University of Maryland Libraries Receives $9 Million to Enhance University Archives

The University of Maryland College Park Foundation and the University of Maryland announce the receipt of a $9 million gift, as a bequest in the name of Sterling Byrd. As part of the bequest, the gift will support the University Libraries’ work to build and preserve a more extensive and inclusive documentation of the University of Maryland and its history through the University Archives. The $9 million gift is expected to increase in-depth exploration and analysis of critical issues associated with the information and materials included in the University Archives and advance the University Libraries’ mission to preserve the knowledge and history of the university.

“Libraries and archives are essential institutions in our democratic society,” said Interim Dean of Libraries Daniel Mack. “They serve a unique role in preserving and providing equitable access to our collective history and deepening our understanding about the ways that our past shapes our present and informs our future,” Mack continued. “My library colleagues and I are committed to using this generous investment for good, for the creation of knowledge, and for the betterment of the University of Maryland community.”

The endowment will enhance research and teaching through the promotion, use and enrichment of the University Archives, and will fund lectures, publications, exhibits, research and educational programs. The gift will also be used to support positions in the University Archives.

“When a university’s archives are well shared and understood, we help form a campus community that benefits from the lessons of our past bolstered by a determination to create a better future,” said UMD President Darryll J. Pines. “At the University of Maryland, we are committed to uncovering truths, honoring trailblazers, and shining a light on understudied pasts.”

The endowment was committed anonymously in 2009 in the name of Sterling J. Byrd, the youngest of four children of Harry Clifton "Curley" Byrd. Curley Byrd was president of UMD from 1935 to 1954, and more information can be found on the university’s history website. He also served as athletic director and head coach of the baseball and football programs at different times throughout his tenure. See the online exhibit from Vision to Reality: the Life and Career of Harry Clifton Byrd.

Sterling J. Byrd was the founder and owner of the Byrd Investment Co., a real estate development and management company in College Park. He was born in Washington, grew up in College Park, and attended the University of Maryland. During World War II, he served in the Navy and later worked for other real estate companies before starting his own firm in 1960, according to written tributes.

The UMD Libraries’ University Archives is a key resource for understanding the history and present activities of the University of Maryland; it captures the day-to-day functioning and rich stories of a highly complex research institution in all its many facets: administration, academics, athletics, the arts, and student-life activities.