Oral history project honored

Contact:
Dr. Michael Brna
724-938-6023
brna@calu.edu

March 26, 2010

As the 10-year anniversary of the Veterans History Project of the American

Folklife Center at the Library of Congress approaches, Cal U has been

designated a Founding Partner for its role in this endeavor.

The University was informed last month in a letter from U.S. Rep. Ron Kind

of Wisconsin and U.S. Sen. Richard G. Lugar of Indiana.

Through the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Veterans

Oral Histories Project, more than 100 oral histories have been collected and

added to the Veterans History Project collection, which now numbers more

than 68,000.

TPS is housed in the College of Education and Human Services.

We are privileged to be recognized along with the thousands of other

volunteers who have contributed to the largest oral history program in the

history of the United States, said Dr. Michael J. Brna, director of the TPS

program at Cal U.

We are also pleased that we are able to add the perspectives of local

veterans to the national collection. Without this initiative, those

perspectives would have been lost."

Founding Partner status is awarded only to those Veterans History Project

partners active since the program's inception.

Brna praised the collaborative efforts of Cal¹s Communication Studies

Department for taping, Manderino Library for archiving and TPS for

digitizing the oral histories, and to various faculty, students, staff and

community members for conducting interviews.

Our relationship with the Library of Congress is a world-class affiliation

that meets the institution¹s community service mission and commitment to the

region, Brna said. The most important thank you belongs to the men and

women who unselfishly and bravely served our country and share their

stories."