Truman Archivist, Student Intern and History Faculty Present at Statewide Museum and Archives Conference

 
Cheryl Musch, director of special collections and University archives at Pickler Memorial Library, and Noah Clark, a history major and student intern, recently presented at the 2025 Missouri Association of Museums and Archives (MAMA) conference in Fulton, Missouri. Their session, “Collecting the Great War: Campus, Community, and the Making of a Local Archive,” highlighted Truman’s World War I poster and letter collections, originally curated by history professor Eugene Violette during and after the war. Musch, a member of the MAMA Executive Board, discussed how the collection continues to support student research, classroom learning and archival internships, while Clark offered a student perspective on its educational value and potential for hands-on learning experiences. The panel also featured Jason McDonald, associate professor of history, who explored the historical significance of the collection and its reflection of local civic values during the early 20th century. The session reflected Truman’s commitment to experiential learning by demonstrating how students can engage directly with historical materials through internships, research and collaborative public history projects.