SCA Head Jane Wildermuth Named Interim University Librarian

Please join us in congratulating Jane Wildermuth, our Head of Special Collections & Archives, on being named Interim University Librarian here at the Wright State University Libraries.

The email communication below was sent this afternoon by Dr. Amy Thompson, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, and we look forward to a WSU News Room article coming out soon!

Jane Wildermuth

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Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that Jane Wildermuth, head of Special Collections and Archives in the Wright State University Libraries, has agreed to serve as interim university librarian. Ms. Wildermuth will oversee the University Libraries’ daily operations until a permanent university librarian is appointed.

She replaces Karen Wilhoit, who retired at the end of February.

Ms. Wildermuth has worked for the Wright State University Libraries for 25 years. In 2020, she was named the head of Special Collections and Archives, overseeing Wright State’s world-class historical collections, digitization projects for the Libraries and Wright State, and CORE Scholar, the university’s institutional repository.

Ms. Wildermuth joined the University Libraries in 1999 as an archivist in Special Collections and Archives. In 2006, she created and served as the head of Digital Initiatives and Repository Services.

Please join me in welcoming Jane Wildermuth to her new role at Wright State University.

Best, Amy Thompson, Ph.D.
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

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If you would like to contact Jane directly to share your congratulations, view Jane’s contact information in the university directory.

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Great-Grandson of Mahatma Gandhi Visits the Archives

Yesterday, we had the honor and privilege to share our special collections with Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, famous leader of several nonviolent protests that helped effect India’s independence from Great Britain in 1947.

The Special Collections & Archives tour was the kickoff of a full day’s schedule of events for Mr. Gandhi to enjoy here at Wright State University. Just after our tour, Mr. Gandhi delivered the 2024 Earl H. Morris Endowed Lecture on the impact of Mahatma Gandhi on Dr. Martin Luther King’s fight for human rights and his efforts to address global health care disparities.

We shared a specially curated selection of items from our more than 1200 manuscript collections, focusing on the themes of peace, global health and nutrition, and of course the Wright Brothers. We highlighted materials from collections such as the Reed Smith Wright State University Peace Studies Collection; Dayton Peace Action Committee Records; Dayton Council on World Affairs Records; Dayton: A Peace Process Collection; the Ambassador Tony Hall Papers; and the Alice Carr Papers, just to name a few. We even have original photographic negatives documenting the proceedings at the Dayton Peace Agreement, held at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 1995, in the Dayton Daily News Archive.

A great lover of history, Mr. Gandhi has been touring various libraries, archives, museums, and historical sites throughout the Miami Valley during his two-week visit, including the International Peace Museum and the Dayton Metro Library.

For more information about Mr. Tushar Gandhi’s visit to Wright State, please see the Wright State News Room.

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Newly Donated Publication Available: Letters to My Grandchildren by William J. Lammers

Special Collections and Archives received a special gift in October from author William “Bill” J. Lammers, who presented us with signed copies of his newly available two volume family history titled Letters to My Grandchildren.  Bill grew up in Mercer County, Ohio, in a family with deep multi-generational roots in the area. His family is a prime example of why archival institutions document not only the well-known figures of history, but also those of us considered “ordinary citizens.” All of us are impacted by, participate in, and respond to the events and geographic, social, and economic environment of our times. The stories of Bill Lammer’s family are told within the context of historical events of each generation, and as the pages turn, one can see how the experiences of one generation continue to impact the lives of the next.

Bill’s great-great grandfather emigrated from Germany to America with his sons in 1846, coming up the Mississippi River from New Orleans, and on to the Ohio River into Cincinnati, eventually settling in rural Mercer County, Ohio.  In less than two decades’ time, Bill’s great-grandfather and great-grand-uncle would become Civil War veterans who fought for the Union in their new country of allegiance.  While they survived, they struggled with addiction, mental health, and anger that would affect not only themselves, but those around them; each generation with threads of the last, forging their story, to be woven into the lives of the next. 

When family stories are revealed in such a historical context, it shows how powerful the study of history is in understanding our current circumstances in life.  The books also reveal the power of second chances, and how uncovering suppressed history can help overcome detrimental repeated patterns.

The books are available to read in the Special Collections and Archives’ Reading Room and to check out from the Libraries’ general collection.  

Author William Lammers and Archivist Toni Vanden Bos holding Lammer’s newly published books titled Letters to My Grandchildren

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