ABERDEEN, S.D.(Press Release) – The Northern State University Center for Public History and Civic Engagement has received a $35,000 grant from the Knight Foundation.

The grant, from the Knight Aberdeen Fund in the South Dakota Community Foundation (SDCF), will fund three years of activities, including a speaker series and continuing education opportunities for K-12 teachers in history and civic engagement.

The Center, which opened this fall on the Northern campus, also sponsors programming such as Constitution Day and National History Day.

“We are very thankful for the Knight Foundation and the South Dakota Community Foundation for helping to fund greater history and civic education,” said Dr. Jon Schaff, director. “Their generosity allows the Center to contribute to a healthier and more informed civil discourse, much needed in our day.”

Located within NSU Williams Library, the Center encourages public interaction with history and history education while promoting greater civic knowledge of an active citizenry through programming, research and archival preservation. It also promotes the importance of historical and civic knowledge as the foundation for a sound republican form of government, hoping to inspire greater appreciation for American history and American constitutional forms.

For more information, visit the NSU Center for Public History and Civic Engagement.

The Knight Aberdeen Fund was established in the SDCF when the Aberdeen American News was sold, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation created the fund to support the community. The Aberdeen Area Community Foundation (AACF) board of directors makes grant recommendations to Knight Foundation.

“We’re proud to be part of this important project,” said Heath Johnson, AACF chair. “We see many benefits from the Center’s mission in Aberdeen and beyond.”