Back to School: Education in the Hagel Archives Exhibit Opens
An exhibit, Back to School: Education in the Hagel Archives, runs through January 10, 2025, on the first floor of Criss Library.
- contact: Lori Schwartz - Archives and Special Collections
- email: lschwartz@unomaha.edu
Senator Hagel addressing students at an assembly at Crete Middle School, Crete, Nebraska.
Senator Hagel visiting a classroom at St. Wenceslaus Catholic School, Omaha, Nebraska.
Senator Chuck Hagel with students of Central Park Elementary School in Omaha, Nebraska.
Back to School: Education in the Hagel Archives is the latest exhibit from the U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel Archives in Archives and Special Collections. This display uses photographs and documents to highlight the issue of education within the Hagel Archives.
Throughout his Senate service, Senator Hagel visited dozens of schools across Nebraska. His school visits are represented in this exhibit by thirty-two photographs capturing visits to public and private schools from Omaha to Gering to Norfolk. They show him taking tours, eating lunch with students, talking with teachers and administrators, and speaking to students in assemblies or class.
Among the documents on display are those that illustrate the work of Hagel and his Senate office in representing parents, children, educators, administrators, and other education stakeholders when they had concerns about education legislation or policy, or when they sought funding or help with another issue. The specific issues highlighted in this exhibit are the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Reauthorization, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Reauthorization, Impact Aid, and K-12 and higher education funding.
This exhibit was created using photographs and documents from the U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel Archives. The documents were drawn from the Education series of records. Hagel served on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee for part of his first term. This service included membership on the Subcommittee on Children and Families.
Chuck Hagel served as U.S. Senator from 1997 to 2009 and U.S. Secretary of Defense from 2013 to 2015. The exhibit was curated by Lori Schwartz, Hagel and Technical Services Archivist / Assistant Professor.
Records Available for Research
Hagel’s records are used for research, instruction, exhibits, and general interest. They cover legislative issues and topics of local, national and international prominence that arose from 1997 to 2009, including the Bill Clinton impeachment in 1998-1999, a contested presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the economic downtown of 2007-2009, and disaster and drought assistance for rural areas.
Visitors may use the Hagel Archives in Archives and Special Collections, Monday-Friday 9am – 5pm, and view selected material online. Given this collection’s size, we recommend users contact archivists in advance for help in selecting material. However, we welcome people to stop in and ask about the records at any time. Information is available at U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel Archives.