GW Named Official Home of National Education Association Archive
The National Education Association (NEA) archives have found a home at GW’s International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Labor History Research Center here in the Gelman Library. The collection contains more than 3,350 boxes of historical materials, including a complete library of NEA publications, books, its charter, photographs, legal documents, correspondence, speeches and lectures.
Materials from the NEA Archive on exhibit in Gelman Library. Photo credit: Jessica McConnell Burt / The George Washington University
“I am deeply grateful to the National Education Association for entrusting George Washington with this extraordinary collection," said GW President Knapp. "The collection will be a tremendous resource for the study of labor history and education policy and will draw students and scholars from across this nation and beyond.”
The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional
employee organization, representing 3.2 million elementary and secondary
teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals,
school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to
become teachers.
The NEA Foundation is the lead contributor for the NEA archives endowment. As a result of the foundation’s significant contributions, GW will be able to preserve and ensure that these institutional and personal materials will be available for study and research by generations to come.
“NEA’s archives will have an indelible impact on anyone who chooses to learn about the National Education Association and the history of public education in our nation,” said John Wilson, executive director of NEA. “Our history is inextricably linked to America’s history - all part of the same cloth that is colored in both struggle and progress. We are extremely grateful to the NEA Foundation for making it possible to preserve NEA’s unique place in history.”
The National Education Association Records will be a premier collection in the IBT Labor History Research Center, which includes a reading room and multi-purpose space endowed by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
“The NEA recognized the need to preserve its historical files and create a storehouse that will maintain accurate documentation of the history of American education and education policy,” said Meredith Evans Raiford, director of GW Special Collections Research Center. “The NEA archives endowment will support an archivist, preservation and programming as it relates to the collection, and we are honored to keep the NEA legacy alive.”
The NEA records will add to the historical documents and treasures already featured at GW’s Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library. Last month, the university welcomed The William L. Taylor Papers, the historical papers of the late civil rights attorney and education activist William L. Taylor. In February, the Africana Research Center acquired the historical papers and original artifacts from the legendary Ben’s Chili Bowl, one of the most prominent and successful DC minority-owned businesses to date.
The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 3.2 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.
To download high-resolution photos of the event, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgewashingtonuniversity/sets/72157626557237383/.
