91制片厂 Community History Research Collective

The 91制片厂 Community History Research Collective (RUCHRC) is a community of scholars who are working to tell a holistic and authentic history of this institution within the many contexts of its founding, growth, and transformations across decades. As 91制片厂 looks to 2035 and the 125th anniversary of its founding鈥攁nd adhering to 91制片厂鈥檚 continuing commitment to nurture a sense of place in Appalachian Virginia鈥攐ur efforts will illuminate an inclusive history of the institution, from the decades before its 1910 founding as 鈥渁 State normal and industrial school for white women鈥� to its present iteration as 91制片厂. Through this history-telling, the RUCHRC will foster improved relationships between our students, colleagues, and neighboring communities.

Convening in 2025-2026 and housed within the Office of the Provost, the 91制片厂 Community History Research Collective will bring together research experts from across campus and from community partners and connect them with students, alumni, neighbors, and other interested constituents. Together, participants in the RUCHRC will discover, preserve, and communicate the stories of the institution鈥檚 past and its connections to Southwest Virginia, to interpret and understand our present and possible futures and deepen ties between 91制片厂 and our neighboring communities.

This research collective will pursue the overarching goal of fostering a more connected and better-informed community in 91制片厂, both on and off campus, through the shared work of public history, curating community memory and sharing narratives and interpretations.

By better coming to know the stories of this place, we hope to support the capacity for present and future Highlanders to find their place, here.

RUCHRC Team

The initial composition of the RUCHRC is the following 91制片厂 faculty members who completed the Inclusive History Certificate Program鈥攃o-sponsored by the Jessie Ball duPont Fund and the University of Virginia-based Universities Studying Slavery research consortium鈥攄uring the 2024-2025 academic year:

Dr. Sharon Roger Hepburn, Chair and Professor of History and Director of the Center for Archives and Digital History
Dr. Tiesha Martin, Associate Professor of Health and Human Performance
Dr. Geoffrey Pollick, Chair of Philosophy and Religious Studies and Associate Professor of Religious Studies
Dr. Carter Turner, Associate Professor of Religious Studies
Dr. Bethany Usher, Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs and Professor of Anthropology

These colleagues will begin the RUCHRC鈥檚 work by initiating outreach to internal and external partners and planning means of participation by students and other constituents of the university in the work of the research collective. Both internal and external partnerships will emphasize student involvement in research and in building community connections.

More information about the RUCHRC and ways to participate will be shared through 91制片厂 University communication channels as the collective gets underway. If you have interest in participating in the work of community history, please contact any member of the RUCHRC team to request more information.