Sponsors & Giving

MITH is deeply indebted to the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), whose award of a $410,000 Challenge Grant in December 1998 enabled MITH to begin operations in Fall 1999, a semester ahead of schedule. By Spring 2000 MITH was fully operational, with Fellows at work full-time. A non-profit organization committed to education and research, MITH is made possible by a variety of contributions from public and private sources. Besides the support of NEH, the following sponsors have made MITH possible:

Corporate Sponsors

Apple Computers - 10 all-in-one Macintosh G3s (valued at $22,000) to be used in MITH’s training center/computer studio.

IBM Corporation - 2 nodes on an IBM 9076SP, an automated tape library, and a disk array to be used in conjunction with the IBM Digital Library and Video Charger technologies (valued at $253,500).

Sun Microsystems - 4 Sun Ultra10, Model 440 Workstations, from the Academic Equipment Grant (AEG) Program (valued at $41,160).

University of Maryland

College of Arts & Humanities - Contributions to support operating budget, staff, administration, programs, equipment, and hosting the Electronic Literature Organization.

University of Maryland Libraries - Contributions to support operating budget, staff, facilities, and hosting the Electronic Literature Organization, as well as space allocation and maintenance for MITH’s physical center in UMdÕs central library, McKeldin.

Office of Information Technology - Contributions for infrastructure support and operation, as well as server administration.

Graduate School - Contribution to support graduate assistants.

Department of English - Contributions to support hosting the Electronic Literature Organization.

University of Maryland - Graduate and undergraduate workstudy students.

Contributing to MITH

Engaging undergraduates as well as graduate students and faculty in research, MITH is deeply committed to preparing scholars and professionals for the twenty-first century workforce and academic community. If you support our crucial role in what is the most profound transformation in the Humanities since the invention of print, we would greatly appreciate your contributions.

Donations can be to MITH generally or can be specifically designated for any of our research projects and programs, as well as to the following two funds:

  • The Jennifer Fajman General MITH Fund.

    Had Jennifer Fajman, Executive Director, Office of Information Technology Academic and Distributed Services, not supported MITH during the writing of our start-up Challenge Grant Proposal, MITH would not be. Continuing to serve tirelessly on MITH’s Internal Advisory Board, Fajman’s support has proved unstinting. Upon her retirement, she asked that any gifts to celebrate her career achievements be to support MITH or the Gannon Scholarship Fund. MITH is proud to establish a fund in her honor.

  • The Earl W. Smith Digital Desegregation Fund.

    Earl W. Smith served on the highest courts of Texas and received many honors and awards from the American Bar Association for his work both as a lawyer and as a distinguished jurist. But Smith was most proud of the fact that as a school board member in the 1950s, he was instrumental in desegregating the San Angelo, Texas Public Schools (the first in Texas to be desegregated) immediately after Brown vs. the Board of Education became the law of the land. He never received an award for this work and did not believe that one was appropriate, for he was just doing the right and just thing. Upon his death in March 2001, his family established this fund at MITH and has specified that money given in his honor be used to turn Digital Divides into Digital Opportunities.

Please also contact us about naming opportunities for fellowships, lectureships, awards, workstations, and the institute itself.

Checks should be made payable to the University of Maryland CP Foundation, and in the subject area write MITH. And, if desired, also indicate for which particular fund or project. All funds should be directed to:

Professor Neil Fraistat
Director, MITH
McKeldin Library
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742