Chris Prom, Assistant University Archivist and Professor at the University of Illinois Library, has been named the third Andrew Turyn Endowed Professor. The professorship recognizes and fosters significant contributions in research by University Library Faculty by funding significant research for a period of five years. In his tenure, Prom will lead major research efforts that will foster the creation of technologies and processes for archival work with born digital materials.

Prom’s research project, entitled “Fostering Archival Connections,” highlights three major goals. First, he seeks to evaluate, test, and implement the wide range of methods, data models, and tools that can help archivists and librarians complete the essential tasks of archival acquisition, arrangement, description, and access for born-digital materials. Second, he plans to foster collaborative research by archivists, functional experts, subject librarians, and teaching faculty at Illinois, to inform the design and implementation of these emergent tools. Finally, he seeks to increase collaboration and sharing between the many external standards groups and technology development projects that seek to cope with the advent of ‘cloud-based’ records. “I’m proud to have Chris serve as the Andrew Turyn Professor,” stated John Wilkin, Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Dean of Libraries and University Librarian. “Chris has been a trailblazer and his work on digital archiving problems will have a lasting influence on our profession.”

Prom joined the University Library in 1999, and has previously been named a Distinguished Fellow of the Society of American Archivists and a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar. He is the Publications Editor and Chair of the Publications Board for the Society of American Archivists. His previous research has focused on issues such as online access to and digital preservation of archival resources.

The Turyn Professorship is open to full professors at the University Library who are pursuing innovative research in any scholarly area. The previous Turyn Professors were Jane Block, librarian emeritus and former Head of the Art and Architecture Library, and, most recently, Valerie Hotchkiss, former Head of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library.