A grant for $504,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) will provide support to the School of Information's Kilgarlin Center for Preservation of the Cultural Record.

The grant, to be used primarily to support teaching, will enhance the center's mission to focus national attention on preservation. The funds will help sponsor symposia and convene experts to focus on topics that address the management of our cultural heritage in humanities institutions across the United States.

"Cultural records form a precious resource that must be skillfully managed if we are to ensure their sustainability and availability for future generations," said Andrew Dillon, dean of the School of Information. "This award from NEH is further recognition of the unique educational and research programs in preservation and conservation that we provide at The University of Texas."

Home to the nation's #1 ranked program in Archives and Preservation, the School of Information offers comprehensive master's level certificates of advanced study in preservation administration and conservation.

Since 1992, this specialized program has produced more than 90 graduates in its master's degree programs in the administration of preservation and in the conservation treatment of paper-based records. These professionals occupy leading positions in cultural institutions around the world, including the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, the Smithsonian Institution, the Huntington Library and the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum. Graduates of the program are also working at higher education institutions such as Harvard University, Columbia University, Yale University and the University of California at Berkeley.

With significant funding support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the School of Information is also home to the nation's first doctoral program focused specifically on the field of library and archives preservation.

A $20,000 federal match award challenges the Kilgarlin Center to raise $20,000, which NEH will match for additional funding of $40,000.