Preface

From VCencylopedia

The Vassar Encyclopedia project is an online work in progress under the direction of Vassar's College Historian, Elizabeth Daniels '41. Begun in the 2003-04 academic year, the project has benefited from the work of students, faculty members, graduates, and friends of the college. President Frances Fergusson has lent her generous support from the beginning, and the project's collaboration, in particular, with the Special Collections staff in the Library and with the College Relations Office has been essential to its success to date.

The project's goal is to present lively, accurate, and informative articles relating to the college and its history, of varying length and on diverse topics, written by a wide array of authors. The initial version consists of texts and illustrations, but it may be expected that, as the collection grows over the years, other media will be incorporated appropriately. Some sections of the encyclopedia may also appear separately in print.

The material is organized into general categories, but the encyclopedia's contents may be searched by key word, and most entries include, along with a note on sources and, in many cases, footnoted additional information, a brief list of related articles.

The project's coordinators have worked from a common style sheet, but we have respected in many instances authors' preferences. We also realize that, with many hands at work and despite many eyes on our texts, simple typographical or other errors must surely exist in this first version of the project; we invite assistance, not only in making the subsequent versions more perfect (we expect, generally, monthly additions and revisions) but also more inclusive of the rich legacy and lore of the college.

EAD, CJ, 2006