October 28, 2016
The Honorable Lisa Murkowski
Chairman
Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and
Related Agencies
709 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Tom Udall
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and
Related Agencies
531 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Murkowski and Ranking Member Udall,
The executive committee of the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru) urges you to
support a $150 million appropriation for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for Fiscal Year
2017 (FY17) as approved in the House Interior bill. This represents an increase of about $2 million
over FY16 levels.
a2ru is comprised of 36 leading research universities in the United States, committed to fostering
and championing the arts in higher education. As an organization, we value the arts as core to
higher education, and recognize the research university as a driver toward a better world. a2ru
knows 21st century problems require people who can confidently exercise the full range of their
creative and cognitive capacities. Integrating artists and arts practice into high-level research
collaborations expands the range of perspectives and possibilities, yielding more powerful
outcomes.
The NEA gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations,
and develop their creative capacities. The NEA supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates
America’s rich and cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in
every community across America.
Robust funding for the NEA has never been more important. In 1992, the NEA reached its highest
level of funding at $176 million ($284 million in today’s dollars), which is close to double the current
NEA budget of $147.9 million for FY16. In 2013, creative industries added $704.2 billion to the U.S.
economy accounting for 4.32% of the GDP. At the same time, the NEA had a total federal
appropriation of $138.3 million.
Research compiled by Americans for the Arts has identified that America’s nonprofit arts industry
generates $135.2 billion in economic activity every year, resulting in $22.3 billion in federal, state,
and local tax revenues. These numbers suggest that U.S. economic development is absolutely
dependent on arts and design. Increased funding will help to ensure American citizens are engaged
a2ru NEA Funding Support – Continued
with seminal cultural experiences, artistic practice, and research, while contributing to overall
economic growth.
Finally, early exposure to the arts results in improved test scores, improved self-efficacy, learning
skills, health, development of social capital and economic growth but also include more intrinsic
benefits such as captivation, pleasure, expanded capacity for empathy, cognitive growth, creation
of social bonds, and expression of communal meaning. Increasing funding for the NEA will ensure
that programs such as the NEA Military Healing Arts Partnership, Our Town, Art Works, Poetry Out
Loud, Challenge America, The NEA Big Read, and Shakespeare in American Communities can
continue impacting communities across the country.
We strongly urge you to support $150 million for the NEA for FY17 to ensure that all Americans can
benefit from engagement with the arts. We appreciate your time and attention to this request.
Sincerely,
a2ru Executive Committee
Luis Rico-Gutierrez, Chair, a2ru Executive Committee
Dean, College of Design
Iowa State University
William H. Sherman, Vice-Chair, a2ru Executive Committee
Associate Vice President for Research in Design, Arts and Humanities
University of Virginia
Edward Feser, Treasurer, a2ru Executive Committee
Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
University of Michigan | Duderstadt Center, Suite 1400 | 2281 Bonisteel Blvd | Ann Arbor, MI 48109 |
a2ru.org | [email protected] | 734-763-2318
a2ru NEA Funding Support – Continued
Laurie Baefsky, Executive Director
a2ru, University of Michigan
Leila Kinney, Executive Director, MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
R. Benjamin Knapp, Executive Director
Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology
Virginia Tech
Barbara Korner, Dean
College of Arts & Architecture
Pennsylvania State University
Robert Palazzo, Dean
College of Arts and Sciences
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Winston Tabb, Dean
University Libraries and Museums
Johns Hopkins University
Sha Xin Wei, Director
Synthesis Center and School of Arts, Media and Engineering
Arizona State University
University of Michigan | Duderstadt Center, Suite 1400 | 2281 Bonisteel Blvd | Ann Arbor, MI 48109 |
a2ru.org | [email protected] | 734-763-2318
a2ru NEA Funding Support – Continued
Valarie Williams, Associate Dean and Director
Urban Art Lab
The Ohio State University
a2ru Other Supporting Partners:
Arizona State University
Boston University
Carnegie Mellon University
Dartmouth College
Iowa State University
Johns Hopkins University
Kent State University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Michigan State University
Northeastern University
Ohio State University
Pennsylvania State University
Syracuse University
Texas Tech University
University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Cincinnati
University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Colorado Denver
University of Florida
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Iowa
University of Michigan
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
University of Utah
University of Virginia
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Virginia Tech
Washington University in St. Louis
University of Michigan | Duderstadt Center, Suite 1400 | 2281 Bonisteel Blvd | Ann Arbor, MI 48109 |
a2ru.org | [email protected] | 734-763-2318