KU Web site makes historical additions

KUhistory.com adds 25 new scholarly articles

The KUhistory.com Web site has added 25 new articles to its core content and is planning to expand even further.

The additions include 10 articles about student housing history, underwrit-
ten by the KU Department of Student Housing; 10 articles about KU architecture and landscape design, underwritten by the Historic Mount Oread Fund; and five articles about KU firsts, underwritten by the KU Endowment Association.

The articles cover a variety of subjects including Pioneer Cemetery, Watkins and Miller halls, William Allen White’s Pulitzer Prize, Foster and Templin scholarship halls, architect John G. Haskell, Marvin Grove and KU benefactor Elizabeth M. Watkins.

The stories follow the same formula employed by the Web site: modern packaging that makes the scholarly information appealing and accessible to a broad audience.

“ We know we are competing for our readers’ time and attention against a thousand other distractions,” project director and editor-in-chief Henry Fortunato said. “We take history seriously. We follow scholarly methodology to research these articles, we delve into primary source documents, and we’re not in love with lore or legend. We believe today’s general audience is sophisticated enough to prefer the real story, not simply a whitewashed or celebratory one.”

Fortunato also said more articles are in the works.

In 2005, the site will begin launching a series of 40 articles covering the history of the KU Medical Center to commemorate the centennial of the KU School of Medicine.

In addition, a new image gallery will be created in conjunction with the KU Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center; content will be added about the history of the KU Edwards Campus; and the Great War Memory Project, a commemorative tribute to the 129 KU men and women who lost their lives during World War I, will be launched.

At the Kansas Union, 10 new panels will be added to the KU History Galleries, a series of displays reflecting information contained at the KU History Web site.
David Mucci, director of the KU Memorial Unions, said the project has enriched the KU community not only by highlighting traditions and history but also by unifying the four campuses.

“ The success of this project is a tribute to the power of shared identity,” Mucci said. “More important, it is a demonstration of the very special and very powerful tradition that Jayhawks share.”