Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities

The Center began its programs in January 1988 under the sponsorship of the College of Arts and Science (Vanderbilt University). The Center quickly became an intellectual center of activity, providing opportunities for faculty members in different disciplines and with related research and teaching interests to learn and study with each other. Shortly after the Center's inception, the University chose to name the program in honor of one of its most prominent graduates in the arts and humanities, Robert Penn Warren.

In 1989, The Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities was awarded a $480,000 Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to assist in establishing a permanent endowment for the program. This award signifies the nationally recognized achievements of the Center and helps to ensure its long-term future.