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Society of American Archivists University of Texas at Austin Student Chapter
2006 Annual Report

During this year, 2006, the Society of American Archivists University of Texas at Austin Student Chapter maintained a membership of approximately 49 (a roster is included at the end of this report).  The Board consisted of the following officers:

President – Sarah Quigley  (sarah.quigley@yahoo.com)
Vice President – Edward Sevcik
Secretary – Gabriella Redwine
Treasurer – Sidney Tibbets
Events Chair – Grace Coy
Webmaster – Hope Rider
Faculty Adviser – Dr. David B. Gracy, II  (gracy@ischool.utexas.edu)

SAA UT kicked off the year in traditional fashion with a potluck at Dr. David B. Gracy’s home in Austin.  Outgoing President April Norris introduced the new Board to the membership, and everyone present enjoyed a fun and relaxing evening filled with good food and good conversation.

The Board got off to a great start and quickly planned two events for the Spring semester.  The first was a brown bag lunch on March 31 to discuss changes to the School of Information curriculum and how they would effect courses focusing on Archival Enterprise.  The discussion centered around how and when the material in Organization of Records Information would be taught now that the course would no longer fulfill the Organization requirement for the School of Information.  Dr. Gracy discussed and sought student feedback on what would become the new sequence of courses:  Archival Enterprise I in the Fall, which focuses on records and records information and features a processing project, and Archival Enterprise II in the Spring, which focuses on administrative and professional issues.

The second event was a forum on religious archives featuring local archivists Mark Duffy of the Episcopal Archives, Kris Toma of the Presbyterian Seminary Archives, and Susan Eason of the Catholic Archives.  The event took place on April 13 from 4:00-5:00 p.m. in SZB 464.  The panelists discussed the role that religious archives play in the archival profession and society at large, the influence of their churches on policy making, access to information, and use of materials.  The forum was open to any UT student or faculty member interested in the topic.  Tea and cookies were served.

The Board planned three events for the summer months to keep members staying in town involved in the chapter.  On June 30, Dr. Gracy conducted a tour of the Littlefield Home for approximately 15 students and SAA UT members.  On July 14, the Board hosted a Bastille Day potluck bar-be-que at Reed Park.  Finally, on August 18, SAA took a trip to San Antonio to tour the AT&T Archives and the University of Texas at San Antonio Archives.  

In August, President Sarah Quigley attended the SAA Annual Meeting in Washington D.C., where she was a panelist for “Family Ties:  Connecting Individuals to Archives” and made a presentation on the SAA UT/Austin History Center Archives Clinic, entitled “To The Rescue:  The SAA Student Chapter – Austin History Center Archives Clinic.”

SAA kicked off the Fall semester with a happy hour at Dog & Duck pub on September 1, which was followed soon after by Dr. Gracy’s semesterly potluck on September 15.

Archives Week was held October 22-28.  The theme for this year was “Documenting Underrepresented Communities:  Women and Gender in Archives.”  This year, the Board raised $3100 for the event from the following sources:

Hello Posterity, Inc. - $1000
School of Information - $500
Events Co-Sponsorship Committee - $500
University Co-Op - $400
Chief Justice (ret.) Jack Pope - $250
SASI/UT Senate - $150
Center for Women’s and Gender Studies - $100
Metal Edge - $100
Hollinger Corp. - $100 plus 100 catalogs and 50 promotional boxes

Archives Week Events

Thursday, October 19, 2006: 
Citywide proclamation of Archives Week by Austin Mayor Will Wynn.  This has become a yearly tradition for SAA UT.  President Sarah Quigley accepted the proclamation on behalf of the chapter, and was joined by Vice President Edward Sevcik, Events Chair Grace Coy, Sue Soy and Ben Grillot from the Austin History Center, and several other SAA members.  The event was broadcast on Time Warner Austin cable channel 6.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006: 
Keynote Speaker Event
Marilyn Dunn, Executive Director of the Schlesinger Library spoke on the history of women’s archives in America and made a case for their continued necessity.  Her discussion wove in comparisons to other underrepresented communities, and ended with comments on the opportunities to expand our documentation of women provided by “born digital” formats.  The lecture was followed by a small reception.  Approximately 40 people were in attendance.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006: 
Speaker Event
Dr. David B. Gracy II, Governor Bill Daniel Professor in Archival Enterprise at the School of Information, University of Texas at Austin presented his popular lecture “What You Get Is Not What You See:  The Nature and Impact of Documentary Forgery.”  Following his lecture, SAA UT members surprised him with a small birthday celebration, including chocolate cake and a CD of great American train music.  Approximately 48 people were in attendance.

Thursday, October 26, 2006: 
Panel Discussion
Karen Riles, African American Neighborhood Liaison for the Austin History Center, Gerrianne Schaad, Head of Archives and Special Collections at UTSA, and Dr. Tiffany Gill of UT’s History Department joined students and faculty to discuss the current state of women’s and gender collections.  Topics included difficulties collecting in underrepresented communities, methods for improving representation of these communities in archival holdings, and the state of scholarly research in these communities.  Refreshments were served following the discussion.  Approximately 40 people were in attendance.

Saturday, October 28, 2006: 
Archives Clinic, co-sponsored by the Austin History Center
The public was invited to bring in their special materials and learn about organization and preservation of papers, photographs, scrapbooks, home video and audio recordings, electronic records, and other documents. Students and faculty from the University of Texas School of Information, along with staff archivists from the Austin History Center, were on hand to assess materials and offer tips on preservation.

President Sarah Quigley ended the year with an informal recognition brunch to thank the Board members for all of their hard work during Archives Week.

Respectfully Submitted,
Sarah Quigley
President, 2006



2006 SAA UT Membership Roster

Alex Addison
Clifford Allen
Amy Armstrong
Snowden Becker
Amber Castor
Catherine Causier
Christy Costlow
Grace Coy
Marla Drewinko
Don Drumtra
Jose Javier Garcia
Lauren Goodley
David B. Gracy, II
Amanda Graham
Melissa Guy
Monica Haddad
Jo Harman
Karen Holt
Kathleen Houlihan
Kurt Johnson
Adam Knowles
Ancelyn Krivak
Louise Lalonde
Jennifer Lindley
Katherine Martinez
Julia McGarey
Carlos Ovalle
Anne Petrimoulx
Katie Pierce
Sarah Quigley
Gabriella Redwine
Hope Rider
Geoff Schmalz
Lisa Schmidt
Edward Sevcik
Laurie Thompson
Sidney Tibbetts
Tami Wibel
Ashlynn Wicke


Alumni:

Janet Carleton
Aubrey Carrier
William Caughlin
Todd Gilliom
Jill Jackson
Steph Naron
April Norris
Katie Salzmann
Susan Soy
Pati Threatt