Sheridan@50: A creative history for a creative campus

Abstract

Sheridan’s celebration of its 50th anniversary in 2017 provided a unique opportunity for our internal community – students, alumni, staff, and faculty – to co-create and explore the rich history of the college. We partnered with Dr. Peter Kikkert, then Sheridan Professor of Public History, and Dr. Christian Knudsen, Sheridan Professor of Cultural History. The key outputs were a documentary (exploring Sheridan’s history) and a travelling display of eight historical towers (documenting Sheridan’s creation, development, successes, failures, capabilities, culture, and the societal forces that have shaped it). A social campaign, web landing page, three key events, and publications (both print and digital) helped engage our internal community and disseminate the findings.  The initiative helped archive Sheridan’s history, build awareness of its achievements and progress, demonstrate how its founding values (creativity, innovation, community, inclusivity) still guide the institution, and increase people’s knowledge, pride, and sense of belonging with Sheridan.  ©Journal of Professional Communication, all rights reserved.