PDAC: Submission #250 | Dayton Development Coalition

Submission information

Project Details

1. To which Review Panel are you submitting your project? Quality of Life

2. Project title Wright State University Archives Center Project

3. Short description The Archives Center Project will renovate 30,000 square feet of space located at 2455 Presidential Drive, adjacent to Wright State University, and relocate Special Collections and Archives. This facility will ensure the long-term preservation of priceless historic collections and provide new opportunities for collection growth and community engagement. The project includes environmental upgrades and controls,fire suppression and security systems, enlarged collections areas and event spaces.

Organization Details

4. Organization making the request Wright State University

5-8. Address 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway
Dayton, Ohio. 45435-0001

9. County Greene

10. Recipient organization Wright State University

11-14. Address 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway
Dayton, Ohio. 45435-0001

15. County Greene

16. Organization type Non-profit

Organization Contact Details

17. Name Dawne Dewey

18. Title Head, Special Collections and Archives

19. Organization Wright State University Libraries

20. Telephone 937-775-2011

21. Email dawne.dewey@wright.edu

22-25. Address 45435 Colonel Glenn Highway
Dayton, Ohio. 45435-0001

26. County Greene

27. Additional contacts Bill Bigham, Interim VP for Advancement, Wright State University, 937-775-3694,bill.bigham@wright.edu
Bob Hickey, Associate VP for Public Affairs, Wright State University, 937-775-3326, robert.hickey@wright.edu
Sue Polanka, University Librarian, Wright State University, 937-775-3142, sue.polanka@wright.edu

Location Details

28. City Fairborn

29. County Greene

30. Congressional district Ohio 10th

Financial Details

31. Funding request 873053

32. Total Cost 1338500

33. Other sources of funds This project has significant support from the local community. To date, $915,446.73 has been contributed by multiple donors. The project is in active fundraising mode. Conversations are being held with prospective donors, proposals are being submitted for state/federal funding, and foundation proposals are being advanced for local and national consideration. Gifts and pledges have been received to name the following spaces: Lobby, Student/Volunteer Work Lab, Conference Room, Oral History Lab, and Exhibit Gallery (pending Board of Trustee Naming Approval).

Private foundation and individual sources include:
The Wright Family ($100,000 pending)
The Wright State University Foundation $100,000 pledge received
Makino, Inc. $30,000 pledge received
The Toulmin Foundation $25,000
The Turner Foundation $50,000
Gladys Brooks Foundation $50,000
WSU Retirees $25,000
WSU Alumni Association $25,000
WSU Faculty/Staff $25,000
Linda Black-Kurek $250,000 pledge received
Don Wallace Family $100,000 (pending)
Dayton Power and Light Foundation (request amount being discussed)
Kettering Family Philanthropies $200,000
Ronald Patrick $10,000 pledge received
David McCullough$5,000
Institute of Museum and Library Services TBD
Batelle Memorial Institute Foundation TBD
Cleveland Foundation TBD
Columbus Foundation TBD
Eaton Charitable Foundation TBD
Georg Gund Fundation TBD
Knight Foundation TBD
William Bingham Foundation TBD
The Dicke Family TBD
Multiple Private Individuals

34. How the funds will be used Construction or Capital

35. Do you have matching funds raised or committed? If yes, explain in question #36. If no, skip to question #37. Yes

36. If yes, please provide additional information. (Or, budget document can be uploaded, see question 37) Wright State University’s investment and commitment to the project is demonstrated by its acquisition of the 2455 Presidential Drive building at a cost of $5,763,200 and designation of it as the future home for Special Collections and Archives. The project’s fundraising campaign was publicly launched on October 4, 2017, chaired by a prominent member of the community, Amanda Wright Lane, and an award-winning author and historian, David McCullough. We are actively fundraising through contacts with donors, researching and contacting regional and national foundations, and sharing the news with community and service organizations. Gifts and pledges from individual donors currently total $915,446.73. These donations are from individuals who are passionate about this project and have made personal commitments to assure the project is successfully completed. $450,000 will be spent on Phase I, leaving $465,446.73 to put toward the Phase II project cost of $1,338,500. Our PDAC request is fund remaining balance needed - $873,053 for Phase II.

