Carrie Jean Meyer is a new faculty member at the McGoogan Library of Medicine.
- Name: Carrie Jean Meyer
- Hometown: Collierville, Tenn.
- Title and department at UNMC: Assistant professor, head of special collections and archives, McGoogan Library of Medicine
Research/professional interests:
- Material culture history
- Architectural history
- Working with interns and practicum students
- Integration of historical art and artifacts into formal and informal learning situations
How I fell in love with special collections: I grew up going to libraries, museums, historic homes and national parks, yet it didn’t occur to me that people actually worked in these places. They were so much fun to visit, it didn’t seem like it should be “work.” Through my art history courses, I fell in love with the stories behind the paintings — who commissioned them, what history were they trying to preserve (or alter), what was the ingenuity employed in creating new artistic forms, what was going on at the time and in the places where they came from . . . all these questions and more. Wanting to care for historic artifacts and tell their stories to others is what prompted me to seek out a career working with objects, first in museums and now in special collections.
Degrees:
- B.A., art history, Rhodes College, Memphis, Tenn., 2005
- M.A., museum studies, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, 2007
Memberships:
- American Alliance of Museums
- Central States Numismatic Society
Things people may not know about me:
- I enjoy doing counted-cross-stitch projects.
- I’m a huge animal lover. My husband and I have four fur-babies . . . in addition to our two real babies.
- I played fast-pitch softball through my freshman year of college.
- I love to sing.