Wichita State awarded prestigious grant to preserve Wichita history Wichita State awarded prestigious grant to preserve Wichita history

Wichita State University has been awarded a $60,000 grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) to digitize approximately 17,500 pages from the papers of historic Wichitan James R. Mead.

Mead (1836-1910) was an explorer, plainsman, Kansas legislator and one of the founders of modern Wichita.

The grant was written by Lorraine Madway, curator of special collections and university archivist at WSU Libraries, which houses the Mead papers. Only five new grants were awarded by the NHPRC this year for the digital dissemination of documentary records to promote the use of the nation's rich documentary heritage.

"Digitization of this collection will provide students and other researchers an opportunity to identify mid-19th century social, economic and cultural patterns of democracy in the west and to determine to what extent they shaped its later development," said Madway. "This project is a great opportunity for WSU to have a scholarly impact on the global research community."