Get to know Mark Maassel, interim president and CEO of Indiana Humanities

Here are a few words from our interim president and CEO, Mark Maassel, on why he’s dedicated to Indiana Humanities, what he’s been curious about lately, and how he uses the humanities as a tool to explore the world around him.

• What brought you to Indiana Humanities 16 years ago?

My personal and professional background are focused on specific tasks. There is a gap when it comes to exploring and understanding who we are, what makes us human beings, how to we build each other up and understand what it means to be human. I believe that we can all benefit from time learning about and understanding these questions. Indiana Humanities is providing events, books, and activities which help bring people together to explore these issues. 

• What keeps you coming back to serve on our board and be a part of our staff?

Under Keira Amstutz’s leadership, Indiana Humanities has built an extremely strong team focused on helping Hoosiers explore the humanities in their own towns, at their local restaurants, and through utilizing national resources. The combination of great people who are providing wonderful opportunities to explore and grow is somewhat irresistible. I enjoyed a number of years on the Board of Directors and am now excited to spend time working with the great Indiana Humanities staff carrying the work forward.

• What’s your all-time favorite IH experience?

This is a really hard question to answer simply because I have so many great memories. I treasure them all and can’t really say which one was the all-time favorite. Some of my treasured moments are an evening cruise on the Ohio River where we learned about the Great Squirrel Migration of 1817, a cruise on a steam-powered boat on Cedar Lake where George blew the whistle, and joining with other “Region Rats” to watch some of the first films which Indiana Humanities helped fund (especially Sundown Town, a story about the town where I live with many people whom I know). And I am sure that if I thought hard enough there are many, many more wonderful memories.

• What are you feeling curious about lately?

I am curious to learn more about artificial intelligence (AI) and explore how that can both help and hinder people. What are the ethical dimensions of AI and the practical dimensions? How do we assure that AI improves our world more than creating confusion and chaos? AI needs to help us all grow as people, creating ways to come together to learn, discuss, and explore.

• Why do the humanities matter to you?

Because people matter. The framers of the constitution are among those who said it well by explaining that everyone has the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” I do not think that we achieve these lofty goals unless we learn about what it means to be a person — a human being. The humanities help us explore these dimensions from many different viewpoints. We learn that there are no real answers, only an ever-growing understanding of ourselves and our world, an understanding that changes as we and the world around us change.