History of the North Carolina Community College Archives Association
The history of the North Carolina Community College Archives Association can be traced to 2003, when Clark Adams, English Instructor at Davidson County Community College, served as a member of the college’s 40th Anniversary Committee. As part of the 40th Anniversary celebration of the college in 2003, Adams began researching the history of the college and located the son of the first Director who had not been connected with the College since the 1960s. He was invited and honored as part of the celebration. Adams soon began researching the history of the community college movement throughout North Carolina and began considering ways to preserve it. At the time, some of the pioneers of the system were still living, although many had already passed away and Adams realized that the history of the community college system was soon going to fade away with them unless this was information was preserved. This fueled his desire to preserve community college history across the state.
After taking a position as an English instructor at Randolph Community College in 2004, Adams began researching the history of Randolph Community College and in the fall of 2004, began talking with Debbie Luck, Dean of Library Services, about establishing a college archives collection. In 2005, a college archives was established at Randolph Community College, and Adams and Luck co-chaired the college’s 45th anniversary in 2007, and the 50th anniversary in 2012. Adams and Luck developed a college archives webpage and worked with the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center to digitize a number of materials in the collection.
From 2010-2012, Adams conducted intensive research on the industrial education centers (forerunners to North Carolina’s community colleges) which led him across the state to various community college and university archives. In 2012, Adams led a movement to have a North Carolina State Highway Historical Marker placed at the site of the first industrial education center to open in 1958 in Eden, North Carolina. In the fall of 2012, Adams was asked to serve on the North Carolina Community College System’s 50th Anniversary Committee from 2012-2013 and assisted with an exhibit on the history of the NC Community College System at the North Carolina Museum of History.
From 2012-2016, Adams visited archives collections at 10 community colleges and 5 universities across the state to assess their condition and observe best practices. Through his visits, he discovered that many collections were sparse, unorganized, poorly staffed, and undervalued. He also discovered that one community college in the system had discarded its entire archives collection and that the entire history of the college had been lost. Adams realized that this could easily occur at other institutions across the state and that it most likely had already occurred. He also discovered that the North Carolina Community College System Office had discarded its historical documents and materials, which documented the evolution of the system.
This prompted Adams to talk with Debbie Luck in June of 2016 and propose the idea of forming a statewide association that could serve as a collective voice to advocate for the preservation of institutional archives and the history of the North Carolina Community College System. Luck agreed that it would be a good idea and the two reached out to Erin Allsop at Central Piedmont Community College on June 29, 2016.
Allsop had always been interested in archives; and believed that in the case of community college archives, there clearly was a greater need to preserve them considering the severe neglect they are currently facing. She hoped to foster as great of an appreciation of community college archives as many have for the archives collections at 4-year institutions.
At the time, Allsop, who was hired at Central Piedmont Community College in March 2016, was the only full-time college archivist in the community college system. Jenny Thomas, Information Technology Librarian at Randolph Community College, began working with Adams, Allsop, and Luck in July 2016 and was tasked with sending out information to those interested and later members.
Allsop was very excited about the proposed idea and Luck, Adams, Allsop, and Jenny Thomas met at Central Piedmont Community College on August 2, 2016 to make plans for the establishment of the association. Adams developed a mission statement for the association on August 3, 2016. Adams, Allsop, Luck, and Thomas surveyed all 58 community colleges in September 2016 to determine if there was interest in an archives association and nearly all community colleges responded favorably.
A Planning Committee was formed in November 2016 which consisted of:
Debbie Luck (Randolph Community College)
Jenny Thomas (Randolph Community College)
Clark Adams (Randolph Community College)
Erin Allsop (Central Piedmont Community College)
Sebrina Mabe (Surry Community College)
Carolyn T. Bittle (Richmond Community College)
Peggy Higgins (Asheville-Buncombe Technical College)
Samantha Smith (Rowan-Cabarrus Community College)
Shirley Outlaw (College of the Albemarle)
Samantha O’Connor (Central Carolina Community College)
Alison Beard (Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute)
Patricia Buelt (Sandhills Community College)
Mark King (Craven Community College)
Dr. Harry Cooke (Gaston Community College)
Monica Young (Guilford Technical Community College)
Patricia Buelt (Sandhills Community College)
Grant LeFoe (South Piedmont Community College)
Rose Sullivan (Lenoir Community College)
Emily von Pfahl (Cleveland Community College)
Aletha Andrew (Wayne Community College)
Staci Wilson (Catawba Valley Community College)
Kristen Bowen (Southeastern Community College)
Carmen Barnes-Holden (Catawba Valley Community College)
The first official meeting of the association was held at Randolph Community College on December 2, 2016. Dr. Bob Shackleford, President of Randolph Community College, welcomed the group and George Fouts, Interim President of the North Carolina Community College System from 2015-2016, spoke to the group about the importance of preserving the history of community colleges. The committee laid the groundwork for the formation of the association.
