- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

‘History Alive, Virtually’ Project Provides Online Education Materials for Arkansas’s K-12 Teachers

John Hill — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 20:32:45 +0000

Ever since COVID-19 started, schools across the country have pivoted back and forth between in-person and virtual learning, leaving educators with a need to find reliable online teaching resources for their students. The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture (CAHC) came up with a solution for this problem by launching the “!” project, a curated set of collections created especially for use by K-12 teachers in Arkansas and their students. Since the project’s launch on July 1, 2021, the website has been visited more than 3,000 times. “K-12 teachers have had to adapt quickly to technology that allows them to teach students remotely in the time of COVID-19,” said Dr. Deborah Baldwin, associate provost and CAHC director. “This project illustrates how research materials can be made accessible in a manner that allows scholars, students, and community members to explore an array of research questions and to illustrate how archives can be used to really enliven a classroom. It’s been a good experience for us, and I think a really helpful product for teachers.” The Center for Arkansas History and Culture has curated digitized primary sources and arranged them into 10 themed virtual collections, which contain educational exercises that can be used in face-to-face, virtual, or hybrid classrooms. Every exercise highlights a historical issue that is investigated through the analysis of a primary source or a small set of primary sources. The exercises are complete activities aligned with Arkansas Social Studies Standards and include short introductory sections, links to additional resources, and a set of downloadable handouts for use in the classroom. Additionally, a comprehensive list of CAHC’s digitized primary sources has been compiled and made searchable for easy reference. The project also included a workshop for educators, a contribution of additional digitized items to the public catalog, and a series of curriculum guides designed to meet state social studies frameworks. Baldwin served as the project’s principal investigator, while Laura McClellan, CAHC assistant director, served as the project manager. Additional staff who worked on the project include Dr. Marta Cieslak, a humanities scholar who curated sources and created educational activities; Elise Tanner, director of digital projects and initiatives at CAHC who designed and developed the project’s website; and Cody Besett, student success archivist, who oversaw the creation of a comprehensive list of digitized primary sources and supervised a team of student researchers. The student researchers who contributed toward the project include graduate assistants Lauren Fontaine, A.J. Box, Brittany Fugate, and Harrison Mitchell, as well as Scott Bradshaw, an undergraduate intern. Arkansas teachers were also involved in the creation of “History Alive, Virtually!” CAHC staff worked with a teacher advisory group that was involved in every step of the project – from reviewing the grant application to helping choose themes and documents for the project’s collections to testing out educational materials. “Everything was consolidated with teachers,” Cieslak said. “The most helpful feedback we received is that the teachers would take the exercises we designed into the classroom and have a test run with their students. It was wonderful to hear that the students had a positive experience with our exercises. The website offers 56 different exercises that showcase a variety of sources and address various levels of expertise ranging from history students to seasoned historians interested in deepening their knowledge.” The project is supported by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council, which is funded through the CARES Act for COVID-19 relief and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock receives grant to commemorate history of Arkansas civil rights leader William Townsend

John Hill — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 15:23:48 +0000

The Center for Arkansas History and Culture (CAHC) at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock has received a grant to explore the cultural and political sphere of Dr. William Townsend, an Arkansas civil rights leader and the first African American licensed to practice optometry in the state. The Arkansas Humanities Council awarded the CAHC an African American History and Culture Grant, which provides funding for nonprofit organizations who wish to research, document, preserve, and interpret the state’s African American history and culture. The $3,799 grant for the project, “Exploring Cultural and Political Spheres: Dr. William H. Townsend, Arkansas Professional and Civil Rights Leader,” will fund the center’s efforts to digitize Townsend’s papers and create a character collection and social media posts highlighting the Townsend papers. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Downtown will also host an exhibit on Townsend in February 2022 to celebrate Black History Month. “Dr. Townsend has a prominent role in politics and the professions in Arkansas,” said Dr. Deborah Baldwin, CAHC director and principal investigator on the grant. “He is a good example in the City of Little Rock of an African American who contributed in a variety of arenas. We have records relating to his service as a legislator and his time as an optician. This is one of our collections that we envisioned would capture the public interest.” Archivists Adrienne Jones and Cody Besett, Laura McClellan, CAHC assistant director, and Dr. Nathan Marvin, assistant professor of history, will take part in the project. Townsend, who passed away in 2005, was known as a trailblazer and is honored on the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail. He was the first African American licensed to practice optometry in Arkansas, one of the first African Americans to serve in the Arkansas House of Representatives since the 1890s, and the first African American to chair the Aging and Legislative Affairs Committee. Townsend was born July 30, 1914, in West Point, Mississippi, but grew up in Earle, Arkansas. After high school, he joined the army during World War II. While he was on duty, he studied at Nottingham University in England. After the war, Townsend became a student at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture. In 1950, he graduated from the Northern Illinois College of Optometry. He opened an optometrist clinic in Little Rock not long after graduating. Townsend was very active in Arkansas politics. During the 1950s, he was a founding member and served as the president of the Council of Human Relations. This council helped to desegregate public schools and businesses in the state. He was also a member of the Council of Community Affairs, which was formed in 1961 by a group of black medical professionals. They facilitated the peaceful desegregation of downtown Little Rock in 1963. In 1966, Townsend served as the chairman of the Arkansas Voter Project, a statewide voter registration initiative run under the Southern Regional Council’s Voter Education Project. In 1972, Townsend was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives for the first of 12 terms.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock receives $325,000 grant from National Endowment for the Humanities

