Greetings Colleagues, Elizabeth Bradshaw, Wiley College (TX), Director of Library Services, shares the following highlight about Wiley College's 150th Oral History Project. Dr. Tashia Bradley directed this initiative at the library. She and the school partnered with non-profit organization, StoryCorp. Wiley College is celebrating its sesquicentennial with several upcoming commemorations and campaigns. The milestone will be commemorated with celebrations and awards running March 23. Wiley wants to keep its legacy alive by emphasizing the accomplishments it has made to Marshall, Harrison County, Texas and the country, according to college officials. "We only turn 150 years once," said Tashia L. Bradley, CEO and vice president of administration. "In celebrating, we wanted to make sure that we were able to engage a plethora of individuals while at the same time sending out reminders throughout the different events of our significance as an institution in the higher education landscape. So celebrating mostly all year long allows us to be able to hit all those touch points, but also it allows community members, alum, our students, faculty, staff, everyone to join in the celebration at different points and different times." When Wiley College first opened, tensions from the Civil War had long since subsided. The name of the institution - Wiley University as it was known at the time - honors the medical missionary, educator and Methodist Church bishop Isaac William Wiley, who died in 1884. In 1880, the school relocated to 55 acres of forested land, where the college is located now, in Marshall. In 1882, the Methodist Episcopal Church's Freedman's Aid Society accredited the college. Herman J. Felton Jr., president of Wiley College, started the Wiley 1873 campaign in advance of the school's sesquicentennial celebrations. With the help of this initiative, Wiley College hopes to provide 1,873 scholarships to new, incoming students who will enroll in fall 2022, spring 2023 and fall 2023. The Increasing the Legacy: Wiley College Sesquicentennial campaign, which has a goal of $3.4 million, is being led by Board of Trustees Vice Chairman Jerry Cargill and Trustee Emeritus Warren Scott. It will improve the student-athlete experience by building a cutting-edge athletics complex, a new fleet of vehicles and a contemporary practice gym, according to the college. A Wildcat Sesquicentennial Box, which honors the legacy of Wiley College with commemorative items, is also available for purchase. By raising $1.4 million so far, the college has reached 41% of its fundraising target. "We recognize that students are wanting to be students and athletes, and we want to provide them with state-of-the-art facilities and experiences," Bradley said. Wiley recently kicked off its most recent sesquicentennial events with 150 Years of Excellence: Storytelling for Our Future in its Julius S. Scott Sr. Chapel, named after the institution's ninth president. Throughout March students, faculty and community members can celebrate the history of Wiley with several events. The college will host an oral history project and reception on March 13 in the Thomas Winston Cole Sr. Library, which was given that name in honor of its 10th president. A sesquicentennial chapel service will be held March 14. On March 15, the school will conduct a premiere for the film "Freedom." March 17 is the date of the Celebration Under the Stars event and the sesquicentennial convocation. The latter event will take place in Wiley's pedestrian plaza, which was named for graduate Heman Marion Sweatt. On March 18, Wiley will have a "fireside talk" featuring Opal Lee and Felton. Wiley College alumna Lee is known as the Grandmother of Juneteenth as she worked to have June 19 named a federal holiday. All sesquicentennial activities will come to a close with a gala March 18 at a venue designated in honor of former Wiley athletic director Fred Thomas Long. This event costs $100 per person, and a table must be reserved for $900. Wiley also has an alumni challenge, in which all graduates are challenged to donate money in order to reach a $150,000 goal. Terri L. Anderson, president of Anderson Development & Construction, and the daughter and granddaughter of Wiley College alumni, will match that $150,000, dollar for dollar "We are at 87 percent of that [goal]," said Senior Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Strategic Retention W. Anthony Neal. "We have $132,000 in the pot." Donations can be made to any of Wiley's campaigns by visiting www.wileyc.edu/donate<http://www.wileyc.edu/donate>. https://www.news-journal.com/news/education/wiley-college-sets-events-to-celebrate150th-anniversary/article_6d67a611-e03c-5455-917b-2cf04af46593.html Elizabeth M. Bradshaw Director of Library Services Thomas Winston Cole, Sr. Library Wiley College 711 Wiley Avenue Marshall, Texas 75670 (903) 927-3275 ebradshaw@wileyc.edu<mailto:ebradshaw@wileyc.edu> LaTasha Denard Executive Assistant at HBCU Library Alliance<http://hbculibraries.org/> Phone: (678) 210-5801 ext. 102 Web: hbculibraries.org<http://hbculibraries.org/> Email: ldenard@hbculibraries.org<http://mailto:ldenard@hbculibraries.org/> Follow us on our social media: [cid:image001.gif@01D95729.181B7AB0]<https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/> [cid:image002.gif@01D95729.181B7AB0] <https://twitter.com/HBCULibAlliance> [cid:image003.png@01D95729.181B7AB0] <https://www.instagram.com/hbcu_library_alliance/> [cid:image004.gif@01D95729.181B7AB0] <https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/> SUMMER CONSERVATION/PRESERVATION PROGRAM Follow this link 2023 Summer Conservation/Preservation Internship Program<http://www.hbculibraries.org/2023-interns.html> for more information and to apply. 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