37. Budget Yes

Budget File Upload

archives-pdac-application-budget-2019.pdf (61.56 KB)

38. By what date will you be ready to spend the funds Within the next 6-12 months

39. Programs/grants for which this project would qualify We are exploring and evaluating other sources and grant opportunities, such as the Institute of Museum & Library Services and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Community Details

40. Community Need Special Collections and Archives is a leader in the collection, preservation, and dissemination of the history of the Miami Valley and a premier repository for aviation history worldwide. It is a strong partner in the National Aviation Heritage Alliance and a magnet for worldwide attention to the Wright Brothers story and aviation history and heritage. It is also the leading archives in the Dayton and Miami Valley region in preserving the history of organizations, business and industry, the arts, individuals and families, and a wide variety of other topics resulting in a rich resource that creates and fosters innovation, identity, and pride in our communities. It serves hundreds of local and regional organizations, reaches students of all ages through our K-12 outreach programs, collaborates with regional organizations on celebrations and exhibits and has partnered with the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, Dayton History, Inc., and the Dayton Regional STEM School. A resource such as the Archives is a treasure for the Wright State University campus, but is also a valuable resource for the entire region, state, and world. Moving the Archives to a better and more accessible facility for all audiences will enable it to expand its outreach and education activities, strengthen existing and create new partnerships with Dayton and Miami Valley organizations in the preservation and dissemination of their history, enhance outreach to K-12 students and create a community history center to educate and enable the public to have access to historic documents and learn to preserve their stories. The Archives Project will place this rich resource in a location accessible to both the campus and Dayton and Miami Valley community, the state and nation.

41. Previous Funding: Has the requesting organization received Congressionally earmarked funding in the past? If so, please provide a brief project description, year funded, amount, and Congressional sponsor. The measure of our success will be the number of individuals who will use and benefit from the Center. Current statistics and performance evaluation measurements indicate that nearly 500,000 people visited the archives or used its resources in 2018. This number will increase dramatically when the Archives is in the new location in a facility that matches its outreach programming and provides increased access to its rich historical resources. Our goal is to make the Archives Center a magnet for those who want to absorb the powerful information available within the nearly 17,000 linear feet of collections and 20,000+ volumes. Access to our collections will be in the form of visitors including school children, reference requests, web hits, guests who come for tours and to view exhibits, to attend presentations, conferences, and events, and who read our blogs. Included in our Archives are the largest Wright Brothers collection in the world, Governor James M. Cox's papers, the Dayton Daily News Archive, the poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar and many regional and community records. In recent times we have hosted hundreds of visitors most notably actor and film producer Tom Hanks, Pulitzer-Prize winning author and campaign co-chair, David McCullough, and grandson of Charles Lindbergh, Erik Lindbergh. Projected future reach and use may be near the million mark.

42. Direct new jobs created 11-25

43. Existing jobs retained? 1-10

44. Sustained permanent jobs? 11-25

45. Please explain how you determined the job creation listed in questions 42-44. The Archives Department includes 5 Archivists, 4 students, and 8 community volunteers. The Archivists specialize in various aspects of the collections. Examples include reference, processing, records management, cataloging, preservation, digital projects, outreach and education, and collection development and management. Increased access to the collections and expanded outreach programming will demand expanding professional staff not only in the Archives, but in University Libraries’ departments that support the Archives’ mission, such as the Digital Initiatives and Repository Services Department that creates and manages archival content for the campus online repository. We offer meaningful job opportunities for student assistant work positions, graduate student internships and for community volunteers. These students and volunteers provide substantial services and truly extend the effectiveness of the full-time employees. The Archives also serves as a learning laboratory and job train

46. Using your best guess, of the jobs created over the next 10 years, what will the average salary be? $25,001-$50,000

47. Is your project a workforce development program? No

48. If yes, does your program center on one of the ten JobsOhio targeted industries? {Empty}

49. Counties in which jobs will be created Greene, Montgomery

Additional Details

50. Letters of endorsement, supporting materials, additional information. You can submit ONE PDF file that does not exceed 10 pages.

WSU Archives Center Letters of Support 2019.pdf (1.14 MB)

51. Is there opposition to the project? No

52. Name of person filling out this form. {Empty}

53. Telephone number of person filling out this form. {Empty}

54. Email of person filling out this form. This is where notification will be sent that the form was received. dawne.dewey@wright.edu

55. Do you want your project to be considered as a Community Project in the fiscal year 2025 –2026 State Capital Budget Bill? {Empty}

56. If your project type is on the list of ineligible projects (see above), please offer an explanation why your project could be eligible. If your project is not on the list, answer the question by stating that your project is not on the list of ineligible projects. {Empty}

57. Has your organization received state capital budget funding in the past? If so, provide a brief project description, year funded, and amount. {Empty}

58. Does your project have a connection with, or provide some benefit to, a state agency that has bonding authority? Please check all that apply from the following list: {Empty}

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