Principal Investigators

Darwin Stapleton , Executive Director - Rockefeller Archive Center
Dr. Stapleton has provided leadership to the Rockefeller Archive Center for two decades. He works closely with the many record depositors and scholars that make use of the Archive Center. Author and editor of numerous books and articles, his works include Accounts of European Science, Technology, & Medicine Written by American Travelers Abroad, 1735-1860, in the Collections of the American Philosophical Society (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1985), Dignity, Discovery and Destiny: The Life of Courtney C. Smith (Newark, DE: University of Delaware Press, scheduled for February 2004), and Establishing Foundation Archives (Washington, DC: Council on Foundations, 1991).

Riccardo Ferrante, Information Technology Archivist - Smithsonian Institution Archives
Mr. Ferrante joined the Smithsonian Institution Archives in 2003 with the express charge of establishing the Electronic Records Program. The mission of the program is to preserve and manage digital records of the Smithsonian Institution. The scope of the retention periods encompassed in this mandate range from three years retention to permanent retention. A senior information technology practitioner, Mr. Ferrante's experience includes business process and other functional requirements development, development of distributed information management systems, systems integration, data standard development, and management of development and training teams in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

Project Archivists

Nancy Adgent - Rockefeller Archive Center
Nancy Adgent joined the Rockefeller Archive Center in August 2005. Previously Technical Services Liaison at the Center for Historic Preservation, Middle Tennessee State University, Nancy compiled Holding On to the Homestead: A Guide to Programs, Services, and Opportunities for Tennessee’s Farmers. Her work there also included research, writing, and editing newsletters, tourism brochures, and exhibits as well as nominations to the National Register of Historic Places related to the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, African-American history, and the Century Farms initiative. She gained archival experience from the Gore Research Center, the Rutherford County Archives, the Tennessee State Library and Archives, and a private estate collection.

Nancy co-authored Middle Tennessee State University, A Pictorial History, wrote book reviews and articles printed in various historical publications, and is currently writing several entries for
ABC-CLIO’s forthcoming Women in the Civil War Encyclopedia.

She has a Master’s in History/Public History and a B.S. from Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Her master’s thesis concerned a female Civil War spy who became Tennessee’s pre-eminent Progressive Era social reformer.

Lynda Schmitz Fuhrig - Smithsonian Institution Archives
Lynda joined the Smithsonian Institution Archives in August 2005. She previously served as Editorial Library Director at the Army Times Publishing Co. in Springfield, Va., where she was responsible for electronically archiving nine print publications; managing the library's collection of microfilm, bound volumes, and books; and conducting research for staff. She also worked as a librarian, news editor, copy editor, page designer, and reporter at Knight Ridder-Tribune, The State Journal-Register (Springfield, Ill.), the Jacksonville (Ill.) Journal-Courier, and the Southwest News Herald (Chicago).

She has a Master's degree in History from the University of Illinois-Springfield. Her master's thesis was on the Mexican population in the Chicago area during the Great Depression. She has a Bachelor's degree in Communications-Print from Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois. Lynda also has worked on various projects, including obituary and slave birth databases, at the Alexandria (Va.) Local History/Special Collection Library.

Project Consultants

Charles Dollar
Charles Dollar is an internationally renowned scholar, educator and expert on electronic records management and archives. He received the Emmett J. Leahy Award for outstanding contributions to the records and information management profession earlier this year. His previous positions include Associate Professor in the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies at the University of British Columbia and the National Archives and Records Administration where he lead research projects involving digital technologies. He is the recipient of a special commendation from the Society of American Archivists for his book The Impact of Information Technologies on Archival Principles and Methods (1992).

Gregory Hunter
Dr. Hunter is both a Certified Records Manager and a Certified Archivist. In August 2004 he was elected a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists and two of his books have received awards from SAA. Dr. Hunter is the Principal Archivist and Records Manager on a team headed by Lockheed Martin to build an Electronic Records Archives (ERA) for the National Archives and Records Administration. A professor in the Palmer School of Library and Information Science at Long Island University, Dr. Hunter has directed graduate-level certificate programs in archives and records management since 1990.

Edie Hedlin
Dr. Hedlin is the former director of the Smithsonian Institution Archives and a past president of the Society of American Archivists. While at the Smithsonian Institution Archives, she worked with senior administrators to forge an enduring commitment to the preservation and proper management of electronic records at the Institution. Dr. Hedlin's previous positions include Director of the Machine-Readable Branch (now called the Center for Electronic Records) at the National Archives and Records Administration.