Davis Retires from Institute of Texan Cultures

John L. Davis Retires From Institute Of Texan Cultures
By James Benavides - Public Affairs Specialist

The newsrelease begins:
"(Aug. 11, 2008)--The man who for more than 40 years helped craft the nation’s view of Texas, John L. Davis, will retire August 15 from The University of Texas at San Antonio's museum, The Institute of Texan Cultures.
Davis joined the museum team as a researcher in 1967, two years after then Texas Governor John Connally commissioned the Institute to develop the Texas Pavilion for the 1968 World's Fair in San Antonio. Davis would help present and preserve the stories, histories and traditions of the numerous cultural groups of Texas and would continue to act as a steward of the institute after the fair, as the Texas Pavilion became a permanent museum.

Davis completed his doctorate in humanities at the University of Texas at Austin, while working as a researcher for the institute. After HemisFair, Davis remained with the museum until the mid 1980s. In 1986, he was a part-time professor at UTSA and San Antonio College, often serving as a consultant to the ITC and working with Jo Ann Andera, director of the Texas Folklife Festival.

During his tenure at UTSA, Davis served in various capacities: lecturer, teaching associate, director of research, associate executive director of research and interim executive director. ...." READ MORE AT http://www.utsa.edu/today/2008/08/johndavis.cfm

UTSA Photo Collection

A UTSA newsrelease kindly reminds us that

Photo archives in demand by businesses looking for historic Texas images

By Lynn Gosnell
Special Projects Writer

"(July 3, 2008)--When the set designers of the iconic Texas movie Lonesome Dove needed to depict the Lone Star State circa cattle-drive era, they turned to the Photo Archives of the Institute of Texan Cultures Library, located at the University of Texas at San Antonio."

 

A further extract reveals ""We serve a wide variety of patrons," said Yu Li, UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures librarian and the person in charge of the photo archive, which comprises more than 3.5 million images from the history of San Antonio, South Texas and the Border region.

Every week Li and her staff take calls and emails from around the world requesting information or permission to use the images. ITC Library staff field well more than 1,500 commercial requests for images every year, Li said."

 

Read more

http://www.utsa.edu/today/2008/07/ITCphotoarchive.cfm