UK Libraries team participates in SEC Academic Collaboration Award Workshop

Mary Beth Thomson, Anna Gault, Michael Perry, and Adrian Ho

UK Libraries participated in the inaugural SEC Academic Collaboration Award Workshop held at Texas A&M University Libraries February 6-8.  The theme of the workshop was “Developing Partnerships to Advance Open Access Initiatives at SEC Universities.”

Invited teams of student and library leaders focused on developing their own institutional action plans to advance open access or the use of open educational resources on their campuses. The workshop also included presentations by nationally recognized experts on: exemplary open access programs, leadership, program design, and organizational change.

Senior Associate Dean Mary Beth Thomson, Director of Digital Scholarship Adrian Ho, undergraduate student representative Michael Perry, and graduate student representative Anna Gault formed the UK Libraries contingent. Thanks to all of them for representing UK Libraries.

“Looking for Lorraine and Langston: Queering African American Archives and Histories" presented by Special Collections Research Center

Dr. Jennifer D. Jones

As part of UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center's observance of Black History Month, Dr. Jennifer D. Jones will present “Looking for Lorraine and Langston: Queering African American Archives and Histories,” on February 20 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Great Hall of Margaret I. King Library. A reception will follow.

Jones is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Gender and Race Studies and American Studies at the University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa. She teaches courses on the history of sexuality in the United States, Black sexuality studies, and African American history in the twentieth century. She is currently working on a book manuscript titled Queering An American Dilemma: Gender and Sexuality in United States’ Race Relations, 1945-1985. This project contributes to African American history, the history of sexuality, and the history of modern conservatism.

Jones’s appearance on campus is sponsored by UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center and the UK African American and Africana Studies Program in partnership with student organization Shades of Pride. Additional support comes from the UK College of Education, the UK LGBT Task Force, and the UK College of Arts and Sciences Departments of History, English, and Gender and Women Studies.

Valerie Perry selected for inaugural UK Chairs' Academy

Valerie Perry

Valerie Perry, Director of Branch Libraries, will participate in the inaugural UK Chairs’ Academy. The Academy is a joint initiative of the UK Provost's Office and the Office of the Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration. The Academy encourages faculty to consider leadership career paths and provides guidance to new and prospective chairs and academic directors in developing the skills required for effective institutional leadership. The program involves six weeks of sessions beginning February 11, 2015.

Congratulations to Valerie and thanks for representing UK Libraries so well.

Retirement Reception to honor Gordon Hogg

Gordon Hogg

Gordon Hogg, Director of the Special Collections Library, retires on March 5, 2015. A reception in the Special Collections Research Center on that date will honor his years of service. Gordon has served UK Libraries since 1991.

All are welcome to join from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. to wish Gordon well.  Congratulations to Gordon on his retirement!

 For more about Gordon's long career with UK Libraries, see the initial announcement of his retirement. 

Exhibit draws attention to history of LGBTQ African Americans in Kentucky

The exhibit includes images of
Miss Kentucky 2010 Djuan Trent

"A Pictorial History of African American Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Queer Persons in Kentucky," a Black History Month Exhibit by the Special Collections Research Center, brings visibility to the history of LGBTQ people of color. This exhibit is free and open to the public throughout the month of February on the first floor of the Margaret I. King Library. Exhibit co-sponsors are the African American and Africana Studies Program and student organization Shades of Pride. 

The exhibit's images come from the collections of the SCRC and from loans by individuals and organizations. The earliest image is the text of the more than century-old Kentucky Court of Appeals case Commonwealth v. Poindexter from 1909. The exhibit also includes drag shows held at the Woodland Park Auditorium in the 1930s as well as activities of present-day organizations such as Bluegrass Black Pride and the campus student organization Shades of Pride.

For more information on this exhibit read the complete news release.

University Press of Kentucky author receives William E. Colby Award

University Press of Kentucky author Douglas V. Mastriano has been named the recipient of the 2015 William E. Colby Award for his book Alvin York: A New Biography of the Hero of the Argonne.

Named for the late ambassador and former CIA director William E. Colby, the Colby Award recognizes a first work of fiction or nonfiction that makes a significant contribution to the public’s understanding of intelligence operations, military history, or international affairs. The award includes a $5,000 author honorarium provided through a grant from the Tawani Foundation.

Mastriano will receive the Colby Award at the William E. Colby Military Writers’ Symposium scheduled for April 9 at Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont.

For more information, read the complete news release.

Wendell Ford – Friend of UK

Senator Wendell Ford and Deirdre Scaggs
at Ford's 90th birthday celebration

I was honored this week to speak at Senator Wendell Ford’s funeral in Owensboro, Kentucky.  Hundreds of friends and supporters attended the funeral including Vice-President Joe Biden and former President Bill Clinton.  Associate Dean Deirdre Scaggs also represented UK Libraries at the funeral.

Senator Ford was a great friend of UK Libraries supporting our Federal Documents Repository Program, placing his papers and oral histories in the Special Collections Research Center, and helping to establish an endowment in support of the Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center.  Senator Ford understood and appreciated the value of libraries and the importance of assuring that citizens had access to public information.  His efforts to promote civic engagement and citizens’ involvement with government will be missed.

As a United States Senator, Wendell Ford worked with every UK President since Dr. Otis Singletary to assure that UK received its fair share of federal funds to support education and research.  Clay Ford, Senator Ford’s grandson, serves on the UK Libraries National Advisory Board continuing the Ford family's contributions to UK.

-Dean Terry Birdwhistell