“These big corporations see us as numbers, not names. They’d just as soon write you off as look at you.”

“This was a booming area for manufacturing, now there’s nothing.”

“Winchester was an integrated part of the community, and the people who worked there were respected…”

These quotes are all part of a larger story currently being told in a new exhibit on Level B of Homer Babbidge Library.

“Our Community at Winchester: An Elm City Story” is the story of the Olin-Winchester Repeating Arms plant, one of New Haven’s most important employers of the 20^th century.

The history of the plant and the stories of its workers are told in 35 display boards of oral histories, photographs and other documents such as newspaper clippings and company memos.   They chronicle the company’s creation in the late 1800s up to the aftermath of its closure in 2006. Like many large corporations, it has had its fair share of triumphs, struggles and controversies.

The elements of the exhibit, compiled by Joan Cavanagh, archivist and director of the Greater New Haven Labor History Association, tell the story of labor struggles, union battles, racial tensions and impact on the community brought on by the manufacturing giant.

Especially compelling are the oral history accounts, which were collected by Dorothy Johnson and Lula White, two sisters whose father worked at Winchester. The accounts, both positive and negative, paint a picture of life for the various workers at the plant. Along with photos of the interviewees, quotes and background information give a vibrant overview of each of their individual experiences and often, struggles.

The exhibit will be on display until June 13, 2016. It’s definitely something to check out, whether you need a quick study break or just want to learn something new.

There will also be a reception and gallery talk April 18, 4:30-6:30 p.m. titled “Workers at Winchester: Community, Contradictions and Struggle” by Joan Cavanaugh, Archivist/Director of the Greater New Haven Labor History Association.

“Trade Offs: The Reality of Working Women” by Adrienne Gutierrez, Jacqueline Pagano, Heather Norris, Emily Powers, and Ami Vasquez.

“Art and Activism in the Humanities” is student work as part of our collaboration this semester with the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program series “Feminism/s and Future/s.” These works are from students in several classes in WGSS where they were asked to consider the meanings of feminism in the future and the kinds of future they envision. Using the lens of “Art and Activism in the Humanities” to identify, interrogate, and express their thoughts on everything from marginalized bodies and household economics to sexualization in the media and changing gender expectations around the world, these students produced a close examination of utopias, dystopias, US and global movements for social justice, and the many ways in which the personal is political.

#nofilter by Ryann Leonard, Deysha Smith-Jenkins, Sierra Cameron, Megan Reese, and Lydia Snapper (tip) and “Future Feminist Collective” by Nina Klein, Montana Fleming, Victor Vernon, Blazej Pulawski, and Chris LaTorra (bottom)

The exhibit is located on the Northwest side of Level 1 for the next few weeks. The public is invited to a reception on Monday night from 5-6:30 where you will have the opportunity to talk to the students as well as join in some gender-neutral swing dance lessons.

Faculty members play the key role in choosing, adapting, and developing new learning materials and methods which leads to student success. This symposium will be an opportunity to enter into conversations about the pedagogical possibilities that open/affordable learning resources offer and to become inspired to explore and integrate them into your own classrooms. These resources allow a freedom to develop, reuse, and remix materials of all types to create dynamic and engaging courses, all without increasing student debt or leaving behind students who are unable to afford expensive traditional materials.

We will be joined by experts on the national stage as well as those who have had success here at UConn to lead the conversation on the challenges and rewards to this style of teaching.

The symposium is being sponsored by the UConn Affordable Textbook Initiative (ATI) Task Force through a grant from the Davis Educational Foundation and the University Student Government. Established in 2015 by the Provost’s Office, ATI is looking into best practices for excellence in teaching and learning using new, open, and/or alternative materials and methods that are more affordable for our students.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Rome Commons Ballroom, UConn, Storrs 

Registration is free and required. Lunch is included. 

Symposium Schedule:

9:15am – Registration and Reception
9:45am – Welcome
10:00am – Keynote Presentation – David Wiley

Dr. Wiley is Chief Academic Officer of Lumen Learning, an organization dedicated to increasing student success, reinvigorating pedagogy, and improving the affordability of education through the adoption of open educational resources by schools, community and state colleges, and universities. He is also currently the Education Fellow at Creative Commons and adjunct faculty in Brigham Young University’s graduate program in Instructional Psychology and Technology, where he leads the Open Education Group (and was previously a tenured Associate Professor).

11:30am – Tim Dzurilla, PhD Candidate, Department of Political Science
12:00pm – Lunch & Table Top Discussions
1:00pm – Panel Discussion

• Daniel Byrd, President Elect, UConn Undergraduate Student Government
• Aynsley Diamond, Director of Faculty Development Programs, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
• Kathy Labadorf, Project Coordinator, Affordable Textbook Initiative, UConn Libraries
• Edward Neth, Lecturer, Department of Chemistry
• Amit Savkar, Associate Professor in Residence, Department of Mathematics
• Ethan Senack, Higher Education Advocate, U.S. PIRG
• Jeremy Teitelbaum, Dean, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

2:00-2:30 – Wrap Up

If you have any questions, please contact Kathy Labadorf.