Governor Larry Hogan today announced that he will be providing $1 million to Washington College in his forthcoming Fiscal Year 2023 budget proposal to fund a new senior position within the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience to honor the historic legacy of long-time Maryland Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller, Jr., who passed away in January of this year.

The Miller Director of Civic Engagement will oversee programs that utilize history to address contemporary challenges and involve Washington College students in projects that imbue them with a sense of civic responsibility toward their communities, state, and nation.

“I can think of no better way to honor President Miller’s life and cement his legacy than to fund this directorship dedicated to supporting the very principles to which my good friend committed his historic career in public service,” said Governor Hogan.  “The programs that this endowment makes possible will instill in future generations the same civic mindedness, appreciation of history, and love for our state that made President Miller a giant in Maryland politics for so many decades.”

The Starr Center is a nationally recognized interdisciplinary institute that combines liberal arts and public service through civic engagement programs that serve as models for other institutions of higher education throughout Maryland and across the country.

President Miller was a longtime friend and ardent supporter of Washington College. In 2007, he received an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree in recognition of his leadership and commitment to the education and welfare of all Marylanders.

“I am delighted that Governor Hogan has taken this opportunity to celebrate the enormous scope of Mike Miller’s contributions to the State of Maryland through the establishment of the Miller Director of Civic Engagement,” said Jack S. Griswold, longtime chair of the Board of Visitors and Governors and former president of Washington College.  “Mike was a great friend to the College and to me personally, and I am overwhelmed that his heritage of leadership and public service will be preserved through this important work, engaging our students with our communities, state, and nation.”

“Governor Hogan’s decision will benefit students throughout Washington College, as well as members of the broader community,” said Adam Goodheart, the Starr Center’s Hodson Trust-Griswold Director. “The Starr Center’s new Miller Director of Civic Engagement will work with faculty from many departments to create dynamic learning and service opportunities on and off campus. This educator will instill a deep commitment to social justice, personal ethics, and public service — setting our undergraduates on course to lead lives of purpose and passion.”

Programs initiated, led, and supported by the Miller Director of Civic Engagement will include:

• Internships, fellowships, and research projects that allow Washington College students to work with some of America’s most distinguished institutions.
• Collaborations with local grassroots Maryland nonprofits on projects related to history, civic engagement, and the humanities.
• Chesapeake Heartland: An African American Humanities Project, a major collaboration with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, fostering research, public programs, and community outreach that promote the Chesapeake region as the heartland of African American heritage.
• A program in ethics and civic engagement that teaches students an ethos of integrity and public service through hands-on programs that bring them into communities on the Eastern Shore.

Chartered by the Maryland General Assembly in 1782, Washington College is the oldest institution of higher education in the state and was the first college founded in the newly independent United States.

The Apollo Theater, Smithsonian American Art Museum, National Portrait Gallery, the National Constitution Center, the Human Rights Campaign, and Library of Congress—these are just a few of the institutions where Washington College students are interning this summer through the College’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience. The Starr Center has placed 27 students with internships as part of its Explore America internship program. Representing thirteen majors and all four class years, students are gaining valuable experience while earning stipends in the process.

“This program is truly unique, offering Washington College undergraduates opportunities unmatched at other small liberal arts schools,” said Adam Goodheart, the Starr Center’s Hodson Trust-Griswold Director. “Working with the leadership at major national nonprofits, we arrange for them to set aside positions each summer specifically for our students. Faculty members who know the applicants well carefully match them with the opportunities that will benefit them the most. Finally, we pay the students stipends of up to $5,000 for their summer work.”

Kyle Roberts, Associate Director of Library & Museum Programming at Philadelphia’s American Philosophical Society, has been hosting Explore America summer interns for several years.

“The American Philosophical Society greatly values its partnership with the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience. Each summer we look forward to inviting bright Washington College undergraduates into ongoing archival and digital projects at the nation’s oldest learned society,” he said. “From historic immigration records to a revision of the guide to our African American history collections, the paid interns from the Starr Center work alongside our professional staff to unlock new knowledge that is changing how we understand the past.”

Although most of the internships are indeed virtual this summer, due to COVID precautions, several are not. The National Aquarium in Baltimore is providing soon-to-be senior and chemistry major Hannah Flayhart with a hands-on experience in conservation education.

“Working with guests and children at the National Aquarium this summer has given me a better understanding of what I want to do in the future. I want to continue to engage with people, not only to inform them about animals or science, but also to get across conservation tactics that can help protect our planet,” said Flayhart.

Since the program’s inception at Washington College a decade ago, it has offered over $700,000 in funding to more than 160 students. Financial support comes from an array of private donors and institutional grants.

“By paying the recipients enough to support summer living expenses, the Explore America program levels the socioeconomic playing field and brings more diverse young people into the world of nonprofit leadership,” said Goodheart.

“The work that our students do — from helping plan Smithsonian exhibitions to doing research for forthcoming books — gives them valuable experience and introduces them to mentors who sometimes change the course of their lives.”

It’s also an impressive line for students’ resumes when they enter the work world, and in some cases, the realization of a childhood dream.