Erin Allsop created a WordPress blog website on January 18, 2017. A logo was designed on February 1, 2017. Adams, Allsop, Luck, and Thomas began a presentation tour in 2017 to present information on the association to various groups across the state.
Adams, Luck, and Lisa Gregory of the NC Digital Heritage Center at UNC-Chapel Hill presented at the North Carolina Community College Library Association Annual Conference in March 2017 at Carteret Community College in Morehead City, NC. Allsop, Peggy Higgins of Asheville-Buncombe Technical College, and Jenny Thomas presented at the Society of North Carolina Archivists’ Annual Conference held at UNC-Asheville in March 2017. Adams, Allsop, and Luck also presented information about the association at a NC Retired Community College Presidents Association meeting at Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh on September 21, 2017, while Adams, Allsop, Gregory, and Thomas presented at the 62nd biennial North Carolina Library Association conference in Winston-Salem, NC on October 20, 2017.
The second official meeting of the association was held on December 1, 2017 at Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, North Carolina. George Fouts and Dr. Parker Chesson (President of the College of the Albemarle from 1975-1992) were asked to serve as members of the committee as retiree representatives and agreed. At the second meeting, members of the committee worked on developing a constitution and by-laws for the association and these were approved by the membership on March 14, 2018.
In February of 2018, Erin Lawrimore, archivist at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, contacted Erin Allsop to discuss the need for assisting community college archive programs across the state. As part of UNCG’s efforts of outreach, Lawrimore suggested applying for an LSTA planning grant that could provide funding to develop a statewide archival consulting service. By June of 2018, Lawrimore received notice that an LSTA Planning Grant was successfully obtained to better assist community college archives and other smaller institutions throughout North Carolina. This project will allow a planning committee of archivists from UNC Greensboro, Central Piedmont Community College, Elon University, and Winston-Salem State University to explore creation of a statewide archival processing service. This service would provide community colleges and smaller cultural heritage institutions with assistance in arranging and describing their archival collections, thereby providing researchers with greater access to collections often considered “hidden.” Through this grant, the Steering Committee will explore the most effective ways of providing these services as well as the scope of the future service. Members of the Steering Committee include Erin Allsop (CPCC, NCCCAA representative), Erin Lawrimore (UNC-Greensboro; sponsoring institution), Chrystal Carpenter (Elon University), and Thomas Flynn (Winston-Salem State University). The Steering Committee’s first meeting will be scheduled for some time in Fall 2018.
In May of 2018, Adams, Allsop, Luck, and Thomas drafted officer position descriptions for the Executive Board. Nominations were accepted for inaugural officers in July 2018, and the first officers of the association were elected on July 20, 2018.
The third meeting of the association was called the first annual meeting and was held at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Wilson Library on August 2, 2018, where the inaugural officers were installed and staff members of the university provided a tour of the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center. Members who attended were also able to tour the Southern Folklife Collection and North Carolina Collection. Those in attendance were:
Dr. Harry Cooke (Gaston College)
Dr. Parker Chesson (Retired President, College of the Albemarle)
Monica Young (Guilford Technical Community College)
Gloria Pitts (Guilford Technical Community College)
Amanda Winfrey (South Piedmont Community College)
Debbie Luck (Randolph Community College)
Jenny Thomas (Randolph Community College)
Clark Adams (Randolph Community College)
Spencer Tart (Johnston Community College)
Samantha O’Connor (Central Carolina Community College)
Calvin Craig (Gaston College)
Erin Allsop (Central Piedmont Community College)
Sebrina Mabe (Surry Community College)
Peggy Higgins (Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College)
Amber Jacks (Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute)
Shirley Outlaw (College of the Albemarle)
Christy Earp (Wilkes Community College)
Stephanie Johnson (Fayetteville Technical Community College)
Andrea Gabriel (State Archives)
Lisa Gregory (NC Digital Heritage Center, UNC-Chapel Hill)
Rebekah Scott (Alamance Community College)
At the August 2, 2018 meeting, the first Executive Board was elected, which consisted of Clark Adams (President); Peggy Higgins (Vice-President); Alison Beard (Secretary); and Amanda Winfrey (Treasurer). After the installation of officers and the meeting, the members toured the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center and University Archives at UNC-Chapel Hill.
