John Pierce, affiliate faculty member with the public administration department at Kansas University, recently was elected to the Kansas Humanities Council.

The council is a statewide nonprofit organization that provides resources in support of cultural programs in communities across the state.

Pierce will serve a three-year term beginning this month and joins a 22-member board of directors representing leaders from across the state.

Pierce’s current research focuses on community sustainability and the impact of civic culture in a community’s long-term success. He was previously executive director of the Oregon Historical Society.