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About Humanities Solutions
Russell Wyland founded Humanities Solutions with a clear purpose: to strengthen humanities research across colleges and universities. Through the consultancy, he offers expert guidance, strategic insight, and a deep understanding of the funding landscape. Humanities Solutions partners with institutions that are serious about expanding their humanities research capacity and committed to narrowing the gap between well‑resourced campuses and those too often overlooked in the Academy.
The Story
In January 2024, I stepped into a role that felt like the culmination of my career: leading the new NEH Office of Outreach. After decades as a grant maker, I finally had the chance to focus on something that mattered deeply to me—welcoming historically underserved institutions and communities, including HBCUs, HSIs, TCUs, and community colleges, into the federal funding conversation. Our goal was simple: make sure anyone with a good idea had a fair shot at funding. The work was energizing, and the early momentum was real.
When the Outreach initiative abruptly ended a year later, it was a heartbreaking loss. But it didn’t change something fundamental: the need for a helping hand in the humanities is real, remains real, and isn’t going away without committed action. NEH may have stepped back from that work, but I couldn’t.
So, in late 2025, I launched Humanities Solutions. What I offer is the sum of 35+ years of experience—as a high‑level grantor, a researcher, and a partner to faculty and research development professionals. I now work directly with colleges and universities to build thriving ecosystems for humanities research.
I can’t solve every challenge facing the humanities. But I can make a meaningful difference, one institution at a time. That’s the future I’m building toward. I hope you’ll be part of it.
Meet Russell Wyland
Trusted guidance for institutions investing in humanities research
Russell Wyland, PhD, is the founder of HUMANITIES SOLUTIONS, a consultancy dedicated to strengthening the research culture of colleges and universities, especially non‑elite liberal arts colleges and regional public universities. Drawing on more than three decades of experience evaluating scholarly work, developing programs, and mentoring faculty, he helps institutions create the conditions in which humanities researchers can thrive — with clarity, purpose, and long-term sustainability.
Known for his incisive yet humane approach, Russ works at the intersection of strategy, communication, and academic development. He partners with campuses to unlock faculty potential, sharpen institutional identity, and expand the impact of humanities scholarship. His work is guided by a simple conviction: when scholars are supported, institutions grow stronger — and the human story gains depth and direction.
Russell and his spouse split their time between Falls Church, Virginia, and St. Petersburg, Florida. Outside his professional work, he’s an avid cyclist and a volunteer with his local community theater. He also continues his long‑standing research on the early Victorian periodical press.
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Credit: Renee Collins
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