The Center of the American West at the University of 欧美口爆视频 at Boulder has received a $330,000 grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to support the center's work tracking changes in the region.
The grant is the largest in the center's 11-year history.
"The Hewlett Grant is a wonderful vote of confidence in the center," said history Professor Patricia Limerick, co-founder and chair of the center. "The Hewlett Foundation shares our belief that the West urgently needs clear, productive conversation about its past, present and future."
Over the next two years, the center plans to create future development scenarios for the region, projecting how much land might be developed over the next 25, 50 and 100 years. The center also will hold small workshops to identify and discuss important regional trends, such as economic cycles and shifts in land ownership.
The center's efforts to track changes in the West began with the 1997 publication of the "Atlas of the New West," which used maps, photographs and essays to convey how the region was changing. While the common image of the West is of open spaces with the occasional cowboy or homesteader, the atlas showed how many places bear little resemblance to such a picture.
A $60,000 Hewlett Foundation grant the center received last year is helping to fund the "Handbook of the New West," a project aimed at providing information that every Westerner needs to know. Limerick and geography Professor William Riebsame are gathering responses for the upcoming book via the Internet and a series of community meetings.
The new grant also will fund the "Speaking Western" project, which encourages communication between scholars and the general public, and will provide for a series of gatherings among other Western regional study centers.
"In all our projects, we benefit greatly -- and equally -- from the participation of natural scientists and poets, musicians and legal scholars," Limerick said. "The Hewlett Grant permits us to pursue our dream with even greater energy: The dream of drawing the remarkably talented faculty and students of this university into a deep and productive relationship with the residents of this region."
Co-founded by Limerick and Distinguished Law Professor Charles Wilkinson, the Center of the American West uses many creative means to engage Westerners in discussions about their region's future. It hosts dozens of events each year, including seminars, conferences and theatrical presentations such as "The Urban-Rural Divorce in the American West," which has been presented more than 20 times.
More information about center activities can be found at or by calling (303) 492-4879.