Published on June 13, 2006 by William Nunnelley  

More than 250 genealogy students from around the nation are studying family ancestry at the 44th annual Â鶹¹û¶³ Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR) June 11-16. The nationally known institute has been hosted by the Â鶹¹û¶³ library since 1962.

The IGHR offers 10 concentrated courses taught by more than 30 instructors in various aspects of genealogy. They include such offerings as Research in the South, advanced methodology, Scottish genealogical research, land records, Researching French ancestors and others.

Elizabeth Shown Mills, immediate past president of the American Society of Genealogists, teaches the advanced methodology course that she developed at Â鶹¹û¶³. Mills, longtime editor of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, has taught in the Â鶹¹û¶³ institute since 1979.

Jean Thomason, director of the Â鶹¹û¶³'s Harwell G. Davis Library, is IGHR director.

 
Located in the Homewood suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Â鶹¹û¶³ is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Â鶹¹û¶³ enrolls 6,324 students from 44 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s 35 Most Beautiful College Campuses, Â鶹¹û¶³ fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and boasts one of the highest scores in the nation for its 97% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.