The success of the Theodore Roosevelt Center depends largely on the financial support of individuals. Gifts of any size will make a lasting impact to ensure the continued development of the digital library, the museum, publications and symposia, and all the other work of the Center. Contributions also enhance Roosevelt studies and scholarship and support cultural and heritage tourism in western North Dakota.
Endowed Chair in Theodore Roosevelt Studies
The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded the Theodore Roosevelt Center a $500,000 challenge grant to create an Endowed Chair in Theodore Roosevelt Studies. This will be the nation’s only scholar wholly dedicated to understanding and interpreting the full impact of Theodore Roosevelt’s life. With access both to the full body of materials being gathered into the digital library, and to the scenic North Dakota Badlands, Roosevelt’s beloved second home, the holder of the Theodore Roosevelt Chair will promote the study of Theodore Roosevelt and his legacy through ongoing research, publication, teaching, lectures, and public presentations.
The NEH challenge requires that the Center raise $1.5 million over five years, concluding in 2014. Your gift will help us to meet the challenge and make a permanent contribution to the study of Roosevelt’s legacy.
Digital Library
The Theodore Roosevelt Center has initiated partnerships with the Library of Congress, Harvard College Library, and the National Park Service, to create the most comprehensive and accessible collection of Roosevelt documents available anywhere. More than 165,000 items from these Roosevelt collections have already been digitized, to be made freely available online. With the expertise of history and library professionals, and the contributions of volunteers and interns around the country, the Center is reviewing and cataloging these items, including letters to and from Roosevelt, photographs, cartoons, newspaper articles, and other materials from nine repositories. Just a small percentage of the digitized items are now accessible in the digital library, with new items being added weekly.
Your gift to the Theodore Roosevelt Center will accelerate the process of making these items available to the public and allow the acquisition of additional materials from these collections and others.
To learn more about how you might take part in these important and groundbreaking projects, contact Sharon Kilzer, Project Manager for the Theodore Roosevelt Center, at 701-483-2814 or sharon.kilzer@dickinsonstate.edu.