To commemorate the 40-year career at DePaul University of recently-retired Head of Special Collections and Archives Kathryn DeGraff, the Department of History has announced that an award will be given each year at the department’s Spring Student History Conference: The Kathryn DeGraff Award for the Best History Department Undergraduate Methods Course Paper.
In announcing the creation of this award, James Krokar, Associate Chair, Department of History, noted the sustained collaboration between the library and the Department of History, especially as represented by DeGraff’s work with faculty members to integrate special collections materials into undergraduate education: Whether in advanced classes, focal point seminars, or… in our history methods courses, these students, thanks to her, have had the ability to work like professional historians with the primary sources that underlay all historical knowledge.
The DePaul University Library has developed a teaching collection reflective of the University’s distinctive commitment to teaching, learning, and scholarship in areas such as local history, urban studies, social justice, and Vincentian Studies. In 2011-12, over 60 classes met as part of DePaul’s Special Collections instruction program, reaching over 1,000 students in programs including the Department of History, the Department of English, the Liberal Studies Program, and the School for New Learning. Special Collections instruction was also a component of faculty development programs (through the DePaul University Teaching Commons) and community engagement programs (through the Chicago Metro History Fair).
Click the following highlighted link for more information on the DePaul’s Special Collections and Archives.
Click the following link for more information on the DePaul University Student History Conference.