Special Collections News

The University of Georgia dedicated its science library Friday for Shirley Mathis McBay, the first Black student to receive a Ph.D. from the university and the first woman to earn a doctorate in mathematics from UGA.

McBay went on to a long and distinguished career as an educator, administrator and advocate who worked tirelessly to promote the participation and advancement of minorities and women in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

She began her career as a math professor at Spelman College and then became dean for student affairs at MIT and chair of the National Science Foundation’s committee on equal opportunity in science and engineering. She later launched the Quality Education for Minorities Network, a nonprofit that she led for more than 20 years.

The history of one of Atlanta’s most prominent Black communities is being preserved thanks to a partnership between the Conservancy at Historic Washington Park and the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia.

Famed photojournalist Nancy Ellison will discuss her career documenting the lives of American icons, capturing portraits of Hollywood stars, world leaders, and other figures in an event next week. The lecture, entitled "Altered Egos: Intimacy Among the Icons," will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3 at the UGA Special Collections Libraries Building and is free and open to the public.

Ellison's portraits feature celebrities from Jack Nicholson to Boris Yeltsin. A freelance photojournalist for magazines such as Time, Vogue, and Newsweek, Ellison's career has also spanned genres from author to producer. In addition to publishing 14 books, Ellison has served as producer include several award-winning plays such as Thurgood (2008), The Country Girl (2008), The Seafarer (2008), and Inherit the Wind (2007).

A premier online compilation of digital civil rights content is relaunching with a new look and thousands of additional pieces of history.

The milestone marks a new era for the Civil Rights Digital Library (CRDL). This project brings together more than 200 libraries, archives, and museums to provide free online access to historical materials documenting the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. These collaborative partnerships are the bedrock of this national project.

A new exhibit at the University of Georgia Special Collections Libraries looks at how government policies, from rural housing initiatives to low-income public housing programs, shape the landscape of communities in Georgia and across the United States.

The stories of the University of Georgia’s female athletes will be on display this fall at the UGA Special Collections Libraries.

On These Grounds: Slavery and the University of Georgia, a new digital resource available through the Hargrett Library, highlights the role of slavery on campus and the lives of the enslaved as documented in University Archives, Digital Library of Georgia, and other Libraries resources. This project is part of a nationwide collaboration for universities to identify and describe records of slavery on their campuses and was funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Songwriters say that the best music tells a story through its notes as well as the lyrics. But how do you tell the story of music?

A traveling exhibit featuring photos from the Civil Rights Movement will be on display this summer at the University of Georgia Special Collections Libraries.