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Retired faculty
want to preserve
departmental histories
During its 119-year existence, NC State has accumulated quite a remarkable history. Now the Association of Retired Faculty (ARF) is trying to make sure that the university’s stories are not forgotten.
In a recent letter from the ARF to the department heads, Ernest Burniston, ARF president and professor emeritus of mathematics, pointed out that there are few departmental histories that are current and accessible, and that the individuals who hold the knowledge related to major milestones in departments are passing away.
Tom Elleman, chair of the ARF special projects committee and professor emeritus of nuclear engineering, surveyed the current state of departmental histories and discovered that of the 72 listed academic departments, only 17 have departmental histories that are available through the web, and that the histories vary widely in terms of currency, completeness and format. Of the available histories, only four are updated through 2000.
In an effort to make sure that these departmental histories are preserved, the ARF has asked departments without written histories to prepare a document that includes the most important dates and events in their departments, rather than attempt a time-consuming formal history. Examples of these types of documents can be found at www.ncsu.edu/retired/briefhistories.pdf. The ARF has also volunteered to assist departments in their efforts.
Departments with written histories that don’t appear on the Web should contact Todd Kosmerick, university archivist, at 513-3673 for assistance in getting the document online.
Posted April 28, 2006
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