A survey was distributed to all members on September 4, 2018, to determine the needs and interests of the group. The survey results showed that the biggest need was professional development and training. Efforts were made to provide training opportunities throughout the state for 2018-2019, and this was the number one initiative of the year. The first archives training meeting was held at South Piedmont Community College’s Polkton campus on November 30, 2018. Katie Howell, University Archivist at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Randi Beam, Archivist at UNC-Charlotte, provided the training.
Stephanie Johnson, Librarian at Fayetteville Technical Community College, was appointed Secretary on the Executive Board on December 17, 2018, to fill the unexpired term of Alison Beard.
Clark Adams presented on the association at the NC Community College System Conference in Raleigh, NC in October 2018 and at the NC Community College Retired Presidents’ Reunion in Raleigh, NC in October 2018.
The second archives training session was held on January 25, 2019, at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Erin Lawrimore, University Archivist at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, provided the training.
The Executive Board of the first year of the association’s formal operation (2018-2019) are:
- President: Clark Adams, Instructor, English/Communication, Randolph Community College
- Vice-President: Peggy Higgins, Systems/Access Services Librarian, Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College
- Secretary: Stephanie Johnson, Librarian, Fayetteville Technical Community College
- Treasurer: Amanda Winfrey, Circulation Assistant, South Piedmont Community College
- Retiree Representative: Dr. Parker Chesson, President, College of the Albemarle, 1975-1992
- NCCCS Representative: Ms. Helen Colevins, Community Engagement Librarian, Learning Technology Systems, NCCCS
- Communications Officer: Ms. Jenny Thomas, Electronic Services Librarian, Randolph Community College
- State Archives of North Carolina Representative: Ms. Sarah Koonts, State Archivist
- University Archivist Representative: Ms. Erin Lawrimore, University Archivist, UNC-Greensboro
The Executive Board met on August 31, 2018, at Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute in Hudson, North Carolina and again on March 1, 2019, at Forsyth Technical Community College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. These face-to-face meetings gave the Executive Board a chance to review, plan, build rapport and establish a sense of comradery.
From 2016-2019, our association members and officers were quite active as demonstrated by their participation in a number of events. These events and activities focused on awareness, recruitment, and professional development opportunities.
During 2018-2019, five professional development sessions were held at the following locations:
a. South Piedmont Community College, Polkton, NC
Amanda Winfrey, Treasurer, helped to coordinate the first professional development session at South Piedmont Community College on the Polkton campus on November 30, 2018. Katie Howell, former College Archivist at Central Piedmont Community College and current University Archivist at UNC-Charlotte led the training session along with Randi Beem of UNC-Charlotte. A tour of the South Piedmont Community College archives space was also provided.
b. University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC
Clark Adams worked with Erin Lawrimore, University Archivist at UNC-Greensboro, to offer a professional development session and tour of the University Archives at UNC-Greensboro on January 25, 2019.
c. Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, Asheville, NC
On March 28, 2019, Heather South of the Western Regional Archives Branch of the State Archives, led a professional development session at the 2019 annual conference of the North Carolina Community College Library Association.
d. State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, NC
Andrea Gabriel, Outreach and Development at the State Archives, helped to coordinate a session and on May 10, 2019, Sarah Koonts led a professional development session at the State Archives of North Carolina. Courtney Bailey, Records Analyst at the State Archives, also discussed the Community College Records Retention Schedule. An informative and entertaining tour of the State Archives was provided to members as well.
e. Robeson Community College, Lumberton, NC
Erin Lawrimore, University Archivist at UNC-Greensboro, led a professional development session for members from eastern institutions at Robeson Community College on May 15, 2019.
The second annual NCCCAA meeting was held on August 8, 2019, at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Wilson Library, where Clark Adams, outgoing inaugural President, presented the first annual report and discussed all that had been accomplished by the Executive Board during the year, as well as work that still needed to be done. Several presentations were made by UNC-Chapel staff including Lisa Gregory, Head of the DigitalNC Project at UNC-Chapel Hill, and Jackie Dean, Head of Archival Processing Section in the University Archives of UNC-Chapel Hill. Those in attendance were then given a tour of the university archives and the DigitalNC space. At the second annual meeting, Peggy Higgins of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College was installed as the second President of the association. Other officers installed were Spencer Tart (Vice President/President Elect), Erin Allsop (Secretary), and Stephanie Johnson (Treasurer). Amanda Winfrey was appointed as Historian. Stephanie Johnson resigned her position in 2020 to take a position in Florida. Isabel Folck was elected to fill her position as Treasurer in 2020.