John Hill — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 20:01:01 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has received a $325,043 grant from the (NEH) to create a rich collection of digitized material integrated into a map-based website that tracks how urban renewal changed the City of Little Rock in the decades following the Central High School desegregation crisis. The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture (CAHC) will lead the project, “Mapping Urban Fracture: Charting the Context and Consequence of the Little Rock Central High Crisis Project.” The center’s director, Dr. Deborah Baldwin, associate provost of collections and archives, will serve as the principal investigator for the three-year project that begins June 1. CAHC received a $50,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2018 for an 18-month pilot project of the map that brought together humanities scholars and technical specialists to select, digitize, describe, and create a website making the resources available to the public. A prototype of the project can be found on the . The Mapping Urban Fracture project will create a virtual collection comprising approximately 700 new reports and maps created after 1989 and develop an access interface to research spatial segregation with meta and geospatial data. The website includes the digitization and geolocation of maps, architectural drawings, reports, and related photographs to address humanities issues and questions. The project will create an aggregated collection of digital products that track the history of Little Rock through patterns of residential segregation, urban renewal, public school desegregation plans, and local elections and governance. While scholars will generate sample narratives to interpret the virtual collection, members of the public, particularly teachers and students, can find and create their own stories through the data. “One of the reasons we wanted to complete this project is to make our collections more accessible to a wide variety of people, and we believed integrating them into a multilayered map on a website would do that,” Baldwin said. “It is an opportunity for the university to pull together expertise in many different areas and focus them on a project that can inspire a lot of conversation about the development of this city.” The NEH awarded $24 million in grants for 225 humanities projects across the country. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock was one of only two projects in the state selected for a 2021 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. “NEH is proud to support these 225 new projects, which embody excellence, intellectual rigor, and a dedication to the pursuit of knowledge, even as our nation and the humanities community continue to face the challenges of the pandemic,” said NEH Acting Chairman Adam Wolfson. “We look forward to the contributions these projects will make to our understanding of ourselves and our society through exemplary humanities research, publications, documentary films, exhibitions, and undergraduate programs.” The Mapping Urban Fracture project will allow the CAHC to place collections from various institutions together in a single, searchable database so that users can interact with digitized and described materials both spatially and visually. The project combines geographic, print, architectural, photographic, census, and election data to provide a complex portrait of the effects of government, politics, and growth on the urban environment. In the 1960s, urban renewal in central Little Rock comprised one of the largest demolition and clearance programs in the country. As a result of renewal efforts, Little Rock’s Central High district shifted from being a majority-white to a predominantly African-American neighborhood. The Ninth Street Corridor, the city’s African-American business district, was cleared of its inhabitants and businesses to make way for freeway construction.

Downtown Little Rock in 1951. Photo Courtesy of the CAHC collection: Earl Saunders, Jr. Photograph Collection.

