-- Return to first page
Adult Education History Project
Introduction
In 1986, under the leadership of Dr. Roger Hiemstra, Chair, the Adult Education Graduate Program, Syracuse University received a large grant from the Kellogg Foundation. This funding began the Syracuse University Kellogg Project. It was designed to "tap the potential" of a large university library archival collection, the world's largest compilation of English-language materials on adult education. These two organizations, the Adult Education Graduate Program at Syracuse University and the Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek, Michigan, shared a bold vision: to create a "library for the world," using leading edge technologies to provide access to these materials and, in various ways, to facilitate research and an exchange of ideas and knowledge. While clearing new paths for adult education that would benefit scholars and practitioners in the US and elsewhere, the project also was intended to create new models for information access and management that could be applied in other fields.
While the project achieved many of its initial objectives (see the final report), financial difficulties at Syracuse University during the late 80's and early 90's resulted in several detrimental circumstances: (a) The closing of the Adult Education Graduate Program, (b) the inability of the university to contribute adequate financial support to fully support and sustain the project, (c) and the loss of faculty trained in Adult Education who would have expanded the Adult Education archives' potential through continued scholarship, new initiatives, and promotion of historical research.
Fortunately, there were a few continuing or new efforts related to the archives and the promotion of historical research in the decade after the Project ended (1993-2002). For example, Terry Keenan worked tirelessly for several years to promote the archives, oversee the acquisition and processing of new collections, and provide an "adult education" presence in the University's library system. In addition, a few scholars visited the archives each year to glean new information from the records kept there. Roger Hiemstra and Alex Charters also promoted the archives as a valuable research resource at various professional meetings.
An adult education professor (Dr. Waynne James, Professor, Adult Education, University of South Florida), visited the archives in early 2002 to carry out some research on the Commission of Professors of Adult Education and other areas. She and Roger Hiemstra talked further about the under utilization of the archives and the potential still remaining for scholars, graduate students, and others interested in the history of the Adult Education field. She urged Roger (currently Professor and Chair, Adult Education, Elmira College) to combine his prior experiences with the Kellogg Project, ongoing interest in the archives, and expertise in technology to create a web site that might benefit future scholars. Thus, this Adult Education History Project was born.
Project Procedures
The Adult Education archives have been developing for several decades. Under the leadership of individuals like Alex Charters, Rae Rohfeld, Terry Keenan, various individual associated with the Kellogg Project, and many others, a large collection of materials stands ready for future study by scholars, graduate students, and others interested in better understanding the Adult Education field through historical research.
During the life of the Kellogg Project considerable information pertaining to the archival collections was digitized. Unfortunately, the Project's closing a decade ago due to financial difficulties resulted in this information being unavailable to others. However, Roger Hiemstra volunteered to extract this information from storage devices and make it available on this web site. It is hoped that in the future many research projects will be enhanced through these data sources.
It is important to note that many of the conversion files were created in Microsoft Word. Thus, Netscape may not work if you have an older version. Therefore, it is recommended you use Microsoft Explorer when viewing the History Project files.
Using the Adult Education Archives at Syracuse University
The information contained in this web site shows a more detailed explanation of the boxes of materials outlined through the Syracuse University Library's description of their vast archival collection related to Adult Education. A scholar interested in significant historical research still will need to journey to the university and make arrangements with library staff to view appropriate collection items and the originals of any converted documents through Optical Character Recognition software (scanned, OCRd, and converted to text) when necessary for research purposes. NOTE, too, that there will be errors in some of the scanned materials and other resources shown on the Adult Education History Project web site, as human resources were not available to verify original digital information or to match converted materials with the original documents. The CPAE (Commission of Professors of Adult Education ) Records contain the most OCR'd documents.
Furthermore, many collection materials are warehoused away from the main archival location (the sixth floor of the University Library). Thus, it is necessary to contact library staff before each visit to receive permission to use the archives and request that desired materials be transported to the sixth floor. Allow for several days in this transportation process. Materials can be examined in an area reserved for visiting scholars and copy machines can be utilized to photocopy certain of these materials based on permission granted by library officials. NOTE: Purchasing a card for use in the copy machines saves money.
To see an associated project designed to provide the vitae of various individuals associated in some way with the adult education movement, including some of those associated above, click here.
Roger Hiemstra
Modified March 1, 2003