Carl Smith and Guests from Chicago Metro History Fair to Speak at Annual Members Meeting

Join us on Tuesday, June 23, at The Newberry Library for the Chicago Collections Annual Members Meeting. We welcome everyone in our community to gather as we:

• Unveil the Chicago Collections new brand and identity;
• Learn about the organization’s newest initiatives and accomplishments;
• Hear from scholar Carl Smith and Chicago Metro History Fair representatives, Lisa Oppenheim and Frank Valadez, about the impact of Chicago Collections through a range of user experiences;
• Appoint new Directors and install Committee Chairs for the 2015-2016 term; and
• Share opportunities for you to become more involved!

PLEASE RSVP HERE BY JUNE 17, 2015

Carl Smith is Franklyn Bliss Snyder Professor of English and American Studies and Professor of History, Emeritus, at Northwestern University. His books include Chicago and the American Literary Imagination, 1880-1920; Urban Disorder and the Shape of Belief:  The Great Chicago Fire, the Haymarket Bomb, and the Model Town of Pullman (second edition, 2007), which was named Best Book in North American Urban History by the Urban History Association; The Plan of Chicago:  Daniel Burnham and the Remaking of the American City (2006), which was awarded the Lewis Mumford Prize for Best Book in American Planning History by the Society for American City and Regional Planning History and was chosen by the Chicago Public Library as the Fall 2009 selection in its "One Book, One Chicago" program; and City Water, City Life:  Water and the Infrastructure of Ideas in Urbanizing Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago (2013). In collaboration with Academic and Research Technologies at Northwestern and the Chicago History Museum, he is author/curator of two major online exhibitions, The Great Chicago Fire and the Web of Memory and The Dramas of Haymarket. He is one of the founders of the Program in American Studies at Northwestern, which he has served multiple times as director or associate director. In 1994 he was named Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence at Northwestern.

Lisa Oppenheimis the Director of the Chicago Metro History Fair. She also is project director for a number of Chicago Metro History Education Center (CMHEC) professional development programs and workshops, and has co-authored curricula based on Chicago history—all of which emphasize use of local special collections. Lisa holds a MA in Public History from Loyola University Chicago.

Frank Valadez is the Executive Director of the Chicago Metro History Education Center (CMHEC), which is best known for leading the annual Chicago Metro History Fair, and has more than 20 years of experience in history education and teacher development. He has led CMHEC since 2009 and prior to that worked at Chicago Public Schools and the Newberry Library, where he directed professional development for teachers. Over the years, he has directed several nationally funded grant programs, including three Teaching American History projects with Chicago-area school districts funded by the US Department of Education and “The Early Republic in Indian Country,” a summer institute for teachers funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. He also worked for several years in educational publishing at McDougal Littell, helping to develop highly successful textbook programs, including The American and Creating America. He earned a BA in History at Northwestern University and an AM in US History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

What? Chicago Collections Annual Members Meeting
Who? Everyone welcome
When? Tuesday, June 23, 2015, beginning at 9:00 a.m.
Where? The Newberry Library, 60 West Walton Street, Chicago, IL 60610

The Schedule (stay tuned for further details)

9:00-10:45 a.m. — Members Meeting
10:45-11:00 a.m. — Break
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. — Board of Directors Meeting