The Quaker Archives at Guilford College offers the most complete collection of southeastern Quaker history in the country. With artifacts dating back to the mid-17th century, there is no bigger collection.
Suzanne Bartels, the director of Hege Library and Learning Technologies, says the archives “is really a jewel in the crown in terms of our library resources.” But all those historical records need to be managed and cared for by a professional archivist.
Earlier this year, Guilford received a generous gift that will help fund the position of the Quaker Archivist position at Guilford. Damon (pictured at right) and Mary Hickey made a $500,000 endowment challenge gift to Guilford in honor of Carole Edgerton Treadway, a Guilford archivist who dedicated more than 30 years caring for the College’s Quaker collection and mentoring other archivists as well.
One of those archivists was Damon, who died unexpectedly Dec. 26. The Hickey gift will be made over five years and will match every pledge dollar for dollar up to $500,000. The College hopes to raise at least $1 million to fund the position.
“We know how precarious funding for (the position) can be, even with the support of the College and Friends, so we decided to launch this endowment campaign with our gift,” said Damon, who worked at Guilford from 1975 to 1991.
A few days after the Hickeys' gift, Rachel Miller ’02 and her husband, Henry, pledged $25,000 to the endowment. Rachel worked with Carole while attending Guilford.
“Carole set me on the path to being a librarian when I was just 17,” Rachel says. “I’m well aware that it’s much harder to get funding for the essential work of librarians and archivists than to get funding for physical items and that the labor and expertise of librarians and archivists is essential for anyone to actually access the materials or the information they hold. I am delighted to help endow the Quaker Archives position in Carole’s name.”
The Quaker Archives houses manuscript records dating back to the 1680s and routinely hosts scholars researching a variety of topics covering more than 300 years of source materials. This special research facility is recognized by the National Parks Service’s National Underground Network to Freedom Program as a resource for the study of abolitionism and freedom seeking.
While there are several restricted and endowed funds currently associated with the Quaker Archives, they support a very small percentage of costs and financial needs. The single largest financial need is sustainable funding for professional staff. Gwen Erickson, Guilford’s current archivist, collaborates with colleagues on campus and with scholars, archival colleagues, and members of the Society of Friends to fulfill the Quaker Archives’ missions and goals. She also manages and administers all library and archives functions of the Quaker Archives, including the Guilford College archives.
For more information on how to support the Carole Edgerton Treadway Endowment Fund, please contact LaDaniel Gatling, Vice President for Advancement, at 336.316.2320 or gatlingl@guilford.edu.