Lehigh Hosts Inaugural Pennsylvania Arts & Humanities: A Statewide Convening

The event began with introductions from Lehigh President Joseph J. Helble ’82, Casey, who gave live remarks over zoom and whose team members were present throughout the day, and Mark Wilson, executive director of Zoellner Arts Center. Wilson encouraged attendees to engage with each other about their work and create new connections during the summit.

Those in the arts and humanities tell the stories of the urban, suburban and rural communities, the broken, the lost, the marginalized, the unforgotten, powerful, powerless, the popular, the unpopular ideas and the famous and infamous people, places and things of Pennsylvania, Wilson said. These stories are told through film, spoken word, literature, music, theater and art.

“Continue to tell these stories,” he urged.

In a prepared statement prior to the event, Casey said Pennsylvania has a long, storied history of producing some of the nation’s finest creative minds, from Andrew Wyeth to Tina Fey.

“By continuing to invest in the arts and humanities, we aren’t just strengthening our world class educational institutions and creating a brighter future for our students—we’re also continuing a tradition which has long made our Commonwealth a great place to live. I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with Lehigh University to support the arts and humanities in Pennsylvania.”

The event featured breakout panel discussions on topics such as exploring public-private partnerships, ensuring accessible arts and culture opportunities for all, and the state of arts, culture and humanities post-COVID.

A highlight was the “fireside chat” moderated by Provost Nathan Urban with Colleen J. Shogan, the 11th archivist of the United States.

Shogan was nominated by President Joseph Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 10. A Pittsburgh native, she previously worked in the U.S. Senate and as a senior executive at the Library of Congress. She was vice chair of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission and Chair of the Board of Directors at the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation.

Working in Washington D.C. where the nation’s founding documents are housed, Shogan said she takes a daily walk to the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom at the National Archives, where the Declaration of Independence and other important papers are on display. In addition to seeing the documents, Shogan said seeing the visitors reminds her why she does what she does. She enjoys the excitement on visitors’ faces when they line up to see the documents. Many of them are usually seeing the documents for the first time, she said.

“We want to preserve that opportunity, that experience for as many Americans for as long as possible,” Shogan said.

To read more about the event, visit Lehigh Valley News and WFMZ.