TWU alumna Oswalt named to NHC Advisory Council

June 13, 2022 - DENTON - Texas Woman’s University alumna Amanda Oswalt has been named to the National Humanities Center’s Teacher Advisory Council for 2022-23.

"I already have a love for the humanities," said Oswalt, who earned a PhD in rhetoric from TWU in 2021 and teaches at Collin College in Frisco. "To be able to work with educational programs on a national level, things that can help influence students and teachers, is a really exciting opportunity."

The council, which has 20 members from 14 states, works with the Center’s staff in piloting, evaluating and promoting resources and programs to support humanities education and development at the secondary and post-secondary levels. Oswalt will be on the council for one year.

"What the Teacher Advisory Council does is support those educational programs," Oswalt said. "We play an active role in developing, evaluating and promoting the Center's resources."

The National Humanities Center was formed in the 1970s, and provides resources to further understanding of cultural expression, social interaction and human thought; strengthens teaching in secondary and post-secondary education; and promotes the humanities through public engagement.

“The Center’s education resources and webinars are used by teachers all over the country,” said Andy Mink, NHC vice president for education programs. “And our teacher advisors help ensure that we deliver classroom tools and professional development experiences that are not only rich in scholarly content but pedagogically sound and relevant in a wide variety of classroom settings.”

Oswalt's initial contact with NHC came as she was preparing to defend her dissertation at TWU.

"One of my committee members, Dr. Genevieve West, forwarded me information on a webinar about Abigail Adams (wife of President John Adams and mother of President John Quincy Adams)," Oswalt said. "She was one of the first ladies my dissertation focused on."

That webinar and other NHC resources allowed Oswalt to interact with authors whose books played a role in her research.

"I started getting emails about these amazing webinars and resources," Oswalt said. "It's only been about a year that I've been involved with them, and I've been so invested in them. I feel like this is a great opportunity to dive into those materials. I'm really excited about looking at those resources and how they can be implemented, and how I can implement these resources in my own classes."

Oswalt will begin her council membership with a two-day orientation in Durham, North Carolina in September.

Page last updated 1:04 PM, October 5, 2022