Patricia Turner, associate professor of American studies and of African American and African studies at UC Davis, has been elected to a three-year term on the board of the California Council for the Humanities, the independent state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The council creates and supports public humanities programs exploring human histories, cultures and values. Since its inception in 1975, it has awarded nearly $13 million in grants, enabling more than 1,700 nonprofit organizations to produce museum exhibits, documentary films and radio programs, lectures series, and conferences on humanities topics of importance to Californians.