Newport preservation society lands $500K for fellowship program

By Patrick Anderson
PBN Staff Writer
Twitter: @andersonpbn

NEWPORT – The Preservation Society of Newport County has won a $500,000 challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to establish a fellowship program studying the city’s history.

The Preservation society now has three years to raise the three-to-one match - $1.5 million - required to secure the full value of the grant.

The planned fellowship will provide places for five emerging scholars in the humanities each year to research and write about Newport’s history, study the Preservation Society’s collections and conduct public programs.

The fellows will live in the The Elms Scholars Center being created at historic 1901 Carriage House of The Elms.

“The Fellows Program is a key priority for us,” said Preservation Society CEO and Executive Director Trudy Coxe. “These scholars will conduct original research that enhances the interpretation and deepens the content of the Preservation Society's tours and programs, and add to the body of scholarship on Newport, one of the oldest and most historically intact cities in the nation.”