National Archives, UK Libraries to Present Inaugural Clements Award to Taylor County Educator
LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 2, 2015) — The National Archives and the University of Kentucky Libraries Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center will give the inaugural Earle C. Clements Innovation in Education Award to 1996 UK College of Education graduate Timothy A. Peterson, a history teacher at Taylor County High School in Campbellsville, Kentucky. The award will be presented by U.S. Archivist David S. Ferriero at a ceremony to be held 3 p.m. Wednesday, July 8, at the Special Collections Research Center, in the Margaret I. King Library Building. A reception will immediately follow the event.
The Clements Award honors the life and career of the late Earle C. Clements and his lifelong commitment to education and public service. Clements’ political career included service as a county sheriff, clerk and judge; terms in the state senate and as governor; and terms in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, where he was a close colleague to future President Lyndon Baines Johnson.
High school history and/or civics (social studies) teachers throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky who demonstrated a teacher’s knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, the subject and commitment to increasing student awareness of the importance of public service; expertise in civics and history content and the ability to share it with students; impact on student success; and evidence of creativity and innovation, were eligible to apply for the Clements Award that was selected by an independent review panel.
As part of the ceremony, National Archivist David S. Ferriero will speak. Ferriero was confirmed as 10th Archivist of the United States on Nov. 6, 2009. Previously, he served as the Andrew W. Mellon Director of the New York Public Libraries (NYPL). Ferriero was part of the leadership team responsible for integrating the four research libraries and 87 branch libraries into one seamless service for users, creating the largest public library system in the United States and one of the largest research libraries in the world. He was in charge of collection strategy; conservation; digital experience; reference and research services; and education, programming and exhibitions.
Among Ferriero's responsibilities at the NYPL was the development of the library’s digital strategy, which currently encompasses partnerships with Google and Microsoft, a website that reaches more than 25 million unique users annually, and a digital library of more than 750,000 images that may be accessed free of charge by any user around the world.
Prior to joining the NYPL in 2004, Ferriero served in the Navy during the Vietnam War before taking top positions at two of the nation’s major academic libraries at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. In those positions, he led major initiatives including the expansion of facilities, the adoption of digital technologies, and a reengineering of printing and publications.
Ferriero earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English literature from Northeastern University in Boston and a master’s degree from the Simmons College of Library and Information Science, also in Boston.
Individuals interested in attending the Earle C. Clements' award ceremony are asked to RSVP by 4 p.m. today (Thursday), July 2, to Sherree Osborne at sosbo3@uky.edu.
The National Archives is an independent federal agency that serves American democracy by safeguarding and preserving the records of our government, so people can discover, use and learn from this documentary heritage. The National Archives ensures continuing access to the essential documentation of the rights of American citizens and the actions of their government. From the Declaration of Independence to accounts of ordinary Americans, the holdings of the National Archives directly touch the lives of millions of people. The agency supports democracy, promotes civic education and facilitates historical understanding of our national experience. The National Archives carries out its mission through a nationwide network of archives, records centers and Presidential Libraries, and on the Internet at www.archives.gov.
UK Special Collections Research Center is home to UK Libraries' collection of rare books, Kentuckiana, the Archives, the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, the King Library Press, the Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center, the Bert T. Combs Appalachian collection and the digital library, ExploreUK. The mission of the center is to locate and preserve materials documenting the social, cultural, economic and political history of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu