The Past and Future of the Humanities? A Conversation with Katherine Fleming

Then & Now

In the wake of the pandemic and persistent underfunding, cultural and educational institutions in the United States today are increasingly confronted with an uncertain fate. How can they sustain growth, enfranchise new audiences, and increase diversity at a time when “the death of the humanities” looms on the horizon?

In this episode of Then & Now, Katherine E. Fleming, the president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, brings her rich experiences as historian, academic administrator, and now chief executive of a major philanthropic foundation to make sense of the problems faced by higher education and cultural institutions in the United States. Dr. Fleming talks about her academic trajectory, the paradoxical finances of American universities, and what her plans are for the Getty.