Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education
  • Home
  • About
    • Latest News
    • Statement on Systemic Racism
    • Leadership
    • Our Partners
    • Parking and Directions
  • Education
    • People Powered 2023 Program
    • Educational Resources
    • Teacher Institute
    • Internship Program
  • Research
    • Congressional Collections >
      • Robert C. Byrd Congressional Papers
      • Harley O. Staggers, Sr. Congressional Papers
      • Harley O. Staggers, Jr. Congressional Papers
      • Scot Falkner CAO Papers
    • Blog
    • Digital Collections
    • Oral History Project
    • Plan a Visit to the Archives
    • Collecting Policy
  • Events
    • Voices of the Community series
    • Summer Fundraiser 2023
    • Forum on Pollution
    • Formidable - author event
    • Voices of the Community
    • Constitution Day
    • Past Events
  • Support Us
    • Friends of the Byrd Center
    • Name a Seat
    • Annual Report
  • Reservations
  • Login

Returning to Senator Byrd’s Alma Mater – The Byrd Exhibit opens at Marshall University

4/17/2017

1 Comment

 
​On Monday, April 10, 2017, the Byrd Center opened its traveling exhibit Robert C. Byrd: Senator, Statesman, West Virginian in the atrium of the John Deaver Drinko Library at Marshall University. Located in Huntington, West Virginia’s second-largest city, the modern facilities at the Drinko Library provided an exceptional setting for the exhibit. From the windows in the atrium, passersby can spot the exhibit as they walk across the campus.

The trip to Marshall University marked our fourteenth stop on the tour of the exhibit. As with so many of the places we've visited over the past year, there were many ties to Senator Byrd's life and career at our destination. As Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Byrd secured federal dollars that helped to build the university's biotechnology science center and advanced flexible manufacturing institute as well as other programs and campus improvements.
Picture
Founded in 1837, Marshall University is named in honor of the fourth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, John Marshall. As expressed in remarks by President Jerome “Jerry” Gilbert at a reception for the exhibit, Senator Byrd had a special connection to the university. In the early 1950s, Senator Byrd took classes at Marshall, one of four institutions he attended during his undergraduate studies. Marshall University President Wade Gilley determined that the credits which Senator Byrd had earned while attending Beckley College, Concord College, Morris Harvey College, and Marshall were sufficient to award him with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. During the 1994 commencement ceremonies, President Gilley presented then seventy-six year old Senator Byrd with the degree. Senator Byrd returned to Marshall four years later in 1998 to dedicate the newly-built John Deaver Drinko Library, where the traveling exhibit is now on display. 
Picture
Senator Byrd speaks at the dedication of the John Deaver Drinko Library at Marshall University in 1998. Congressman Nick Joe Rahall (second from the right) also took part in the dedication ceremony.
​Our stop in Huntington included the opportunity to collaborate with faculty from Marshall University’s History and Public Administration and Policy departments in a panel discussion on Senator Byrd’s legacy in West Virginia and in the United States. The panel featured our own Director, Dr. Ray Smock and Director of Programs and Research, Dr. Jay Wyatt as well as Dr. Damien Arthur, Assistant Professor of Public Administration and Policy. Dr. Kevin Barksdale, Associate Professor of American History moderated the panel and discussion. 

​We thank Dr. Monica Brooks, Associate Vice President of Libraries and Online Learning at the J. Deaver Drinko Library for hosting our visit to Marshall University. In addition to the library, we received support from the Robert C. Byrd Institute for Advanced Flexible Manufacturing and the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce. The Byrd Exhibit will be on display in the Drinko Library until Monday, May 15, 2017.
Picture
From left to right: Dr. Ray Smock (Director, Byrd Center); Dr. Jerome Gilbert (President, Marshall University), Dr. Jay Wyatt (Director of Programs and Research, Byrd Center), and Dr. Damien Arthur (Assistant Professor of Public Administration and Policy, Marshall University).
1 Comment
Jerry link
1/2/2021 01:24:19 am

This is a great postt

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    On the Road with the Byrd Exhibit

    Follow us on our journey with the Robert C. Byrd Traveling Exhibit across West Virginia and beyond!

    Archives

    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016

    RSS Feed

Picture
213 North King Street
PO Box 5000
Shepherd University
Shepherdstown, WV 25443
(304) 876 - 5702

Our Mission:

The Byrd Center advances representative democracy by promoting a better understanding of the United States Congress and the Constitution through programs and research that engage citizens.
© 2021 Robert C. Byrd Center for
​Congressional History and Education
  • Home
  • About
    • Latest News
    • Statement on Systemic Racism
    • Leadership
    • Our Partners
    • Parking and Directions
  • Education
    • People Powered 2023 Program
    • Educational Resources
    • Teacher Institute
    • Internship Program
  • Research
    • Congressional Collections >
      • Robert C. Byrd Congressional Papers
      • Harley O. Staggers, Sr. Congressional Papers
      • Harley O. Staggers, Jr. Congressional Papers
      • Scot Falkner CAO Papers
    • Blog
    • Digital Collections
    • Oral History Project
    • Plan a Visit to the Archives
    • Collecting Policy
  • Events
    • Voices of the Community series
    • Summer Fundraiser 2023
    • Forum on Pollution
    • Formidable - author event
    • Voices of the Community
    • Constitution Day
    • Past Events
  • Support Us
    • Friends of the Byrd Center
    • Name a Seat
    • Annual Report
  • Reservations
  • Login