Carl Van Ness is the

Curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

of the

Manuscripts A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has c ...

Archives An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organ ...

Department in the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

Libraries
Special & Area Studies Collections
and was appointed the University Historian for the

in 2006. He followed the former university

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

Sam Proctor Samuel Proctor (March 29, 1919 – July 10, 2005) was an American history professor and author. He taught at the University of Florida (UF) and wrote about the school and the state's history. Early life and education Proctor was born in Jacks ...

. Prior to this position, Van Ness served as the University of Florida

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist can cons ...

from 1996 to 2006 and worked for the George A. Smathers Libraries. Van Ness authored ''The Making of Florida’s Universities: Public Higher Education at the Turn of the Twentieth Century,'' published in 2023, in which he "traces the development of the schools that later became the University of Florida,

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, and

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. ...

References

External links

''Honoring the Past, Shaping the Future''
book by Carl Van Ness and Kevin McCarthy; the book is openly and freely available in th
UF Digital Collections.

Newspaper article about Van Ness

University Archives

''Alligator'' article about Van Ness

University of Florida Archives Photo Collection
in the

University of Florida Digital Collections The University of Florida Digital Collections (UFDC) are supported by the University of Florida Digital Library Center in the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida. The University of Florida Digital Collections (UFDC) comprise a ...

University of Florida Historical Marker Program

The University of Florida Trivia Book
by Carl Van Ness {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Ness, Carl Living people University of Florida faculty Year of birth missing (living people)