WKU News

Sandy Staebell, Kentucky Museum Collections Curator/Registrar, is the recipient of the 2020 Kentucky History Klotter Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kentucky Historical Society. This award is presented to an individual who has consistently shown support for history and history projects in their community or region and has initiated or participated in a special project that has brought wide recognition to some facet of state or local history.

Staebell has served as the Registrar and Collections Curator for the Kentucky Museum for over 30 years. She has been involved in all aspects of the museum’s collection development and stewardship, has participated in the research and development of exhibitions, researched and published using the museum’s collections, and shared those fruits of her labor with audiences across the country. She has consistently supported history and history projects in South-Central Kentucky, has worked collaboratively, and provided opportunities for lifelong learning.

Other 2020 award recipients include Dr. Christy Spurlock, Kentucky Museum Education Curator, and WKU Political Science professor Dr. Victoria Gordon. Their Journey to the Vote series of programs received the Programming Award.

Community partners in Warren County, including WKU professors, Kentucky Museum curators, WKU librarians, and staff of the Warren County Public Library, came together to create more than a year’s worth of programming to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment and the 150th anniversary of the 15th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The programs included public panel discussions with women who hold local and state public offices, work to empower girls in grades 1-8, and a multi-year exhibition at the Kentucky Museum. The programming provided rigor, value, relevance, and multiple forms of accessibility for Bowling Green and surrounding communities.

For more about the KHS’s  2020 Kentucky History Awards,visit https://history.ky.gov/2020/10/13/fourteen-recognized-as-2020-kentucky-history-awards-recipients/

For information about Journey to the Vote programming, exhibits, and more, visit https://www.wku.edu/kentuckymuseum/journey_vote.php