A museum exhibit produced by NDSU public history students is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, May 5 at Bonanzaville in Fargo.
The project, titled “Wesley College: Progressive Era Education in North Dakota,” outlines the history of Wesley College in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was part of the Museum Studies course taught by Angela Smith, associate professor of history and public history director.
The educational exhibit focuses on historical accounts of Wesley College, a Methodist educational institution that formed a cooperative agreement with the University of North Dakota in 1905. It was a groundbreaking instance in the United States where a private, faith-based college collaborated with a tax-supported state university. The founding of Wesley College was rooted in broader national movements of religious, political, social and educational reform that characterized the Progressive Era and the Social Gospel Movement.
NDSU students spent the first half of the semester learning about museum standards and practices. In the second half, students were divided into three teams to focus on designing, label creation and marketing and began work on the exhibit. The diversity of the students, undergraduate and graduate, presented the opportunity to combine their individual skill sets to illustrate the story of Wesley College.
“The history of Wesley College is a little known but important North Dakota story that began in the early twentieth century,” Smith said. “This exhibit is based on the research and interpretive vision of Wyatt Atchley, a master’s candidate in history at NDSU. He is also the curator of the project. Wyatt has done an excellent job leading a creative team of museum studies students in this endeavor that will open next month at Bonanzaville. This is another example of NDSU students conducting original research and sharing it with a local public audience.”
Students traveled to the archives at the University of North Dakota numerous times throughout the semester to gather newspapers, photos and other primary sources on Wesley College.
“After dedicating years of research on Wesley College, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to share this unique and significant history with a wider audience,” Atchley said, “The museum studies students who helped bring this exhibit to life have been unwavering in their dedication to the project. I am incredibly grateful for their contributions. My hope is that the success of our exhibit will inspire more master’s students to pursue public history projects as part of their thesis work. Collaborating in a team to research, write, design and build an exhibit has been an invaluable experience that has helped me develop practical, hands-on skills that will undoubtedly benefit my future career endeavors.”
For more information, contact Grace Poff at grace.poff@ndsu.edu.
As a student-focused, land-grant, research university, we serve our citizens.
