SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS RESEARCH CENTER
The following brief statement was prepared by the Southern Highlands Research Center Director, Bruce Greenawalt, for use during the years when the Center was in operation. The tense has been altered to reflect the cessation of  the Center.
HISTORY AND PURPOSE OF THE CENTER

The Southern Highlands Research Center began in 1977 as an institutional effort to contribute to the burgeoning field of Appalachian studies, to build bridges to the community from which the institution draws support, and to accumulate the resources necessary if a graduate program at UNC-Asheville ever becomes a reality. 

Although the Center was located in the D. Hiden Ramsey Library, it was independent of the library as well as any single academic department on campus. Its Director reported directly to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. The Center was not responsible for the University Archives, though the two enterprises shared common goals and quarters. The archives were under the supervision of the Chief Librarian. 

The Center's mission was to preserve, collect and arrange primary materials illustrative of the Southern Highlands. Budget and time restraints limited the early acquisitions to Western North Carolina. The Center's holdings fell chiefly into three categories: manuscripts,  (letters, diaries, journals, and other one of-a-kind products), photographs and negatives, and transcripts of oral history interviews. There were no plans to add a museum, or to collect artifacts or three dimensional items.

The Acquisition Policy of the Center mandated that the Director be ultimately responsible for adding collections to the Center. In 1977 at the outset, initial efforts focused on the region's urban, institutional, group, and collective past to provide materials on a much neglected aspect of Appalachia. The common emphasis of other collecting bodies stressed the rural, individualistic, subsistence farming background of the mountain people. The focus largely prevented the Center from duplicating the efforts of other like enterprises in the region. 

When the Director was unsure about the value of a collection, he consulted the UNCA Historical Resources and Archives Committee for advice. The Committee was an advisory body, that met upon the request of the chairman or the Director, and reported to the Vice Chancellor. 

Collections were acquired through solicitation by the Director and by donation. There is no record of collections that were purchased.

Where possible, D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections has attempted to credit the SHRC for their acquisition efforts and for the extensive processing of collections that occurred during the years the Center was in operation. If any errors are found in recording activity or records of the SHRC , please notify the Coordinator of Special Collections, (hwykle@unca.edu) so corrections may be made.

For more information on the activities of the Southern Highlands Research Center, please see University Archives - Publications -Ephemera in Special Collections for copies of the Southern Highlands Research Center newsletters [1977-1980], brochures, and exhibit fliers.