• Request Info
  • Visit
  • Apply
  • Give
  • Request Info
  • Visit
  • Apply
  • Give

Search

  • A-Z Index
  • Map

Denbo Center for Humanities and the Arts

  • About
    • About the Center
    • Find Us
    • Meet Our Team
    • News & Media
  • Programs
    • Big Hairy Grants
    • Conversations & Cocktails
    • Distinguished Lecture Series
    • Research Seminars
    • Special Events
    • Calendar
  • Initiatives
    • Digital Humanities
    • Energy Humanities
    • Environmental Humanities
    • Medical Humanities
  • Fellows
    • Fellowship Program
    • Meet Our Fellows
    • Chandler Seminars
    • Fellowsโ€™ Publications
  • Resources
    • For Faculty
    • For Students
    • For Departments
  • Giving
  • About
    • About the Center
    • Find Us
    • Meet Our Team
    • News & Media
  • Programs
    • Big Hairy Grants
    • Conversations & Cocktails
    • Distinguished Lecture Series
    • Research Seminars
    • Special Events
    • Calendar
  • Initiatives
    • Digital Humanities
    • Energy Humanities
    • Environmental Humanities
    • Medical Humanities
  • Fellows
    • Fellowship Program
    • Meet Our Fellows
    • Chandler Seminars
    • Fellowsโ€™ Publications
  • Resources
    • For Faculty
    • For Students
    • For Departments
  • Giving
Photo of shadowed people in front of art hung on a wall in a museum

About the Denbo Center

Events Calendar

Advancing Scholarship through Collaboration

The Denbo Center for Humanities and the Arts (DCHA) supports advanced study of the arts and humanities, fosters interdisciplinary research that includes humanistic inquiry, collaborates with public organizations on humanistic and creative projects, and advocates for the social and intellectual value of the humanities and arts. We work locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally to support faculty and student research through fellowships, research mentoring programs, lectures and symposia, exhibitions and performances, grants, and public engagement projects.

The Denbo Center’s Mission

The DCHA provides UT faculty and graduate fellows with vital writing and research time, space, and funding to complete books and large research projects. We provide opportunities for faculty and graduate students to prepare grant proposals, to vet book manuscripts through an external review process, and to bring renowned scholars to campus. We offer internships and research education for graduate students. We also provide support for research and conference travel as well as book subventions for faculty.

The DCHA also promotes the humanities through its public outreach programs and community collaborations. We are a member of the global Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes (CHCI) and of the National Humanities Alliance (NHA), and an affiliate of Humanities Tennessee, and we regularly partner with local as well as national arts and humanities organizations.

DCHA History

We are a relatively young research center on the University of Tennesseeโ€™s flagship campus. A committee of department heads and administrators began work toward establishing the center in 2009 and it was officially established in July 2011. The UT Humanities Center began its first full term of operation in academic year 2012-13, under the leadership of Thomas Heffernan. Amy Elias has been the Humanities Centerโ€™s director since 2017. In 2024, thanks to a generous gift from UT alumnus Don Denbo (’71), the Center was renamed as the Denbo Center for Humanities and the Arts.

Sign up for our HTML Newsletter

The Denbo Center sends out a biweekly e-newsletter for those wishing to keep up with our news and event announcements.

Click here to join our list

Read our 2023-2024 Annual Report

Click here for the report

Message from the Director

Click here to read the message

About the Center
Find Us
Meet Our Team
News & Media
public partnerships

The DCHA partners on arts and humanities outreach with state-wide, national, and international organizations such as Big Ears Festival, Humanities Tennessee, and the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes.

1.5 Years Sooner

Graduate students chosen to spend a year in the DCHA working on their dissertations graduate, on average, 1.5 years sooner, publish their first book sooner, and receive better job offers than other students in the humanities.

Greater Faculty Impact

Faculty who spend a year at the Denbo Center win NEH and other awards and publish award-winning books and research projects more quickly.

Denbo Center for Humanities and the Arts

College of Arts and Sciences

Email: humanitiesctr@utk.edu
Tel.: (865) 974-4222
2230 Sutherland Avenue
Knoxville, TN 37919
UT Humanities Center on Instagram     UT Humanities Center on Facebook     UT Humanities Center on Twitter


The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
865-974-1000

The flagship campus of the University of Tennessee System and partner in the Tennessee Transfer Pathway.

ADA Privacy Safety Title IX