The Byrd Center at Shepherd University, formerly known as the Byrd Center for Legislative Studies, was officially renamed the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education last Wednesday, Jan. 6.

“We haven’t changed our mission, but we’re sharpening our focus,” said Ray Smock, director of the Byrd Center since its opening in 2002. “We are recognizing that our real strength has always been congressional history.”

The decision to change the name of the center was made at the December board meeting, but the new sign wasn’t put in place until last week.

The center’s board includes Smock, former U.S. House of Representatives historian; Richard Baker, U.S. Senate historian; James Thurber, director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University; Jay Wyatt, director of programs and research at the center and its most recent member, Donald Ritchie, former U.S. Senate historian.

“We changed our name because it didn’t quite convey precisely what we were doing,” Smock said. “We see this as a new era for Shepherd and a new outreach for us to push beyond our borders for a broader scope.”

The logo of the Byrd Center, which used to be the outside of the building, has also changed to an image of the capitol because it reflects that the center studies Congress, Smock added.

The new name and logo were announced by Walter Stewart, the chairman of the board of directors of the Congressional History and Education Foundation, the organization that operates the center.

The main goal the center wants to achieve by changing its name is to provide education about Congress and Senator Robert C. Byrd’s role within it.

“We want to make the public have a better understanding of Congress’s importance,” Smock said. “(Byrd) wanted a center to hold his papers, an archive, and we want to keep his legacy and the vitality of Congress alive.”

In addition to the name and logo changes, the center is planning several events leading up to Byrd’s 100th birthday in November 2017.

“The events will launch in spring 2016, and they will continue for about a year and a half,” Smock said. “The biggest event will be a traveling exhibit for Senator Byrd. It will open in Shepherdstown at the center and travel all over the state.”

Although the route the exhibit will take is still being mapped out, Smock said that it will make about 15 different stops on its journey and end in Charleston. The exhibit will be called “Robert C. Byrd – Senator, Statesman and West Virginian.”

“His story needs to be revitalized,” Smock said. “He’s been gone for five years, and it’s amazing how quickly we forget our history. His story is entwined with West Virginia’s story, and our goal is to keep that alive.”

The Byrd Center is part of the Association of Centers for the Study of Congress, and Smock said that the center plans to expand its presence in the association.

“Our goal is to take as much of (Byrd’s) archive and make it as widely available as possible to the public,” Smock said. “We also want to engage in more educational programs and expand on what we already have.”

The events leading up to Senator Byrd’s 100th birthday are part of a campaign to raise money for the center’s endowment.

“We are telling an important story of the last half century of West Virginia’s development and how Senator Byrd contributed to that,” Smock said.

For more information, visit www.byrdcenter.org.

Byrd Center at Shepherd University gets a name update

Emily Daniels

Ogden Newspapers

The Byrd Center at Shepherd University, formerly known as the Byrd Center for Legislative Studies, was officially renamed the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education last Wednesday, Jan. 6.

“We haven’t changed our mission, but we’re sharpening our focus,” said Ray Smock, director of the Byrd Center since its opening in 2002. “We are recognizing that our real strength has always been congressional history.”

The decision to change the name of the center was made at the December board meeting, but the new sign wasn’t put in place until last week.

The center’s board includes Smock, former U.S. House of Representatives historian; Richard Baker, U.S. Senate historian; James Thurber, director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University; Jay Wyatt, director of programs and research at the center and its most recent member, Donald Ritchie, former U.S. Senate historian.

“We changed our name because it didn’t quite convey precisely what we were doing,” Smock said. “We see this as a new era for Shepherd and a new outreach for us to push beyond our borders for a broader scope.”

The logo of the Byrd Center, which used to be the outside of the building, has also changed to an image of the capitol because it reflects that the center studies Congress, Smock added.

The new name and logo were announced by Walter Stewart, the chairman of the board of directors of the Congressional History and Education Foundation, the organization that operates the center.

The main goal the center wants to achieve by changing its name is to provide education about Congress and Senator Robert C. Byrd’s role within it.

“We want to make the public have a better understanding of Congress’s importance,” Smock said. “(Byrd) wanted a center to hold his papers, an archive, and we want to keep his legacy and the vitality of Congress alive.”

In addition to the name and logo changes, the center is planning several events leading up to Byrd’s 100th birthday in November 2017.

“The events will launch in spring 2016, and they will continue for about a year and a half,” Smock said. “The biggest event will be a traveling exhibit for Senator Byrd. It will open in Shepherdstown at the center and travel all over the state.”

Although the route the exhibit will take is still being mapped out, Smock said that it will make about 15 different stops on its journey and end in Charleston. The exhibit will be called “Robert C. Byrd – Senator, Statesman and West Virginian.”

“His story needs to be revitalized,” Smock said. “He’s been gone for five years, and it’s amazing how quickly we forget our history. His story is entwined with West Virginia’s story, and our goal is to keep that alive.”

The Byrd Center is part of the Association of Centers for the Study of Congress, and Smock said that the center plans to expand its presence in the association.

“Our goal is to take as much of (Byrd’s) archive and make it as widely available as possible to the public,” Smock said. “We also want to engage in more educational programs and expand on what we already have.”

The events leading up to Senator Byrd’s 100th birthday are part of a campaign to raise money for the center’s endowment.

“We are telling an important story of the last half century of West Virginia’s development and how Senator Byrd contributed to that,” Smock said.

For more information, visit www.byrdcenter.org.