The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation has awarded Syracuse University Libraries an $18,000 grant to support a pilot faculty fellows program in the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC). The goal of the program is to support faculty in developing courses that incorporate the use of the libraries’ rich special collections and archives. The program will make a significant impact on the undergraduate experience at Syracuse University by engaging faculty who would like to provide students with a one-of-a-kind opportunity to handle, analyze and interpret SCRC’s primary source materials in their classes.
Associate Professor of History Christopher Kyle teaches a class in the Lemke Room in the Special Collections Research Center.
The SCRC has long been at the forefront of collecting materials that document the history of our global society, including original manuscripts, photographs, architectural plans, industrial design prototypes and graphic artworks, audio and moving image recordings, and many other formats. These collections provide unfiltered access to primary source material, the “authentic voice” of a writer or creator, from which students can develop their own views and create their own narratives.
The grant project will engage a cohort of faculty and librarians to design, pilot and evaluate a sustainable faculty fellows program. Project manager Lucy Mulroney, senior director of the SCRC, says, “This program aims to support innovative undergraduate curriculum development and foster new ideas about how to transform the role of special collections in the university’s pedagogical approach.” Dean of Libraries David Seaman adds, “The fellows program will expand upon SCRC’s existing instructional program, support undergraduate research and promote experiental learning—all activities that are of growing importance to the SU Libraries.”
The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation promotes the advancement and perpetuation of humanistic inquiry and artistic creativity by encouraging excellence in scholarship and the performing arts, and by supporting research libraries and other institutions that transmit our cultural heritage.
A faculty fellows advisory team will be established to articulate the vision, goals and assessment criteria to evaluate the pilot and will appoint two pilot fellows in spring 2016. To express interest in participating in the program, contact Mulroney at ldmulron@syr.edu.