In March of 2020, community college employees began to be sent home to work remotely, and work schedules were changed due to Covid-19. This took a huge toll on the association as all meetings were held virtually, and the association began to lose momentum due to no in-person meetings or events. This negatively impacted member engagement. The Executive Board members served for two years during this period from 2019-2021. The third annual meeting was held virtually on August 13, 2020. Covid-19 made it very difficult to accomplish much from 2020-2021, although several virtual workshops and professional development opportunities were organized and offered to members, as this was about the only option at the time. The fourth annual meeting was also held virtually on August 5, 2021. Spencer Tart of Johnston Community College was installed as the third President at the fourth annual meeting. Other officers installed were Sarah Sowa (Vice President/President Elect), Jennifer Mincey (Secretary), and Touger Vang (Treasurer). 2020-2021 was another quiet year for the association, largely due to Covid-19. A YouTube channel for the Association was created by Jenny Thomas and Peggy Higgins in 2021, and Jenny Thomas created both a Facebook account and Instagram account for the Association in 2021 as well. These platforms broadened the scope and audience of the Association.
During the summer of 2022, the association started moving again under the leadership of Clark Adams (Randolph Community College), first President of the association, and Sarah Sowa (Mitchell Community College), incoming President for 2022-2023, who began planning the first in-person one day conference for the NCCCAA. The annual conference took the place of the previous annual meetings that were held at UNC-Chapel Hill. The purpose of the conference was to revitalize the association, provide opportunities for networking and meeting members, and to revive the momentum that had been created before Covid-19. The conference was held on the historic campus of Mitchell Community College in Statesville, North Carolina on November 4, 2022, with over 50 members in attendance. The event was a huge success and all members enjoyed being able to gather in person after not seeing one another since 2019. Sarah Sowa was officially installed as the fourth president at the conference. Other officers installed were Clark Adams (Vice President/President Elect), Johnamarie Macias (Secretary), and Shirley Outlaw (Treasurer).
Clark Adams created the first NCCCAA membership directory (2022-2023) in October 2022, and organized a University Archivist Consultant Committee in January 2023 consisting of university archivists who were willing to provide their expertise to members of the association. The first members of the committee were: Erin Lawrimore (University of North Carolina at Greensboro), Alston Coburn (East Carolina University), Katie Howell (University of North Carolina at Charlotte), Gene Hyde (University of North Carolina at Asheville), and Kim Simms (Appalachian State University). Lawrimore served as Chair of the committee.
Clark Adams developed the first Conference Planning Guide in December 2022 to guide future Executive Board members in planning the annual in-person conference. A survey was sent out following the first annual conference to the membership, and it was decided to hold the annual conference each year during the first week in August, so that it would fall between the end of summer session curriculum classes and the beginning of fall semester curriculum classes. This would mean there would be fewer students on campus and no curriculum classes in session, which would make it easier for members to attend the conference.
Through the recruitment efforts of Clark Adams and the marketing of the annual conference, in-person events, and other professional development opportunities, the association experienced significant growth from 2022-2023 from 90 members to 147.
Erin Allsop, College Archivist at Central Piedmont Community College, gave a presentation at the North Carolina Community College State Board meeting on April 20, 2023, and shared information about the association to members of the State Board. This was the first time that information about the association had been presented to North Carolina Community College state officials.
Sarah Sowa organized two virtual professional development workshops that were offered in spring 2023.
A Webmaster position was added to the Executive Board on August 4, 2023. Johnamarie Macias of Central Piedmont Community College was appointed as the first Webmaster for the association and was officially installed at the 2nd annual conference on August 4, 2023.
Sarah Sowa, Clark Adams, and Shirley Outlaw filed the necessary documentation with the North Carolina Secretary of State’s office to establish the North Carolina Community College Archives Association as a non-profit association on May 26, 2023. The Association became a non-profit association on July 27, 2023. A bank account was established for the purpose of depositing registration fees for the annual conference on August 3, 2024.
On June 22, 2023, the Executive Board voted to approve the Treasurer’s position be changed to a two-year term position to provide greater financial stability and continuity moving forward.
The second annual NCCCAA conference was held at Randolph Community College in Asheboro, North Carolina with 66 attendees on August 4, 2023, the site where the idea for the association was developed and the first planning committee was held on December 2, 2016. Clark Adams was installed as the fifth President of the Association. Other officers installed were Erin Allsop (Vice President/President Elect), Norrie Meus (Secretary), and Shirley Outlaw (Treasurer).
History of the North Carolina Community College Archives Association [PDF]
North Carolina Community College Archives Association 