The Mapping Urban Fracture project will not only digitize important historic materials from this period and make them freely available online, it also will develop methods that can be used nationally for describing place-based materials in ways that others can easily find. Because this project includes many maps and architectural drawings, the team will attach geospatial data to the digital files so that computers and Geographic Information Systems can be used for analysis. Focus groups with local educators as well as a teacher advisory group will ensure the project interface is accessible to both teachers and students. The project will also increase community engagement and civic discourse by providing the local community with access to resources and information about spatial segregation, the effects of past urban renewal initiatives, and the evolution of school desegregation. “There are many mapping projects around the country right now,” said Laura McClellan, assistant director of the Center for Arkansas History and Culture. “There is a trend to use data in a visual way, and we feel like expressing data in a visual way with all these different kinds of collaborators brings a richness to the discussion of the history of Little Rock that ordinarily we couldn’t have. This is a way to connect with multiple collaborators with a new way of discussing the information that also follows national trends. We are cutting edge.” CAHC personnel and partners hope to make presentations on this “cutting edge project” at the Society of American Archivists, the Arkansas Historical Association, the Society of Southwest Archivists, and the University of San Diego’s Digital Initiatives Symposium. A variety of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock departments will collaborate in the creation of the project, including the CRUX Lab, the Arkansas Institute for Economic Advancement, the Department of History, and IT Services. “This is a very collaborative project that pulls together people who are interested in the humanities,” Baldwin said. “The enjoyable part of this project is gathering a wide variety of people who don’t always work together.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture receives grant to digitize historic materials

John Hill — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 13:40:02 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture (CAHC) has received a $14,950 grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council to make digitized records accessible to educators who are teaching virtually next year. “History Alive: Virtually!” is a five-part project that will generate a list of digitized holdings for the public, increase the number of items accessible digitally, create virtual collections, design curriculum guides, and provide workshops for educators on how to use the new materials. “We anticipate a lot of teachers will be teaching online this fall, so we applied to complete a project where we make an index of items that are already digitized in our collections,” said Laura McClellan, assistant director of the Center for Arkansas History and Culture. The center will create 10 virtual collections with particular themes, such as civil rights or health. CAHC project staff will work with Arkansas teachers to develop workshops that help them locate digitized primary source material and advance technical skills. CAHC will also create a series of curriculum guides designed to meet state social studies frameworks. The grant money, which is funded through the CARES Act for COVID-19 relief, will be used to hire a historian and a graduate assistant to help with the project, which will be completed by March 31, 2021. This work will involve licensed K-12 teachers, CAHC staff, and ��Vlog��ý Little Rock history faculty. “This project is very timely,” McClellan said. “K-12 teachers and college educators have had to adapt quickly to technology that allows them to teach students remotely. We will be sharing resources with those who need them the most.” In the upper right photo, Lauren Fontaine, a graduate assistant, works in the Center for Arkansas History and Culture.

McClellan wins cutest dog contest for Soirée

John Hill — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 19:35:32 +0000

Laura McClellan, assistant director of the Center for Arkansas History and Culture at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, received a new addition to her family in May – a Great Dane/Great Pyrenees puppy named Bruce after Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk. While some new pet owners are quick to describe their puppy as the cutest pet, McClellan has the proof to back up her claim. Her photo of eight-week-old Bruce won the and will be featured in the August edition of Little Rock Soirée. “My family was very excited,” McClellan said. “It all happened on a whim. I had taken the photos just a day or two after we got Bruce, and then I saw the contest post. Every year, I look at the contest and vote. One of my boys grabbed my phone and entered the contest. They were very excited, and we got all of our family to vote for Bruce.” Bruce beat out hundreds of other cute dogs in the photo contest. Soirée said, “his colorful coat and major puppy eyes captured the hearts of voters near and far.” After being crowned the most adorable pup in the metro, Bruce won a prize package of treats, toys, and a new collar, as well as a professional photoshoot with McClellan, her two sons, Julian and Will, and Bruce Bruce’s photoshoot will be featured in the August print edition of Soiree magazine.

This photo of Bruce by Laura McClellan won Little Rock Soiree’s cutest dog contest.

“It’s been a fun experience,” McClellan said. “We brought some toys and treats that Bruce liked. He knows some tricks. I tried to get a photo, but he is so wiggly. Bruce didn’t pee on anything. It was great.” McClellan and her family got Bruce, who now weighs 45 pounds, from a family in Mayflower who had a litter of 12 puppies. “We saw an ad on Craigslist, so Bruce’s middle name is actually Craig,” McClellan said. “We met the family, and they were super nice, and then my son picked out Bruce.” The McClellan household is no stranger to pets. Bruce has another dog, two cats, a ball python, a hedgehog, and two turtles to keep him company. In the upper right photo, McClellan’s sons, Julian and Will, are shown with Bruce on the day he was brought home.

