Martine Brownley, the Goodrich C. White Professor of English and founding director of the Bill and Carol Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry, received the 2009 Governor’s Award in the humanities category.

According to the program website, the Governor’s Awards in the Humanities “presents these awards to individuals and organizations who build community, character and citizenship in Georgia through public humanities education.”

The application process is by nomination.

“I didn’t make an application. I opened my mail, and it was from the Governor’s office,” said Brownley, who is the fourth person at Emory to receive a Governor’s Award. “Nobody will admit it, but I think I know who [nominated me]. It was a group effort. Whoever it was, I want to thank them. They have my deepest thanks.”

Vice President and Secretary of the University Rosemary Magee commended Brownley’s vast array of work, saying: “She is a very committed and articulate spokesperson for the humanities over a career that spans teaching, research and public service.”

Brownley said the Governor’s Award is an opportunity to put the humanities front and center and is a way to recognize the role of the Fox Center. Brownley added that the humanities is one of the cores of Emory’s mission.

“Paradoxically, something this important is easy to forget,” Brownley said.

The Fox Center operates by serving as a residential center and coordinating humanities programming, including the undergraduate honors reception and research grants.

Brownley has taught numerous undergraduate classes but acknowledged that a gap between undergraduates and the Fox Center exists. But a new partnership between the Center and the Scholarly Inquiry and Research and Emory program for undergraduates will generate more undergraduate involvement, Brownley said.

Brownley’s research focuses on early modern English historiography, or how history is written. She is the principal investigator on a National Endowment for Humanities (NEH) Challenge Grant, where the team raises money that is matched by the grant-giving organization. This grant funds the Center and its future endeavors, she said.

— Contact Esther Yang.