The Kemper History Project: From Historical Narrative to Institutional Legacy

An "institutional legacy" can be understood as knowledge, values, and shared experiences transmitted by or received from a college or university for the benefit of all who have taught, served, researched, and/or learned there. This article describes a year-long, collaborative writing project carried out by one university to chronicle two decades of an ongoing professional development school (PDS) partnership with 10 area schools. The final outcome of the project--a 155-page, informally published book--commemorated the partnership with a valuable historical record that also documented an institutional legacy. The article includes a discussion of implications for practice, including benefits of writing a historical narrative, challenges to anticipate, and suggestions for getting started.