When the Text Studies Committee at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln began discussing the internet’s impact on education and research in 1995, they were not seeking to become leaders in the digital humanities arena. In fact, the term hadn’t even been coined. They were simply trying to stay with the times. But by creating the E-Text Center that served all University of Nebraska-Lincoln libraries, the university was on track to become a leader in the Digital Humanities environment.
The E-Text Center became the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities in 2005. The university attracted a $384,000 award from the National Endowment for the Humanities in the early phases for the Omaha and Ponca Digital Dictionary, a site to explore the Omaha and Ponca languages. The Center has also launched projects on the Civil War, Cuban Battlefields, and a study of the Great Plains.
By investing in hiring digital humanities professors, the digital humanities program continues to thrive. The strength of the university’s strength could be seen at the Digital Humanities 2016 Conference in Poland, where several professors gave presentations to their colleagues from around the world.