On April 17, 2026, over 60 humanities faculty from community colleges across New Jersey met at Princeton University to discuss the centrality of the humanities to higher education and civic life in the state.
The event, which was co-organized by NJCH, Princeton University’s Program for Community College Engagement, the Princeton Humanities Initiative, and the New Jersey Council of County Colleges, was the second annual convening of humanities faculty from New Jersey’s two-year colleges at Princeton.
The keynote presentation prompted participants to consider their teaching and research as part of a national conversation about the value of the humanities in higher education. Brian Stipelman, dean of arts and humanities at Frederick Community College and co-editor of a new report, The Promise of the Humanities at Community Colleges, led a conversation about the roles of two-year public colleges in their communities.
“As our most accessible and democratic institutions of higher education, community colleges are fundamentally made up of and for their communities,” said NJCH CEO Carin Berkowitz. “Their deep local connections inspire work that extends far beyond the humanities classroom while also breathing new life into its confines.”
The event was one example of NJCH’s continuing work to support the humanities at New Jersey community colleges. Click here to learn more about NJCH’s work with community colleges.
Read more about the Princeton convening on the Princeton Humanities Initiative website.
(Photo by T. Kevin Birch)
