Congratulations to the Kane Lodge Foundation and the Lincoln Ellsworth Foundation for receiving the Midwest Archives Conference Presidents’ Award! The award recognizes significant contributions to the archival profession by individuals and organizations not directly involved in archival work. These two organizations have been consistent benefactors of the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program for over 20 years. Chas Cowing, representing the Kane Lodge Foundation, and Brett Wisniewski, representing the Lincoln Ellsworth Foundation, accepted their awards in Minneapolis on April 11, 2025, during the Midwest Archives Conference’s annual meeting.
In their nomination letter for the Kane Lodge Foundation, The Ohio State University Libraries Archivist Tamar Chute and Polar Archivist Laura Kissel stated, “The Foundation has consistently supported the Archives for 29 years of cumulative giving. Many of the Polar Archives' basic needs would not be met if not for the Kane Lodge Foundation. The archives has used their gifts for a wide range of initiatives, including equipment purchases, honoraria for significant speakers and programs, repair and restoration of historical artifacts and display cases for exhibitions. The Foundation also helped sponsor a week-long teacher workshop where teachers created K-12 lesson plans using material from the archives. Funding from the Kane Lodge Foundation has allowed us to advance the Polar Archives' Mission to make the history of polar exploration accessible to researchers, students and the general public while preserving that history for the future."
In their nomination letter for the Lincoln Ellsworth Foundation, Chute and Kissel wrote "The Foundation has consistently given to the archives over 24 years of cumulative giving which has made a tremendous impact on the archives. The archives has used the Foundation's gifts in a wide variety of ways - expanding our oral history program, providing public programs and symposia, film preservation and the purchase of unique items for the collection. The most enduring legacy from the Foundation has been the creation of an endowment fund that generates ongoing support for the archives as well as the funding for the creation of the Polar Archives Research Award that provides travel funds to researchers to come to the archives from around the globe."
We appreciate the support of both foundations and are pleased that they received this important recognition. Their generous contributions and support have allowed faculty, staff, students and visiting scholars from around the globe greater opportunities for research in the Polar Archives.