By Dannicka McGrath, Photo Editor
If you attended Sr. Tarcisia Roths 95th birthday party on Friday you may have noticed that an array of awards and achievements she has earned over her career were displayed in the Alumni Center.
These artifacts were supplied by Newman’s new part-time archivist, Monica Franz, who recently took over a position that has been held for the past three years by volunteer archivist Shirley Rueb, who started in 2018 and is staying on as a volunteer.
“An archivist preserves and organizes the archives of the university,” Franz said. “This one is kind of unique because we have a varied collection, some from the sisters and some from Sacred Heart and the changes in the university.”
Franz has a degree in library and archival science and spent half of her career as a teacher and the other half as a librarian. It wasn’t until after she retired that she got a job that matched her degree.
“I could have been a medical or legal librarian, but I went the school route, so I was a teacher, and I put in half of my career teaching and then half of my career, I was a school librarian,” Franz said. “So then in my retirement… I found this, and I thought this would be fascinating. I was excited.”
But why now, after three years without a staff archivist, did Newman decide to hire one?
Rueb and Franz say that the university is considering moving the archives — filled with shelves and boxes full of artifacts and maps — from the basement of Sacred Heart Hall to another place on campus. Though the university hasn’t yet chosen a spot, it’s getting serious about preparing for a move and wanted an official archivist.
Franz said that Newman also was inspired by the current Sacred Heart remodel to hire someone who could keep the archives nicely organized and protected and make sure that nothing would be lost or damaged during a future move.
“They want to renovate this building, and so they'll be moving things around, including the archives, but I've been hearing about it for quite some time that we would move to a temporary place, unknown what that is, and then we would be moved to a permanent place, unknown,” Rueb said. “I would say I've been hearing about it for at least a couple of years now.”
The duties of the archivist will extend past the Sacred Heart remodel, Franz said. Having an archivist helps Newman stay connected with its history and traditions.
“It helps with the tradition of the college and the morale and the pride in the college, but it also helps get that out to the people who went to the college” Franz said.
PHOTO: Courtesy Dannicka McGrath, Photo Editor
