Notes & Comments

Presentation and Research Results

The Consortium will aid in the presentation of research it inspires to the academic community and the public. In addition to the synopses of ongoing projects presented to the semi-annual meetings, the body may host colloquia, conferences, or museum exhibits open to all interested researchers and the public. The new Northeast Ohio Journal of History (starting in October, 2002) will serve as the main, but certainly not the only, publishing venue by which to disseminate findings to a wider audience.

In addition, the body will sponsor a special annual conference for students to present the results of their research, and open the pages of its journal to their research. Such outlets will provide rare and invaluable experience for the professional lives of the next generation’s scholars.

Funding

As currently conceived, the Consortium would require little or no financial support in its early stages. Most participating institutions will already have necessary research facilities already in place, and potential researchers could be drawn from undergraduate students taking the equivalent of Akron University’s 300-level Individual Study Internship. Gas, transportation, and small disposable items would be absorbed by the member institutions. As membership is voluntary, administrative work would be shared among the officers of the Consortium. If the body decides to launch a journal, it could be on-line and of almost negligible expense.

As the Consortium’s role increases and larger projects are planned, financial grants would become necessary. Fortunately, a collaborative project encompassing several disciplines would have more potential sources of funding (for example, biological, archaeological, and anthropological agencies) than would be available to an ordinary history project (for example, the Ohio Academy of History, the Ohio Humanities Council). Furthermore, the Consortium would have at its disposal the grant-writing abilities of a number of its members, and could solicit private funding for specific projects (for example, from the Firestone Company in support of research using its archives held at Akron University), or for University Research Apprenticeships--small stipends for undergraduate research work in the manner of those successfully employed by such institutions as Northern Illinois University.

Concluding Notes

The potential benefits of forming a Consortium of Northeast Ohio History are manifest, and such an innovative body could serve to foster the development of similar organizations nationwide. Nevertheless, the above proposal should be understood as a general guideline rather than a definitive organizational structure. The exact nature the body will take should reflect both the consensus of the participating institutions and the needs of the Consortium as it develops.

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