Conference

The HBCU Connection: A Digital Collection of Black ISU Alumni from the Early 20th Century

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Abstract

Iowa State University is unique in that it was always an integrated institution. However, despite this fact, the only well-known Black ISU alums are George Washington Carver and Jack Trice. Iowa State University has a long history of black alumni who are educated here and go on to serve in high-ranking and/or high-impact positions at historically black colleges & universities (HBCUs). This digital collection is an aggregation of information that highlights Black alumni from 1911-1948 and follows their prestigious careers after leaving Iowa State. The website is designed to be innovative for current and future researchers as well as a shared resource between Iowa State University and the featured HBCUs. The intent is for it to remain an ongoing partnership that can be updated as more history is uncovered. The creation of this collection is in an effort to diversify the archival holdings of Iowa State University. It also creates a pathway for future work of this type to be done that would be representative of other marginalized communities on campus. This collection is the result of innovative research methods and collaboration with HBCU archivists nationwide.