WWII and Montevallo

World War II has descended on Montevallo this spring. At the beginning of March, Jason Cooper posted a blog titled Women's History: The Original Flygirls. Jason's entry highlights a piece that aired on NPR's Morning Edition about WASP, Women Airforce Service Pilots.

On April 19th, we will pay tribute to UM Professor of Biology and author, E. B. Sledge. The event will be held at Parnell Memorial Library in Montevallo. Dr. Sledge's book With the Old Breed is considered by many to be one of the finest war memoirs ever published. The book is used heavily by researchers and serves as a major foundation piece for HBO's miniseries The Pacific.

UM's History Department offers many classes that focus on World War II subject matter and this semester is no exception. Two of these courses are Dr. Ruth Truss' History 481/581 "The United States 1900-1945" and Dr. Clark Hultquist's History 411/511
"Europe 1914-1945.

Finally, UM's University Archives and Special Collections contains a small, but interesting group of WWII materials. Located primarily in the Helen Parrish Collection and the Presidential Papers of Dr. Arthur Fort Harman, the items offer a real sense of what the home front was like during the war years. Harman's Papers contain documents and letters about salvaging items and donating them to the war effort. Scrap paper and tin were highly sought after material. Items in the Helen Parrish Collection include personal correspondence with soldiers stationed in Europe, a piece of Vmail, and war ration booklets (with some stamps still intact). Helen was a student and employee at Alabama College, in the 1940s, and her keepsakes were part of a recent donation to our Archives.

Special thanks to Jamie Rawls for processing the Helen Parrish Collection and to Dallas Hanbury and Kathy Ratcliffe for their research on this project. Also thanks to Hunter Tinsley and Joel Bullock for their digital image work.

April 1st is Census Day

Tomorrow, April 1^st, marks Census Day. This is the day that the Census Bureau hopes to have all surveys completed and in the mail.

According to the Montevallo Chamber of Commerce, each person counted is equivalent to more than $1700 in funding for Montevallo's local government, schools, libraries, and more. And here's another reason to send in your form: due to the cost of training census takers* the Census Bureau estimates that it would save $1.5 billion if 100 percent of households mailed them in.

As of today, 50 percent of Census forms have been returned nationally. Alabama lags slightly behind that rate of return at 48 percent. You can track your own town's participation rate from the Census Bureau's Take 10 Map page.

If you haven't already done so, take ten minutes today to complete your survey and send it in. As the Census Bureau says, "we can't move forward until you mail it back."

* Also known as enumerators! I love that word.

2010 Women's History Makers Breakfast

The 2010 Women’s History Makers Breakfast will take place tomorrow, March 30^th from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. in the Montevallo Room of the Anna Irving Dining Hall. Tickets are required but free and can be picked up from the Office of Multicultural Affairs (6023). Deadline for ticket pickup is March 29th by 5:00 p.m.

Three women will be honored tomorrow morning including Carmichael Library's own Barbara Belisle. The 2010 Women’s History Makers Breakfast honorees are:

Dr. Judy Merritt
Jefferson State Community College
On December 1, 1979, Judy was appointed President of Jefferson State Community College. This appointment marked the first time a woman had been appointed as president of a two-year college in Alabama.

Barbara Belisle
University of Montevallo
On the first day of classes in 1967, Barbara Belisle walked into Montevallo High School; the first African American to teach there.

Alyce Manley Spruell
Spruell and Powell, LLC
Alyce Manley Spruell is the 2009-2010 President Elect of the Alabama State Bar and will be the first woman to head the state bar

For more information contact Robert L. Robinson, Coordinator of Multicultural Affairs by phone at 6023, or by e-mail at robinsonrl@montevallo.edu.

University of Montevallo MBA Program is official

The Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) Friday morning, March 12 approved UM's proposal for a master of business administration degree. The MBA will be offered by the Stephens College of Business beginning this fall.

More information

Library Catalog is Now Available

Maintenance on the library catalog is complete. The catalog will be available tonight, tomorrow, and into the Spring Break.