Niagara University will host 2015 Conference on New York State History

Members of New York state's history community will meet for the 36^th annual Conference on New York State History when it convenes at Niagara University on June 18-20, 2015.

Paul S. D'Ambrosio, president and CEO of the New York State Historical Association, said, "New York's historians include university scholars, local historians, historic preservationists, teachers, students, museum and historic site professionals, archivists, librarians, genealogists, collectors, re-enactors, history buffs, and a long list of others. This conference is the one opportunity that New York's many different historians have each year to get together and talk about their research and their programs."

The New York State Historical Association is the principal sponsor of the conference. Other sponsors include the New York Council for the Humanities, the New York State Archives Partnership Trust, the New York State Museum, and Niagara University.

Other statewide professional organizations participate actively in the conference by working cooperatively to plan the program. Supporting organizations include the Association of Public Historians of New York State, the New York State Archives Partnership Trust, the Center for Applied Historical Research, the Cooperstown Graduate Program, the Museum Association of New York, the New York Academy of History, the New York Council for the Social Studies, and the New York Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

New York state historian Robert Weible, who chairs the program committee, has described the program's planning process as "an opportunity - not only to develop a first-rate conference schedule - but to strengthen cooperative networks among organizations that share an interest in raising the public's historical awareness."

The conference meets at a different location each year and includes presentations on the latest professional research, panel discussions focused on such topics as cultural tourism and classroom education, musical events, tours to area historic sites, and more.

The 2014 conference drew more than 400 attendees to its meeting at Marist College in Poughkeepsie. Speakers included filmmaker Ken Burns, historian Douglas Brinkley, History Channel vice president Libby O'Connell, and 100 other presenters from every corner of New York.

For further information contact Erin Richardson, director of collections for the New York State Historical Association, at [email protected] or by calling 607-547-1491. Visit www.nysha.org for more information.

To learn more about Niagara University, visit www.niagara.edu.