South Carolina Humanities is pleased to announce the 2022 recipients of the Governor’s Awards in the Humanities and the Fresh Voices in the Humanities Awards.
Established in 1991, the Governor’s Awards recognize outstanding achievement in humanities research, teaching, and scholarship; institutional and individual participation in helping communities in South Carolina better understand our cultural heritage or ideas and issues related to the humanities; excellence in defining South Carolina’s cultural life to the nation or world; and exemplary support for public humanities programs. The 2022 recipients of the Governor’s Awards in the Humanities are Jack Alterman, an acclaimed photographer specializing in the people and places of Charleston, including its architecture and cultural preservation; Beryl Dakers, a broadcast trailblazer for 40+ years and an award-winning documentary filmmaker; and Dr. Gail Wagner, Professor Emerita at the University of South Carolina and a prominent Southeastern paleoethnobotanist and archaeologist.
SC Humanities recently introduced the Fresh Voices in the Humanities Awards as a way to recognize innovative individuals who use culture and history to bring people together, but whose efforts may have gone relatively unnoticed beyond their own community. The 2022 recipients of the Fresh Voices in the Humanities Awards are Dr. Len Lawson, Assistant Professor at Newberry College, published poet, and advocate for South Carolina’s African-American poets; and Dr. Rhondda R. Thomas, Calhoun Lemon Professor of Literature at Clemson University who contributed significant research on the history of African Americans at Clemson.
Learn more about this year’s winners and see a list of past recipients on the Governor’s Awards page of SC Humanities’ website.
The Governor’s Awards in the Humanities Award Ceremony and Luncheon will be held at the Pastides Alumni Center in Columbia, South Carolina on Thursday, October 20, 2022. Table sponsorships are available, as well as individual tickets. To reserve your table and learn more about this event, visit the Governor’s Awards Sponsor page or call 803-771-2477.
The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Now entering its 50th year as the state humanities council for South Carolina, this 501(c)3 organization is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos, and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually.
