IA is proud to share that Pennsylvania State University (Penn State)
is the next campus home for Imagining America, starting July 1, 2027.
After a two-year search process led by the IA National Advisory Board (NAB), where we engaged multiple inspiring campus communities, Penn State emerged as a well prepared and visionary candidate to lead and strengthen the national consortium. We are deeply grateful for partners from all of the potential host campuses who spent time with the NAB and shared with us the good work taking place in their communities.
Penn State’s demonstrated commitment to lifting and catalyzing public service and engaged scholarship, art, and design towards a vibrant and healthy democratic society is just what IA needs in these times. The IA staff and board are eager to engage in a thoughtful transition process with Penn State colleagues over the coming year, as we continue to develop and support the diverse programs and benefits the IA community values.
Please look out for more on the host campus transition from Penn State, coming soon!
Why Host IA?
Mary Croughan
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor, University of California, Davis
Hosting IA is an exciting opportunity to become a national hub in connecting and convening higher education institutions committed to public and engaged scholarship, and to activating the mission, vision, and values of IA. As an organization uniquely positioned to bring people together across common institutional and social divides, there is no more urgent time than now to harness the power of public scholarship and cultural organizing towards campus and societal change.
IA’s Work and Strategic Directions
Led by a distinguished National Advisory Board and UC Davis staff, IA approaches its 25th anniversary as a vibrant and growing national consortium of over 70 higher education institutional members and longstanding cultural partners. Imagining America’s National Gathering is a well-attended convening, serving a diverse range of students, faculty, administrators, and community leaders committed to the power of art, design, and public humanities in transformative change.
Pam Korza
Former Co-Director, Animating Democracy, a Program of Americans for the Arts
Milmon F. Harrison
Academic Vice Provost for Academic Programs, Undergraduate Education and Associate Professor of African American and African Studies, UC Davis.
IA’s virtual programs engage hundreds of constituents on issues emergent from our diverse network. Research initiatives and collaboratives co-create new knowledge on pressing public issues, and public scholarship resources and interactive tools serve and engage membership. The re-launched Foreseeable Futures publication shares the wisdom of community-based culture keepers and thinkers. The Undergraduate Joy of Giving Something (JGS) fellows and Publicly Active Graduate Education (PAGE) graduate student fellows create communities to support the next generation of public artists, designers, and scholars. Learn more about IA’s work and strategic directions here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is leading the transition process?
The IA National Advisory Board (NAB) Transition Committee, chaired by Paul Schadewald, is leading the process to find the next host campus for IA.
What is the timeline for the host campus transition?
Please see the Imagining America Host Campus Transition Timeline tab above. Key dates include:
January 15, 2025 Letters of Interest (LOI) Due
January 15, 2026 Full Proposals Due
Spring-Summer 2026 New Host Announcement
July 1, 2027 First Day of New IA Host
What is the expected term for hosting Imagining America?
Host institutions sign a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Imagining America’s National Advisory Board, renewable once if agreed upon by both parties. During the third year of the first term, a team composed of representatives from the host institution and from the National Advisory Board assess IA’s work and the hosting arrangement.
Is IA an incorporated organization?
No, IA is a national network, fiscally sponsored by an academic host institution. IA staff are employees of the host institution and report to the host campus Office of the Provost and IA’s National Advisory Board. Imagining America is integrated into the fiscal and human resource systems of the host institution.
Who will support the transition of IA to the new host campus?
The IA National Advisory Board will fully support the transition process and will continue to support the host throughout the contracted term. The current IA staff will support the new host in planning for the transition of all IA systems and programs in the year between the selection of the new host in spring 2026 and the new host start date of July 1, 2027.
Do IA staff travel to the new host campus or are new staff hired?
During the 2026-2027 transition year, the National Advisory Board and new host campus will launch a national search for a Faculty Director, a position that requires a tenured faculty line in an academic unit at the host campus. The remaining staff members may be re-hired or replaced at the discretion of the new host campus and new Faculty Director.
Funding has been provided by California Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