“The Explore America internship program is one of the reasons I chose to attend Washington College,” said 2021 Washington College graduate Katy Shenk. “I’m so grateful to the Starr Center for making these experiences possible. Both of my internship positions have allowed me to explore the field of public history through hands-on work and truly rewarding projects.”

Shenk said that her 2019 Explore America internship with the prestigious Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in New York City inspired her to later design and lead an independent World War II curriculum project when she returned to the Starr Center the following year. This summer, Shenk is interning through Explore America with the Smithsonian American Art Museum, as a curatorial research assistant.

“I’m doing the work of a historian—locating, interpreting, and critically evaluating primary and secondary source materials—a process I refined through many engaging, well-taught history seminars at Washington College. I’m confident these experiences not only helped me secure a place in American University’s graduate public history program but have provided me with the skills and knowledge of the field necessary to thrive there as well.”

About the Starr Center

Washington College’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience explores the American experience in all its diversity and complexity, seeks creative approaches to illuminating the past, and inspires thoughtful conversation informed by history. Through educational programs, scholarship and public outreach, the Starr Center bridges the divide between the academic realm and the broader world, while offering dynamic hands-on opportunities to Washington College undergraduates from a wide range of majors. More information can be found at starrcenter.washcoll.edu.

About Washington College

Founded in 1782, Washington College is the tenth-oldest college in the nation and the first one chartered after American independence. It enrolls approximately 1,250 undergraduates from more than 35 states and a dozen nations. With an emphasis on hands-on, experiential learning in the arts and sciences, and more than 40 multidisciplinary areas of study, the College is home to nationally recognized academic centers in the environment, history, and writing. Learn more at washcoll.edu.

Seven books published in 2020 by the country’s most prominent historians have been named finalists for the George Washington Prize. The annual award recognizes the past year’s best works on the nation’s founding era, especially those that have the potential to advance a broad public understanding of early American history.

“Every day we see evidence that Americans care deeply about the history of the founding of the United States,” commented Doug Bradburn, President of George Washington’s Mount Vernon. “Each of these books provides a window into that transformational era, and sheds light as well on the world we are all making together… all worthy finalists in a very competitive field.”

Created by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, and Washington College, the $50,000 George Washington Prize is one of the nation’s largest and most notable literary awards.

“At a time when questions about America’s past are so central to discussions of our nation’s present and future, books like these are essential reading,” said Adam Goodheart, Director of Washington College’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience.

Written to engage a wide public audience, the selected books provide a “go-to” reading list for anyone interested in learning more about George Washington, his contemporaries, and the founding of the United States of America.

The 2021 George Washington Prize finalists are (in alphabetical order):

• Mark Boonshoft, Aristocratic Education and the Making of the American Republic (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press)
• Vincent Brown, Tacky’s Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War (Cambridge: Harvard University Press)
• Peter Cozzens, Tecumseh and the Prophet: The Shawnee Brothers Who Defied a Nation (New York: Alfred A. Knopf)
• Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, The Age of Phyllis (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press)
• Michael W. McConnell, The President Who Would Not Be King: Executive Power under the Constitution (Princeton: Princeton University Press)
• Mary Beth Norton, 1774: The Long Year of Revolution (New York: Alfred A. Knopf)
• William G. Thomas III, A Question of Freedom: The Families Who Challenged Slavery from the Nation’s Founding to the Civil War (New Haven: Yale University Press)

The prize will be awarded to the 2021 winner at a ceremony held at Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home in Virginia, on October 20, 2021.  The ceremony will also recognize past winner, Rick Atkinson, for his book The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777 (Henry Holt), as it was not possible to hold the event in person last year.

More information about the George Washington Prize is available at www.mountvernon.org/gwprize

ABOUT THE SPONSORS OF THE GEORGE WASHINGTON PRIZE

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Now celebrating its twenty-fifth year, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History was founded in 1994 by Richard Gilder and Lewis E. Lehrman, visionaries and lifelong supporters of American history education. The Institute is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to K–12 history education while also serving the general public. Its mission is to promote the knowledge and understanding of American history through educational programs and resources.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is supported through the generosity of individuals, corporations, and foundations. The Institute’s programs have been recognized by awards from the White House, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Organization of American Historians, and the Council of Independent Colleges. Learn more at gilderlehrman.org.

George Washington’s Mount Vernon

Since 1860, more than 85 million visitors have made George Washington’s Mount Vernon the most popular historic home in America. Through thought-provoking tours, entertaining events, and stimulating educational programs on the estate and in classrooms across the nation, Mount Vernon strives to preserve George Washington’s place in history as “First in War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of His Countrymen.” Mount Vernon is owned and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, America’s oldest national preservation organization, founded in 1853. In 2013, Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association opened the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington, which safeguards original books and manuscripts and serves as a center for research, scholarship, and leadership development. Learn more at mountvernon.org.

Washington College

Washington College was founded in 1782, the first institution of higher learning established in the new republic. George Washington was not only a principal donor to the college, but also a member of its original governing board. He received an honorary degree from the college in June 1789, two months after assuming the presidency. The college’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience explores the American experience in all its diversity and complexity, seeks creative approaches to illuminating the past, and inspires thoughtful conversation informed by history. Learn more at www.washcoll.edu.