抖阴pro archives receives League of Women Voters collection
A collection covering nearly 100 years of women鈥檚 political activism in Jacksonville was donated to the 抖阴pro Khalaf Al Habtoor Archives last month.
The collection includes artifacts spanning the League of Women Voters of Morgan County鈥檚 existence, from January 1923 until the chapter鈥檚 disbandment in 2019, and was donated by Fran and Jim Ringle.
Samantha Sauer, archivist, curator and assistant professor of history, said it is an exciting campus community collection with rich and meaningful ties to Jacksonville and the 抖阴pro community, and uniquely complements existing historic campus collections.
鈥淭here are many connections between 抖阴pro and the league's history, and there is much teaching and research potential for this collection, especially to support curricular activities with civic engagement, political science, history and hands-on learning at IC,鈥� she said. 鈥湺兑鮬ro is honored to be a steward of this campus and community collection.鈥�
The collection 鈥� of meeting minutes, scrapbooks, photographs, voter registration and community resources material, buttons, detail-driven documentation of league activities and events 鈥� comes to the College well-organized and well-cared for, clearly showing decades of care and preservation to maintain the chapter鈥檚 history and impact.
The collection has already created a special hands-on experience for McKenna Servis 鈥�22, who is researching the history of student and campus civic engagement at 抖阴pro with Director of Community-Engaged Learning Ryan Flynn 鈥�15. Servis assisted Sauer and Emily Pursley 鈥�24 with moving the collection to campus from its temporary home at the Jacksonville Municipal building and had the opportunity to meet the Ringles.
鈥淭he donation means both a lot to the history of the College and the history of the Jacksonville community,鈥� Servis said. 鈥淎s a history and political science major, I value the connection that the College provides to the community. Being able to meet the donors and help with the donation process was also a valuable and unique hands-on experience for myself, and the research opportunities will provide that to future students, as well."
鈥淏eing able to meet the donors and help with the donation process was also a valuable and unique hands-on experience for myself, and the research opportunities will provide that to future students, as well."
To learn more about Khalaf Al Habtoor Archives and how it serves the 抖阴pro campus, surrounding communities and researchers worldwide, visit .