BLACKSBURG, April 21, 1999 -- Fifth-grade students at Gilbert Linkous Elementary School in Blacksburg have spent the past month raking leaves, pulling weeds, planting flowers, babysitting, washing cars, and doing other odd jobs to raise money for Virginia Tech's proposed Virginia Center for Civil War Studies. On April 20, the children presented James I. Robertson Jr., Tech's Alumni Distinguished Professor of History and noted Civil War author, with a metal milk can filled with their hard-earned cash--$268.07. In March, Virginia Tech initiated a $3 million campaign to raise money to establish the center, which Robertson will head.
"Regardless of how much money we raise, none will mean as much to me as what you have given today," Robertson told the three classes of fifth-grade students, who gathered in the elementary school library for the presentation. He said he hoped that other fifth-grade classes in Virginia would follow the example set by those at the Blacksburg school.
Joan Nunnally, a fifth-grade teacher who spearheaded the project, said that the students were impressed with Robertson, who talked to them in January about the Civil War. Fifth-graders spend 14 weeks studying the war as part of their history class.
When Virginia Tech announced plans to establish a Civil War center, Nunnally asked the students if they wanted to help. The idea of doing odd jobs to raise money came from the students.
When Robertson heard about the project, he said he was "moved to tears." He recalled that at the time, he thought, "These kids are working like Trojans to raise what may not be over $25, but the effort is extraordinary."
Thim Corvin, senior director of development for capital support and principal fundraiser for the center, spoke briefly to the students and thanked them for their contributions. "You have set an example for others to follow, and we will be proudly using your example when we speak to other donors across the nation," he said.
Once established, the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies will offer several programs. A scholars-in-residence program will attract nationally recognized Civil War scholars to spend a semester or academic year on the Virginia Tech campus, while scholarships will be used to entice the nation's best graduate students in Civil War history. The center will sponsor annual symposia, lecture series, exhibitions, and additional radio and television shows, and will publish a scholarly Civil War journal. It will expand Virginia Tech's collection of Civil War books, manuscripts, and memorabilia and hire an archivist to organize, maintain, and protect the collection. It will also extend educational opportunities through digital and distance learning programs.
Robertson, tapped by President Kennedy in 1961 to serve as the executive director of the United States Civil War Centennial Commission, has written numerous books on the Civil War, including his recent critically acclaimed biography Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend, which has won a record number of awards for a Civil War book; Soldiers Blue and Gray, which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize; and America Becomes One Nation, which received critical acclaim as one of the best children's books about the Civil War. He appears frequently on public television and the Arts & Entertainment Network and produces a weekly Civil War program for public radio. His annual weeklong June seminar, Campaigning with Lee, consistently draws more than 130 participants from over 30 states, and his most recent Civil War Weekend, held annually in March, attracted 350 people from 17 states.
