Lilly displays IU history

Photos, hand-written speeches, letters and other mementoes from past presidential inaugurations are currently on display at the Lilly Library, coinciding with Thursday's inauguration of President Adam W. Herbert. \nThe material on display is usually housed at the IU Archives but is currently being exhibited by the Lilly Library to offer those interested more information on past presidential inaugurations.\nChris Harter, a reference librarian at the Lilly Library, downplayed the Lilly's involvement as all of the material comes from the Archives, while the Lilly simply displays it.\n"We host it because we're in a close proximity to the Auditorium," he said. "But it's all from the Archives."\nThe exhibit ranges from photos and programs to Arbutus entries and speeches. While there is not enough room to exhibit material from every presidential inauguration, Philip Bantin, director of the IU Archives, said it did its best to display things in which people would be interested in.\n"We looked for things that might have historical interest, things that might be visually appealing," he said. "When you put together an exhibit, you want to select things that, when a person looks (at them, he or she) will be attracted."\nBantin said the Archives chose several photographs and looked for "images that we thought were interesting, that had maybe prominent people in them" or "showed a particularly interesting perspective of the inauguration."\nHe also said the Archives looked for letters that may have interesting information in them, especially those about which people may not know.\nThe exhibit includes material from the inaugurations of 10 of the past 16 presidents, including Andrew Wylie, the first president, William Lowe Bryan, the 10th and longest-serving president, Herman B Wells, the 11th president and Myles Brand, the 16th president who left IU in 2002.\nAmong the artifacts on display are an old article from the Indiana Daily Student, David Starr Jordan, as "'a man of international reputation ... put at the head of this institution,' and thus have we ever prayed," and minutes from the IU board of trustees meetings, putting Jordan's salary as president at $3,000 a year. Another item on display is a letter to 12th president Elvis J. Stahr from Lt. Gen. Han-chien Chueh of Taiwan.\nAlso displayed is a note stating Wells' initial refusal of the job as president. It says Wells originally rejected the offer to serve as interim-president because there "were more likely candidates for the permanent position who should be considered for the acting office." It said he liked his job as dean of the business school and he felt he could be successful there, seeing no future for himself as president.\nBantin said though the exhibit will not contain any material from Herbert's inauguration, the Archives will collect material from it later on. He said it usually takes the Archives six months to a year to get photographs and other material after it is no longer in day-to-day use by the owners.\nBantin said the exhibit is an important part of IU's history.\n"We can learn from history; we can learn from the past. Looking at speeches presidents gave at past ceremonies can help us understand our University 50 years ago -- what it stood for, its goals," he said. "Things run in cycles. We can better understand where we are and where we want to go by looking at historical documents."\nBantin said past inaugurations can indicate what issues still affect the University today. He said the things Andrew Wylie said at his inauguration in 1829 contain themes "that will still be important to us today.\n"It informs us about our past, but also helps guide our future decisions."\n-- Contact assistant copy chief Brittany Hite at bhite@indiana.edu.