Progress-index.com March 4, 2013 Lucious Edwards collects history at VSU By Erika D. Varner (Staff Writer) ETTRICK - Lucious Edwards stepped off the elevator recently one morning, loaded with sheaves of papers. As Edwards fumbled for his office keys, he was able to not drop any of his papers. After all, it wouldn't do for an archivist to drop papers - even if they weren't the historical treasures he often handles. His office walls are filled with various items, including degrees earned and awards won. "As you can see, I have many things on the wall. I have received awards for archivist (developmental historical context)," he said. As he gazed at the awards that were on the wall, a look of pride and honor spread across his face. "I have acquired many things from the Colson papers and Oliver Hill papers," he said, referring to two civil rights leaders in Virginia. Edwards was born on Dec. 4, 1943, and raised in Chesterfield County. He grew up and attended school in the Petersburg and Chesterfield County area. He attended Peabody Middle School, which was segregated at the time. When it was time to go to high school, Chesterfield County paid for him and many others to have transportation so they would not have to travel far. After he graduated high school, Edwards attended Virginia State University, which was Virginia State College at the time. However, he dropped out of school and decided to join the Army. After a while in the Army, he decided to go back to school and attended Richard Bland College. He enrolled again at Virginia State and received his bachelor's and master's degrees. He also took some classes at Virginia Commonwealth University. Along the way, he married. Edwards and his wife and has been married for 45 years and have two children who are now in their 30s. Now there are two cats and a dog. VSU asked if Edwards would like to look into a program where he would learn about being a archivist. He went through this program with other candidates and was chosen for the position. As the first archivist at VSU, he explains that he had many interesting days. Many people were surprised that he was chosen as the archivist. "This is initially for someone in the library department, and I came from history. People really thought I would not make it two years. I didn't even expect to stay this long," he said. Edwards, 69, has been the archivist at VSU for the past 33 years. While at VSU, he has undertaken several projects with the expectation that the campus would expand. "When I first came, the campus only had 2,000 people for the student body," Edwards said. "Now the campus has expanded down to River Road. They will have to make the campus bigger or there will be problems. There were some places that were knocked down that I knew from my childhood, which I did not expect to see. It really surprises me," he said. "Overall, I am shocked by the expansion and how far the university has come with the expansion," Edwards said. "I am glad to see the changes that they are making in our society." The Lindsey Montage Building is open to anyone who would like to see the archives. Even though it is open five days a week, Edwards would still like to know if anyone wants to come visit. "There are some pieces of art and three-dimensional pieces, but it is mostly documents," Edwards said. Edwards says even though he has formal training, everyone has a role in preserving history. "All people are archivists," Edwards said. "Mostly people think that we just collect history. We do that, but it is more to it. We document what actually happened. We stick with history preservation. The goal is to try to be accurate and tell the overall truth." With his love for reading and gardening, Edwards is more than your average person who loves history. He has spent a lifetime collecting history. He is in the process of deciding if he will retire this June, but he has not decided what the next chapter in his life would be. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-520-0593 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.