The latest addition to the University of Central Arkansas Archives is a collection of materials from the Arkansas Chapter of the Wildlife Society. Now approaching its 70th year nationwide (35th year in Arkansas), the Wildlife Society is an international, non-profit scientific and educational association dedicated to excellence in wildlife stewardship through science and education.
Blake Sasse, secretary of the Arkansas chapter, said he chose UCA for the body’s collection of meeting agendas, general correspondence, newsletters, etc. because “I took a look at various archives collections around the state and decided with the environmental collection of materials already on hand at UCA, this was the best fit for us.”
“This is a wonderful gift,” said UCA President Lu Hardin, “and we are deeply appreciative to our friends at the Wildlife Society. This strengthens the wonderful variety of materials found in our archives.”
“These records will compliment existing collections that focus on conservationism and environmentalism such as the Carol Griffee, Jane Stern, Harold Alexander and Jim Malone papers,” said Jimmy Bryant, director of the archives. “We hope to have the collection processed and available to researchers by the end of July.”
Bryant noted that several organizations that are representative of Arkansas culture are held by the UCA Archives. These collections include those of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, the Arkansas Ecology Center, the Arkansas WPA Writers Project, and 25 additional collections. Currently the UCA Archives has over 250 large collections and 1,500 small manuscript collections.
