Dive Brief:
- The Daily Nebraskan profiles the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's continuing growth in the field of digital research and archiving, born out of a faculty-driven launch of electronic text archiving in the mid-1990s.
- The university today is one of the nation's top resources for digital humanities research, attracting guest lecturers and grants in support of archival work and preservation efforts of works offering insight on subjects like the Civil War and American migration.
- Officials say the discipline is an unheralded example of the cross-sections of liberal arts and technology.
Dive Insight:
This is an ideal example of how institutions can grow an institutional niche and global acclaim for unique and innovative areas of study. UNL has received funding from the National Endowment of the Humanities, faculty members have presented at international conferences, and the institution will likely be viewed as a national repository for expertise on the field and certain areas of study, thanks to its investment in this research model.
Much in the way that the University of Nevada-Las Vegas is building an academic name in video game development, or Spelman College in the area of robotics, colleges and universities should take opportunities to find these industrial niches that can attract students, philanthropy and positive attention.