UMD Libraries Announces TRU-UA: Truth, Reconciliation, and Understanding in the University Archives
New campus-wide educational and outreach program to explore the history of UMD, build more diverse and nuanced archive of the university

A new program established by the University of Maryland Libraries, Truth, Reconciliation, and Understanding in the University Archives (TRU-UA), will facilitate an in-depth exploration of critical issues associated with the histories and information included in the University Archives. This campus-wide educational and outreach program will provide rich opportunities for research and scholarship as well as special events, exhibitions, and publications to engage members of the UMD community and beyond. The initiative will ultimately build a more diverse and nuanced archive of the University and its communities that will be stewarded by the UMD Libraries’ University Archives.
“A central goal of this program is to celebrate UMD’s rich and diverse communities, lifting up the narratives of those who have historically existed in the margins. The University Archives will be used for innovative research, teaching, and programming that challenge antiquated ideas about who we are and broaden the understanding of our institution within the larger context of society,” said Lae’l Hughes-Watkins, UMD Libraries’ Associate Director for Engagement, Inclusion, and Reparative Archiving.
The Libraries’ TRU-UA program will be funded in part by a $9 million gift made to support and enhance the University Archives. The endowment was committed anonymously in 2009 in the name of Sterling J. Byrd, the youngest of four children of Harry Clifton "Curley" Byrd. Curley Byrd was president of UMD from 1935 to 1954, and more information can be found on the university’s History and Mission website. He also served as athletic director and head coach of the baseball and football programs at different times throughout his tenure. See the online exhibit from Vision to Reality: the Life and Career of Harry Clifton Byrd.
“We believe the University Libraries’ TRU-UA program will be transformational in helping the campus community engage in meaningful dialogue and research about complex issues related to the University’s history,” said Daniel Mack, Interim Dean of UMD Libraries. “Our responsibilities as librarians and educators include the promotion of the free exchange of ideas and to provide the broadest possible access to accurate information. The TRU-UA program will bring the necessary focus to this area of our work and the endowment will provide the resources to better steward, curate, and analyze the documented history and legacy of UMD.”
“This is an exciting time to engage in reparative work that promotes the use and enrichment of the University Archives, and we’re dedicated to actively involving alumni, students, UMD faculty, and community partners as advisors and participants in co-creating the priorities and future of this program,” said Hughes-Watkins.
The TRU-UA program is complementary to UMD’s 1856 Project, described by the University as a “campus-wide initiative to explore historical and contemporary issues dealing with race and inequality in higher education and in university communities as well as the complicated legacies of slavery in modern American society." As a companion initiative, TRU-UA will address important issues regarding race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, and difference in abilities in the University’s history.