UWs Archives on the Air Program Honored by State Historical Society

The University of Wyoming American Heritage Center (AHC) and Wyoming Public Media (WPM) recently received a first-place award from the Wyoming State Historical Society (WSHS) in the audiovisual category for their collaborative “Archives on the Air” radio segment.

The award is presented to people and programs that have made an outstanding contribution to Wyoming’s history by developing documentary material in the audiovisual field.

“The American Heritage Center is proud to be home to extensive collections that are available to the public. Our collaboration with Wyoming Public Media on ‘Archives on the Air’ allows us to share stories from those collections across Wyoming so that state residents and passers-through can experience the archives without needing to come to the UW campus,” says Molly Marcusse, instruction and reference archivist at the AHC.

The program was nominated for the award by Albany County Historical Society President Jane Nelson. The WSHS Awards Committee judges this category by examining the nomination’s adherence to historical accuracy, quality of writing, usefulness in promoting history and whether there is an appealing new look at historical information.

“This program is a wonderful part of Wyoming history,” says Jane Gebhart, chair of the WSHS Awards Committee. “Listening to these programs takes you back in time. They are thought-provoking for all ages. The program often sparks your curiosity to learn more.”

“‘Archives on the Air’ is a great example of interdepartmental collaboration at the University of Wyoming,” says Micah Schweizer, WPM’s cultural affairs and production director. “We’re thrilled to be able to share a myriad of remarkable stories from the American Heritage Center’s archives.”

“Archives on the Air” is a minute-long module that airs on Wyoming Public Radio twice a day. The program launched in June 2018 after faculty and staff from the AHC approached Schweizer about providing research support for “Wyoming Minute,” a former WPM production. The discussion led to creating a new program in which both units collaborate and contribute expertise. It’s one of only two known partnerships like this in the country.

Past programs are available for streaming on WPM’s website at www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/programs/archives-air.