Special Thanks to David A. Jordan, a Classics Library Supporter

UC alumnus David Jordan (left) shows UC alumni the Lane Reading Room, named for the family which, among other endeavors, founded Sunset Magazine.

The University of Cincinnati Libraries extend appreciation to David A. Jordan (BA English and Classics ’83), for his generous support of the John Miller Burnam Classical Library by establishing the David A. Jordan Fund for Paleography and Papyrology. This fund, which continues Jordan’s great interest in the Classics Library from his days as a UC student, will be used to purchase materials for the study of paleography and papyrology.

“In the Classics Library, we focus our paleography purchases primarily on facsimiles and books related to the manuscripts of Ancient Greek and Latin authors and papyrology acquisitions on materials about documents and texts written on papyrus,” explained Jacquelene W. Riley, head of the Classics Library. “We are very grateful to David for his very nice gift to help us expand our internationally acclaimed library resources.”

Jordan, assistant director for library development and associate curator for paleographical materials at Stanford University’s Cecil H. Green Library, hosted Stanford-area UC alumni for a tour in August that included the Green Library’s exhibition “Monuments of Printing from Gutenberg through the Renaissance.” The exhibit includes a single leaf from an original Gutenberg Bible, several books printed before 1501, multilingual Bibles, and early printed books renowned for their typography.

Here is David’s account of why he hosted the UC gathering:

“I proposed the idea of a UC event at Stanford in gratitude for my own memorable and formative experiences in the UC Libraries. Much of my work as an undergraduate took place in UC’s Classics Library, and I first encountered medieval manuscripts, which is now my area of curatorship at Stanford, in a paleography course held in UC Libraries’ Special Collections. It’s no exaggeration to say that I would never have come to Stanford without having benefited from UC Libraries’ collections and the encouragement and expertise of faculty and library staff.

During our tour, we spent much time talking about shared memories of UC’s Libraries and in particular the John Miller Burnam Classical Library, home to a world-class collection. Not all of our conversation was about rare books and libraries, though. The aroma of Cincinnati chili and the perils of Straight Street in winter were also recalled. UC alumni living in the Bay Area who were unable to attend this event are welcome to write to me at dajordan@stanford.edu to make an appointment to visit.”

For information about establishing a named fund for a special subject area collection, such as Jordan’s, please contact Margaret W. Wolf, Director of Development, at peggy.wolf@uc.edu or (513) 556-0055.

Source Index