Dr. David B. Gracy II Graduate Research Assistantship for Special Collections & Archives
In 2021, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Special Collections & Archives at Georgia State University. We want to honor the founding archivist, Dr. David B. Gracy, by creating a new endowment for the department in his name. This endowment would fund a permanent Graduate Research Assistant in the department.
A Georgia State student’s co-curricular endeavors, especially hands-on work experiences, make a significant contribution to career preparedness. In recent years, Georgia State has emphasized college-to-career competencies through the Quality Enhancement Plan approved by our accreditor. “The College to Career initiative develops curricular enhancements that help students become aware of career competencies, connect those competencies to the work they do in the major and demonstrate their proficiency of transferable skills.” Additionally, GSU has created CASA, the Center for the Advancement of Students and Alumni. CASA aims to help “make Ph.D. programs, medical school, and law school accessible to Georgia State students and alumni with interest and motivation to pursue these paths,” with a goal of increasing “diversity among leaders in academic and professional careers.”
The GSU Library builds on these initiatives by providing meaningful work experiences for GSU students. By providing professional experiences for current graduate students, the Library expands the pipeline from our diverse student body into the library and archival professions.
The Dr. David B. Gracy II Graduate Research Assistantship for Special Collections & Archives will provide funding for the archivist to hire one or more GSU graduate students. Special Collections & Archives will benefit as the graduate student (and potential future archivist) engages in tasks such as planning and executing outreach efforts, and promoting the collections, under the mentorship of experienced, professional archivists.
You can give your full amount or make a pledge to be paid off over time, securely online by clicking the button. You can also complete your gift by sending a check to the information below:
University Library
100 Decatur Street SE
Atlanta, GA 30302
Check payable to: GSU Foundation, Inc.
In memo line: Southern Labor Archive Fund (Gracy Endowment)
Lastly, we want to make sure you know how we are raising and holding the funds. Because we have not yet reached the endowment minimum of $25,000, we are holding all gifts in the Southern Labor Archive Fund. This allows us to easily transfer the money into the new endowment when we do reach the minimum threshold. We are tracking each gift toward creating the endowment, which ensures the funds will not be used for any other purpose. Though not anticipated, if the required minimum is not reached, we will use the gifts in Dr. Gracy’s honor to directly fund a GRA in Special Collections. If you have reservations about this, please contact libdev@gsu.edu.