Providence College Fellows Program on Renewing American Civic Culture Receives $1M+ NEH Grant

Humanities Program at Providence College Receives Seven Figure Grant  -  College  awarded $1,125,554 million to establish Saint Dominic Fellows Program 

Providence College announced that its Humanities Program has received more than $1 million in funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for a three-year project entitled, “Virtuous Citizens: Integrating Virtue and Leadership through the Saint Dominic Fellows Program at Providence College.†This is the largest grant the College has received from NEH.

Raymond Hain, Ph.D., associate professor of philosophy and associate director of the Humanities Program, serves as the project director. He said that the goal of the project is to create a Saint Dominic Fellows program for undergraduates at PC — emphasizing character and leadership development within the context of the Catholic and Dominican intellectual tradition.

“By offering students an integrated education in the riches of the Catholic and Dominican intellectual tradition and civic virtue, alongside mentoring and leadership development, the program hopes to enhance PC’s campus culture and to make a durable and substantive contribution to the renewal of American civic culture,†Hain said.

Fellows will participate in intellectual formation through integrative study, character formation through opportunities to cultivate civic and cardinal virtues, and vocational formation through off-campus experiences and on-campus mentoring designed to foster leadership potential.

The grant was announced in January 2026 as part of $75.1 million awarded to 84 humanities programs around the country. The NEH supports research and study in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation.

PC’s Humanities Program offers two interdisciplinary majors and an interdisciplinary minor, integrating courses in classical and world languages, literature, fine arts, history, theology, and philosophy. The program has grown from 15 degree-seeking students in 2023 to 94 students today.

About National Endowment for the Humanities

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 Providence College

Founded in 1917, Providence College is the only college or university in the United States administered by the Dominican Friars. The Catholic, liberal arts college has an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 4,500 students, 450 graduate students and offers degrees in over 60 academic majors. Since 1997, Providence College consistently has been ranked among the top five regional universities in the North according to U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges.â€Â