WASHINGTON – The National Endowment for the Humanities last month awarded more than $69,000 in grants to improve and enhance cultural and educational institutions in Maine.

The funding awards were administered as follows:

. $5,000 to the Woodlawn Museum in Ellsworth for its preservation assessment of 1827 Napoleonic-style furniture.

. $5,000 to the Mount Desert Island Historical Society for Preserving the Fred L. Savage Collection of architectural drawings and blueprints.

. $5,000 to the L.C. Bates Museum in Hinckley, for rehousing archaeological objects and historical artifacts.

. $4,330 to the McArthur Public Library in Biddeford, for its preservation survey and long-term planning project.

. $50,400 for the University of Delaware for their Fellowships for University Teachers program. The grant recipient is a resident of Kittery Point who is affiliated with the University of Delaware, according to a spokesman for Maine’s U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe.

In announcing the grants, Snowe and Sen. Susan Collins said, “Preserving our past so that future generations can appreciate the events and people that have shaped our present is a noble endeavor that these NEH grants will help Maine’s cultural and educational institutions pursue.”

NEH grants are highly competitive and involve a rigorous review and selection process to ensure that the best of humanities research, education, preservation and public programs is cultivated.