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Local history is being preserved by future archaeologist

Andrew Ross

ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½×îаæÏÂÔØ University student Andrew Ross of Bolingbrook spent the spring 2012 semester preserving local history through an internship funded by a grant from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation. Dr. Dennis H. Cremin, associate professor and director noted, "The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation is interested in making these materials available to a wider audience. The grant has assisted in making the rededicated Historic Fitzpatrick House open to the public.”

Ross spent his time scanning, sorting and preserving historical artifacts in both the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½×îаæÏÂÔØ University Learning Resource Center and Fitzpatrick House. The daily work routine for Ross consisted of scanning film negatives from the Robert Sterling Collection and also transferring various documents, artifacts, articles, etc. into archival-grade folders and boxes. The collection focuses on the greater Joliet area and includes newspapers, articles, photos, government documents, and pamphlets that are rich in history and date from the 1800s to the present. Ross worked to save their integrity. He said, “This experience will prove to be valuable when I achieve my goal of becoming an archaeologist. Having the basic knowledge of how to handle older materials will be quite useful.”

Ross, is majoring in and with plans to study in Rome during the 2012 Fall semester and graduate in 2014. His career goal is to be an archaeologist that travels the world, he describes, “just like Indiana Jones.”

More information about the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½×îаæÏÂÔØ University History Center and the preserved materials is available at www.lewisu.edu/historycenter.

ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½×îаæÏÂÔØ University is a Catholic university offering distinctive undergraduate and graduate programs to nearly 6,500 traditional and adult students. ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½×îаæÏÂÔØ offers multiple campus locations, online degree programs, and a variety of formats that provide accessibility and convenience to a growing student population. Sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½×îаæÏÂÔØ prepares intellectually engaged, ethically grounded, globally aware, and socially responsible graduates. The ninth largest private not-for-profit university in Illinois, ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½×îаæÏÂÔØ has been nationally recognized by The Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report.