UIndy partners with Ancestry.com to give campus free access
The University of Indianapolis is collaborating with Ancestry.com, the world’s largest online family history resource, in its first initiative to encourage college students to discover and reflect upon how their family roots impacts their identity. Information available on the site can include anything from census records to yearbook photos and military service records.
All UIndy students, faculty and staff have been granted free access to Ancestry.com from any computer or mobile device on campus. In addition to free access to Ancestry.com, the company is providing on-campus workshops and seminars to help UIndy make a more direct connection with their heritage and make the most of the site.
“This [Ancestry.com access] was all a matter of asking the right questions at the right time,” said Executive Director of Student Services Dan Stoker.
Ancestry.com at UIndy is currently serving as a key component in the annual University Series of programs and events, encouraging students, faculty and staff to discover their roots. This year’s series features guest speakers, lectures and workshops all built around the theme ‘Who Do You Think You Are?”
Students have made their way to the website and started to delve in to their family history.
“I found the site pretty easy to use except for going beyond my immediate family,” said senior anthropology major Tommy Miller-Donnely said. “But overall I found it to be a relaxing and enjoyable experience to find little parts of my family that I wouldn’t have known about otherwise.”
Ancestry.com has worked with other institutions in the past but this is the first time it has worked in the field of college education.
Access to Ancestry.com has been granted to all UIndy students, faculty, and staff for access on the MyUIndy website. The link can be found on the the “My Stuff” tab under the “University Series.”
The free access to Ancestry.com is set to be available for the 2012-13 academic year as a part of the L/P lecture theme. Later, it will go under evaluation to determine if it will be used further for educational purposes on campus.
“Interest has been shown from the history department and the experience design department mainly,” Stoker said. “Other interest has also been shown in keeping this access around. It [Ancestry.com] could become a valuable asset to the university to support research.”
