Dellroy native Amy Yuncker is certified archivist

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Amy Yuncker

CANTON , OH (09/13/2013)(readMedia)-- Malone University archivist, and Dellroy native, Amy Yuncker has successfully completed the process to become a certified archivist through the Academy of Certified Archivists (ACA), an organization which provides independent endorsements of an archivist's skills.

To qualify for the designation, Yuncker first completed a master's degree with a concentration in archives and obtained one year of professional experience before passing a test offered annually, this year in Indianapolis. The test covers areas of archival science expertise including administration, preservation, or outreach and promotion.

Yuncker is the University's first archivist – and an enthusiastic one!

She says, "There's the excitement of processing unmarked materials that have been sitting in boxes for decades. You never know what will be in one of those boxes. A diary? Photographs? Funeral vases? Sometimes it's just ledgers, but sometimes it's toys! I never know."

Yuncker enjoys creating displays of her discoveries. "Whether it's for a class or around campus or for a special event -- like last year's inauguration or the Yearly Meeting (of the Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region) -- I love bringing our things outside of the archives and sharing them with people. We have a great collection and I love helping other people love it!"

Yuncker says that her most interesting discoveries so far include an old Chinese ceremonial urn decorated with dragons. She has also uncovered locks of hair from conversion ceremonies performed in India by Quaker missionaries, including Everett Cattell, as well as the letters and reports by and about the mission discussing whether or not they should break with Quaker tradition and perform water baptisms.

She adds, "Emma Malone's wedding bonnet from 1886 turned up in a box earlier this year. My favorite artifact to show people at the moment is a rock from the bluestone quarry where the Malone Brothers made a great deal of money, some of which helped this school come into being."

She also points out a Foreign Mission collection of documents that includes an account of an elephant hunt from missionaries to Kenya in the early 1900s that was considered so graphic that the story was shelved immediately.

To contact Amy Yuncker to view materials for research purposes (or simply out of interest), please call 330.471.8233 or email ayuncker@malone.edu.

Malone University (Canton, Ohio), a Christian university for the arts, sciences, and professions in the liberal arts tradition, affiliated with the Evangelical Friends Church, awards both undergraduate and graduate degrees in more than 100 academic programs. Malone has been recognized by the prestigious Templeton Foundation as a leader in character development, as one of Northeast Ohio's Top Workplaces by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, is ranked among the top colleges and universities in the Midwest under the category Regional Universities according to U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges 2013, and is named to AffordableCollegesOnline (ACO)'s Best Lifetime Return on Investment list for the State of Ohio.