SUNY New Paltz Professor Fife accepted in National Endowment for Humanities semi

NEW PALTZ — State University of New York at New Paltz English Professor Ernelle Fife heads to Hershey, Pa., this summer to participate in a highly selective research seminar.

A current resident of New Paltz, Fife has been teaching at SUNY New Paltz for five years. She has taught courses such as Women in Literature, The Novel, and English Literature 1 and 2. However, 18th century English literature is her specialty.

Fife has been accepted into the National Endowment for the Humanities, which provides grants for high-quality humanities projects in four main areas: research, preserving and providing access to cultural resources, education and public programs.

“I am delighted that Dr. Ernelle Fife has been admitted to an NEH Summer Seminar this year,” said Gerald Benjamin, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “This award is richly deserved, and continues a long established tradition of New Paltz liberal arts faculty being selected for this important, highly competitive national program.”

Benjamin himself was at an NEH seminar in 1981. New Paltz political science assistant professor Jeff Miller attended last year’s seminar and political science associate professor Nancy Kassop attended the seminar a few years ago at Princeton University.

Professors are selected through a competitive admissions process to attend various summer seminars and receive stipends to cover living, travel and research material expenses. This year NEH awarded a total of $30.9 million in the form of 345 grants nationwide in all four research areas.

Fife is among 15 seminar participants who will work alongside one or two scholars over a four-week period. She will be attending a seminar called “Medicine, Literature and Culture” at Pennsylvania State College of Medicine.

After the seminar, Fife will have two projects completed: developing a syllabus for a medicine and literature course at New Paltz and the completion of a manuscript on teaching medicine and literature.

“It is a fantastic opportunity for me,” said Fife. “This is an incredible interdisciplinary institute combining medicine, cultural studies and literature.”