Kelvin White

After completing his PhD at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2008, Dr. White joined OU as an Assistant Professor. He is currently an Associate Professor of Information Studies in the School of Library and Information Studies and the Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Community in the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences.

Using social justice as a framework, his research examines the interconnections between the social, cultural, and historical contexts in which recordkeeping activities exist and the implications they have for marginalized or underrepresented communities; critically interrogates contemporary archival theory and other constructs such as archival education and practice; and develops ways in which education and pedagogy might contribute to cultural relevancy and sensitivity in archival practice and research. His current research includes understanding how tribal culture influences recordkeeping activities in Osage and Comanche nations of Oklahoma, understanding the information needs of historians of women’s history, and assessing archival education in Caribbean communities.

Dr. White served as a co-principal investigator of the Archival Education and Research Institute (AERI), which is a collaboration of archival education programs that aims to educate a new generation of academics in archival education who are versed in contemporary. During his involvement with AERI, he developed the Emerging Archival Education Program (EASP), which serves a recruitment and outreach program to encourage students at the undergraduate and graduate levels from backgrounds that are underrepresented in the archival field to consider undertaking doctoral education focusing in Archival Studies. He also served as President of the International Council on Archive’s Section of Archival Education and Training (SAE) and served as the Co-Chair of the Society of American Archivists’ Cultural Heritage Working Group (CPWG).

Courses Commonly Taught:   

• LIS 5053 Information Seeking and Use
  
• LIS 5343 Archival Concepts
  
• LIS 5563 Archival Appraisal

For a current listing of courses please visit: https://classnav.ou.edu/

Research Areas:

• Interconnections between the social, cultural, and historical contexts in which recordkeeping activities exist
• Tribal culture influences in recordkeeping activities in Osage and Comanche nations of Oklahoma
• Understanding the information needs of historians of women’s history
• Assessing archival education in Caribbean communities