over the past three years, from 14,000 visitors in 2019 to over 30,000 in 2021, representing a broad swath of Kentucky residents and tourists.

For more information, contact Tiffany Isselhardt at tiffany.isselhardt@wku.edu.