Established in 2024, the Humanities Initiative supports innovative, interdisciplinary, and collaborative humanities-centered research, teaching, and community engagement while also serving as a multiyear bridge to the foundation of a Humanities Institute at Princeton. 

“John Paul comes to Princeton with many years of experience in higher education and an impressive track record of program building, fostering new approaches to teaching and research in the humanities, and advancing collaborative work with community partners,” said DeLue. “The expertise and vision he brings to the Humanities Initiative will be essential to its success, and I am truly delighted to welcome him to campus and to begin working with him on this exciting project.”

“I am thrilled to be joining the Princeton Humanities Initiative at such a critically important time for investing in innovative humanities research and teaching, as well as strengthening partnerships with schools and communities across the state and beyond,” said Christy. “The initiative is poised to build on Princeton’s deep strengths in the humanities and to expand their capacity to help us navigate the complex challenges we face today.”

Christy will embark on his role representing Princeton together with DeLue at Humanities Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on March 11, 2025, where they’ll make the case for federal funding for the humanities. 

He joins Princeton from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), where he most recently served as senior director of U.S. programs. In that role, Christy oversaw the rigorous peer-review processes for ACLS funding competitions and launched research and professional development programs for scholars at every stage of their careers. In addition to leading programs like the ACLS Fellowship and the Mellon-funded Community College Faculty Research Fellowships, Christy helped launch initiatives that supported humanities faculty, postdocs and graduate students as they explored the value and impact of the humanities in diverse sectors beyond the academy. This work regularly brought Christy into dialogue with Princeton students and faculty, along with university initiatives like GradFUTURES.

Previously, Christy was a Presidential Management fellow in Washington, D.C., where his portfolio included projects related to U.S. public diplomacy and the public humanities. He received a Ph.D. in classical studies from the University of Pennsylvania.