MUW Staff Receive Historical Records Honors

COLUMBUS, Miss. – Two Mississippi University for Women faculty have been awarded the 2015 Award of Excellence for Use of Historical Records in Higher Education by the Mississippi Historical Records Advisory Board.

Dr. Erin Kempker, associate professor of history, and Dr. Amber Handy, assistant professor of history, were recognized for their work with the university’s public history program, the revitalization of the university’s archives and oral history projects.

“They, through forging academic and professional relationships with the local public library’s Billups-Garth archives and MUW archivist Derek Webb, have transformed the educational mission of our entire history program,” said Dr. Bridget Smith Pieschel, interim chair of the Department of History, Political Science and Geography.

She added, “Dr. Kempker’s and Dr. Handy’s students enter The W with little understanding of what document preservation means or what an archivist is or does, and they leave having had multiple opportunities to work hands-on with archivists in many cases preserving and describing important sources that have been rapidly deteriorating and would have been lost forever in another five years.”

Qualifications for the award included providing evidence of an understanding of the critical importance of primary sources and the effective integration of primary sources into an academic course or program of study; impact of the use of primary sources on student academic performance and community involvement; use of innovative and creative techniques for using primary sources; and evidence of a collaborative effort with an archival program. Individuals, public and private post-secondary educational institutions were eligible.

The mission of the Mississippi Historical Records Advisory Board is to promote awareness of, and improve education about, historical records foster and enhance the preservation, identification, and care of records improve access to historical records for all Mississippians; and advocate and encourage collaborative funding for historical records preservation and resource sharing The board provides professional assistance, resources and programming to support the preservation and accessibility of the state’s invaluable historical documents and records. MHRAB serves as the central advisory board for historical records planning and project assistance in Mississippi.

Kemper said, “We are delighted to receive this award from the Mississippi Historical Records Advisory Board.  We have revamped the historical methods and history Capstone courses to make using primary sources and creating original historical arguments a priority.

Handy added, “Thanks to the reopening of the University Archives, and with help from the Local History Room of the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, taking history courses at The W means that you get to do history, as in sift through primary sources and archival sources for yourself.  Students are doing interesting and significant historical research as a result of this effort and we’re proud of that.”

Annual funding for the Mississippi Historical Records Advisory Board and its programs is provided by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The board is responsible for insuring the objectives of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.