Categorized | Education, Featured

Daniel K. Inouye Project established to honor lifework of U.S. senator

From left: Library of Congress Director of Preservation Mark Sweeney, UH System President MRC Greenwood, Irene Hirano Inouye and Ken Inouye. (Photo courtesy of University of Hawaii)

From left: Library of Congress Director of Preservation Mark Sweeney, UH System President MRC Greenwood, Irene Hirano Inouye and Ken Inouye. (Photo courtesy of University of Hawaii)

MEDIA RELEASE

The University of Hawaii at Manoa and the Library of Congress (LOC), based in Washington, D.C., announced at Hamilton Library the establishment of the Daniel K. Inouye Project.

This agreement will honor the late Sen. Daniel K. Inouye’s lifework by providing for the digital exchange of content from the Inouye Congressional Papers between the two organizations, as well as collaboration on projects that promote public understanding of U.S. history and government.

The key initiatives of the Daniel K. Inouye Project include establishing a dual digital access program for Inouye’s papers at UH Manoa and the LOC; undertaking an oral history project; and working on a distinguished scholars initiative focusing on topics of national and international interest.

To support the project, a check in the amount of $250,000 from the Daniel K. Inouye Institute, a program fund of the Hawaii Community Foundation, was presented to UH Manoa Chancellor Tom Apple by Irene Hirano Inouye, the Senator’s wife; Ken Inouye, the Senator’s son; and Hawaii Community Foundation President and CEO Kelvin Taketa.

The Daniel K. Inouye Institute is charged with supporting efforts to carry on the late Senator Inouye’s legacy of serving the public.

“Dan was a man of integrity and was on the front lines of many of our nation’s historical milestones — from World War II to Watergate to civil rights to Iran-Contra — and helped to shape our nation’s ever-evolving democracy. Kenny and I are very pleased that, through the Daniel K. Inouye Project, his spirit will live on, his values and lessons will live on, for the benefit of the American people,” Irene Hirano Inouye said.

As part of the Daniel K. Inouye Project’s dual digital access program, UH Manoa will house, preserve and organize the Inouye Congressional Papers.

Following LOC archival protocols, it will also digitize selected content. Through a reciprocal arrangement, this content, as well as materials previously digitized by the LOC and which pertain to the senator’s legacy, will be made available to researchers at both organizations.

“The Library of Congress is pleased to join with the University of Hawaii at Manoa on the Daniel K. Inouye Project. The work will be a fine tribute to the legacy of a man who was the true essence of democracy and a living testament to the resilience of the American spirit. The dual digital access program, in particular, will be a valuable tool for researchers studying the life of this great man, who played a critical role in shaping the history of our nation,” said James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress.

The Daniel K. Inouye Project’s Oral History initiative will be a scholarly research project involving the UH Manoa College of Social Sciences (Center for Oral History, School of Communications), UH Manoa’s Center for Biographical Research, and the Center for Legislative Archives in the U.S. Senate Historical Office.

Its primary focus will be conducting interviews and fact-gathering for the purpose of advancing the historical archives and providing new information regarding Inouye’s life, legacy and accomplishments.

Said Chancellor Tom Apple, “The Inouye Congressional Papers represent one facet of Senator Inouye’s life. Other aspects are held within the memories of individuals who knew him and worked beside him. This oral history project will enable us to capture these memories and, when added to the materials in the dual digital access program, will form the basis of a living, growing tribute to Senator Inouye.”

The third initiative of the Daniel K. Inouye Project will include working together on a distinguished scholars initiative focusing on topics of national and international interest.

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