$2.25 million gift to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture to help secure Rockefeller legacy in Arkansas

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 22:30:15 +0000

The Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust has gifted $2.25 million to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture to preserve and educate the public about the history of Arkansas, including the notable contributions of Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller. The gift, announced Sept. 10 at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Downtown, will create the Winthrop Rockefeller Archival Fund, a quasi-endowment. It is the sixth largest cash gift in ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s history. Funds will be used to preserve, house, and catalog historical items from the Rockefeller Collection and to support topics and activities related to the center’s mission. “Almost a half a century ago, Arkansas lost a great leader, and I lost a friend with the passing of Winthrop Rockefeller,” said Marion Burton, executive trustee of the Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust. “The trust that bears his name was established at the time of his death and has carried on his vision for the state. “The Charitable Trust and the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock center have been good partners in bringing the Arkansas story to the community. The Trustees have always carefully considered the impact of its donations, and this gift was no exception. The Charitable Trust recognizes the strengths and reputation of the Center for Arkansas History and Culture and is pleased to make this further commitment to their work.” The collection is comprised of papers, memorabilia, and historic records related to Gov. Rockefeller, Arkansas’s first Republican governor since Reconstruction and celebrated philanthropist. The Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust donated the collection to the center in 1980. The Rockefeller Collection, which was instrumental in establishing ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s archives program, represents the center’s largest collection with more than 2,000 boxes. The gift will allow the center to create educational activities, research initiatives, and events associated with the Rockefeller Collection and other collections housed in the center. “I want to thank Will Rockefeller and his family for their support for the Center for Arkansas History and Culture and the state,” said Deborah Baldwin, director of the Center for Arkansas History and Culture and associate provost for collections and archives. “We hope that the family will continue to see the center as the place to secure the Arkansas Rockefeller legacy. We are pleased that the Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust has confidence in our vision and execution of the work.” Baldwin said plans for the center include increasing its archives to include collections of underrepresented groups that will complement its collection of records related to state leaders. The center will also increase efforts to digitize collections housed in the archive, making this historic information more accessible to the public. “Our archival collections can become a more complete reflection of the state’s people and organizations,” Baldwin said. “Scholars can better explore the ‘why’ questions of history with more complete information. This gift will make a difference. Positive change is a hallmark of Winthrop Rockefeller’s work. Behind all of these initiatives is our goal to inspire people to engage with Arkansas history and the future it maps for us.” Additionally, the center will offer more educational opportunities for students by granting awards to conduct research and providing experiential learning opportunities. “The Department of History views this remarkable gift as a watershed moment in its efforts to prepare students for professional careers through experiential education,” said Jess Porter, chair of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of History. “The Center for Arkansas History and Culture has long been an indispensable partner of our graduate program in Public History. Under the leadership of Dr. Baldwin, the center has trained a generation of graduate students who have gone on to become leaders in the humanities in central Arkansas and beyond.” Porter added that the center’s “hands-on experiences and cutting-edge technologies for undergraduates offer an applied dimension of archival education that is unparalleled in Arkansas.” The Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust was created by Gov. Rockefeller in 1972 to support charitable organizations. Rockefeller moved to Arkansas in 1953 where he established Winrock Enterprises and Winrock Farms, chaired the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission, and initiated many philanthropic projects. Rockefeller’s progressive and philanthropic vision is reflected in the papers he left behind and remains alive through the work of organizations he founded and inspired. “Governor Rockefeller believed that if others knew more about his adopted state, they would value it as much as he did,” said Burton. “They would then want to visit and invest in the place he chose as home.” The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock center has created special digital archive projects with the assistance of the Charitable Trust for educational programs for teachers and others around the state. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture The Center for Arkansas History and Culture collects, keeps safe, and makes available Arkansas history that connects people to each other and their shared experiences. The center collects materials on a variety of topics, with a strength in materials related to Arkansas governors, state legislators, civil rights history, environmental issues, urban and metropolitan development, family papers, the built environment, and women’s history. Reflecting the changes Arkansas has experienced over time, the center seeks additional collections in underrepresented populations and on cultural organizations. Collections are primarily paper, but also include multimedia and digital material. In the upper right photo, Deborah Baldwin, front left, associate provost of the Center for Arkansas History and Culture, watches archive footage of the Rockefellers with Rockefeller family members, Win Rockefeller Jr, center, Will Rockefeller, far back, and Lisenne Rockefeller, right, during an event at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Downtown announcing a $2.25 million gift from the Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture to preserve and educate the public about the history of Arkansas. Photo by Ben Krain.

- University News Archive - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

‘History Alive, Virtually’ Project Provides Online Education Materials for Arkansas’s K-12 Teachers

����Vlog��ý Little Rock receives grant to commemorate history of Arkansas civil rights leader William Townsend

����Vlog��ý Little Rock receives $325,000 grant from National Endowment for the Humanities