UConn to Develop, Co-fund
UConn Foundation newsletter Momentum, Fall 2006 issue
Founded in the early seventeenth century, Connecticut played an integral role in shaping U.S. history. UConn is now cataloging the state’s rich history in a new online encyclopedia.
“The project is a joint venture among the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Office of the State Historian [based at the UConn Greater Hartford campus], and the Connecticut Humanities Council,” explains project director Walter Woodward, state historian and professor of history at UConn.
UConn and the state-run Connecticut Humanities Council of Middletown will share the cost of creating the Connecticut Encyclopedia of History Online (ECHO), estimated at $700,000. The council recently provided the seed money to kick off production.
The success of the council’s pilot program (the Laptop Encyclopedia of Connecticut History (www.ctheritage.com)) is evidence that ECHO will be well received by students and educators at all levels, according to Woodward and Bruce Fraser, executive director of the council.
“The pilot version is receiving 30,000 to 40,000 visitors per month who come to it for information. It’s clear there’s not only a significant need, but also a demand for it,” says Woodward.
UConn faculty and graduate students from various disciplines will produce much of the content, constructing a comprehensive and up-to-date history of the state. Woodward anticipates that, in addition to being an educational tool, the encyclopedia may inspire patriotism toward Connecticut as residents learn more about significant local historic figures and events.
“Connecticut is a state that has so much history to be proud of. It’s history that has been disproportionately influential in the history of the United States in pretty clear and remarkable ways. As important as this history has been, its people and to a degree its students have lost sight of that,” says Woodward. The new encyclopedia may “instill pride of place and of rootedness,” he elaborates.
The encyclopedia will be posted in stages. The first portion is slated for early 2008, followed by the final portion in late 2009.
