The Jayhawker Project
In January 2009, Tom Steman received a new researcher internal grant from St. Cloud State’s Office of Sponsored Programs. Nominated by Kristi Tornquist, dean of Learning Resources and Technology Services (LR&TS), the $2000 grant was awarded to “to encourage recently hired faculty and staff to pursue external grant funding by providing some seed monies early in their career with St. Cloud State University.” Mr. Steman collaborated with Dr. J.C. Turner, former Associate Dean for Operations in LR&TS, on the Jayhawker project.
The vision of Mr. Steman and Dr. Turner was to create a “proof of concept” to showcase a method to promote archival material. Instead of static images slapped onto the Internet with little or no context, Dr. Turner and Mr. Steman strove to produce an interactive website to showcase the creative process of Jayhawker. Thus, the website includes expert video commentary, background information to put the play in context, an audio performance of three different drafts of one scene, and images. It is intended to be a one-stop shop to discover and understand the Lewis’ collaboration.
St. Cloud State University Archives and Special Collections
The University Archives maintains the corporate memory of St. Cloud State University by preserving and using University records and publications of long-term value. Materials in the Archives document the University's development and serve as a convenient source of reliable information about University programs, people, policies, and property.
The University Archives also houses and manages records from organizations such as the state Inter Faculty Organization, the SCSU Faculty Association, the Minnesota Educational Media Organization, the Minnesota Business Educators, Inc., and the Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange.
The University Archives has material on several central Minnesota authors, including Sinclair Lewis. In addition to Jayhawker drafts in the Hubert Irey Gibson Collection of Sinclair Lewis, other Lewis materials held are the Ida Compton Papers, the Lewis Family Papers, and the Joan McQuary Collection of Sinclair Lewis Letters.
This site is provided for demonstration/education purposes only, as a proof-of-concept for an alternative presentation method for archival material, primarily drawn from the St. Cloud State University archives. It’s creation was through a "new researcher" grant from the Office of Sponsored Programs at SCSU, with the hopes of attracting additional funding to fully realize the complete, more robust site.