Founders and Directors
Founders
Dr. Ray Thompson
Dr. Thompson came to Salisbury State College (SSC) in 1972 from his home in Kansas where he earned a B.A. from Kansas State College and a M.A. and Ph.D. from Kansas University. He was a professor of Ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian history at Salisbury University (SU) as well as serving as the chair of the History Department and director of the Nabb Research Center (2007-2016). Dr. Thompson retired from Salisbury University’s in 2016 after 44 years.
Mrs. Sylvia Bradley
Mrs. Bradley is a native of Wicomico County, Maryland. She received her undergraduate education at Salisbury State Teachers College, a Masters degree in Education from Salisbury State College in 1967, and an M.A. in History from the University of Delaware in 1971.2 She began teaching at Salisbury State College in the History department in 1966, retiring in 2001 after almost 35 years. Mrs. Bradley wrote the first comprehensive historical text on Salisbury University, Salisbury: from Normal School to University, which was published in 2002 coinciding with the 75th anniversary of SU.
Salisbury: From Normal School To University 1925-2001 by Sylvia Bradley
Dr. Polly Stewart
Dr. Stewart, a native of Utah, earned degrees at the Universities of Utah (BA) and Oregon (D.A., Ph.D.). She joined the Salisbury State College faculty in 1973 and took over direction of the Folklore Archives which consists primarily of students' work.1 During her 30 years at Salisbury University (SU), she served as acting vice president of academic affairs, acting chair of the English Department and chair of the Liberal Studies Program. In 1988 she was asked by Sylvia Bradley and Dr. Ray Thompson of the History Department to join what later became the Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture as a folklore specialist. She received SU’s Distinguished Faculty Award in 1994. Dr. Stewart retired from Salisbury University in 2003 after 30 years of dedicated service but sadly passed away in 2013 leaving behind a lasting legacy.
Directors
Ms. Rebecca Furniss Miller (1995-2007)
Ms. Miller is a native of Somerset County, Maryland graduating from Washington High. In 1995, she became the first full time director of the Delmarva Historical Archives Center contributing geneaological expertise relating to the Eastern Shore of Delmarva. She is also an author publishing papers and transcriptions relating to Somerset County.
Dr. Creston Long (2016-Present)
Dr. Long earned his doctorate from the College of William and Mary, his M.A. from Wake Forest University, and his B.A. from Virginia Military Institute. He was a co-author of Community as Laboratory: Maryland’s Eastern Shore and the History of Freedom and Democracy in America, from which the History Department received a “Teaching American History” grant, funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
As director of the Nabb Center, Dr. Long has supported multiple initiatives including Enduring Connections - Exploring Delmarva's Black History, a project seeking to "gather historical records documenting the lives of Black residents of the lower peninsula, particularly the lower counties of Maryland, Sussex County in Delaware and the northern sections of the Eastern Shore of Virginia."3
Citations
1History of the Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture, Nabb Administrative Files, NABB, Box 1, Organizational History, 1990-2005 (1 of 2), Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture, Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland.
2Co-Directors of the Research Center, Nabb Administrative Files, NABB, Box 1, Organizational History, 1990-2005 (1 of 2), Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture, Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland.
3Salisbury University (n.d.). “Enduring Connections” Project at SU’s Nabb Center Makes Eastern Shore’s Black History More Accessible. Salisbury University.