Welcome to the Delta Center for Culture and Learning
“Citizens kept ignorant of their history are robbed of the riches of their heritage.”
-Bruce Cole, Chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities
The mission of The Delta Center is to promote greater understanding of Mississippi Delta culture and history and its significance to the world through education, partnerships, and community engagement.
The Delta Center for Culture and Learning is a “Center of Excellence” at Delta State University. Delta State University is one the eight universities in Mississippi governed by the Institutions of Higher Learning. The Delta Center is an interdisciplinary program that focuses on the humanities and social sciences as they relate to the Delta. The Delta Center had its beginning in the year 2000. Dr. David Potter, the President of Delta State University at that time, and Dr. John Thornell, former Provost of the university, invited Dr. Luther Brown to become the founding Director of The Delta Center for Culture and Learning.
The Delta Center advances Delta State University’s participation in promoting and celebrating the unique heritage of the Delta while also addressing the longstanding social, economic, and cultural challenges that inhibit regional advancement. The Delta Center has fulfilled this role since its inception and continues to do so by:
- Serving as management entity for the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area, a cultural heritage and economic development partnership between the people of the Mississippi Delta and the National Park Service;
- Housing the International Delta Blues Project, which comprises the International Conference on the Blues, a Blues Studies program, and a Blues Leadership Incubator promoting economic development and entrepreneurship related to Blues tourism and the creative economy;
- Hosting “The Most Southern Place on Earth: Music, Culture and History of the Mississippi Delta,” a Landmarks of American History and Culture workshop funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities which brings K-12 educators to the Delta for a week-long educational and cultural immersion experience; and
- Working throughout the Delta region and nationally with cultural, educational and tourism organizations, local, state and federal agencies, and visiting college classes and groups from around the country and the world, providing information, expertise, and experiential learning and partnership development opportunities.
The Delta Center is located in Ewing Hall, Suite 130, at Delta State University. We welcome visitors regularly and enthusiastically . . . come by and see us!
