MARC Events in 2009

• MARC co-sponsored the 2nd Presidential Lecture on April 2009 with invited guests Dr. Catherine Lutz, professor of Watson Institute of International Studies and Department of Anthropology at Brown University and Dr. Kiyoshi Nakachi a professor from Meio University, Okinawa lecturing on the anticipated military build-up on Guam.  Dr. Lutz has studied how U.S. military bases affect communities from North Carolina to South Korea. She discussed the impact Guam can expect with the military’s expansion to Guam. The following day a symposium was led by Dr. Nakachi, who discussed the “cultural understanding and misunderstanding” between Okinawa and the U.S. Government.

• The first annual MARC Scholarship Fund Drive was held in March to raise funds for scholarships and research. This gala event was held at the Marriot Hotel which attracted several hundred people from the University and Business Community. This wonderful affair also honored recent retirees Dr. Majorie Driver and Dr. Dirk Ballendorf. They were both given Legislative resolutions from the 30th Guam Legislature. The co-chairs Heidi Ballendorf and Dr. Robert Underwood hosted this event and along with their committee collectively netted $44,000 for MARC.

• A blanket purchase agreement was secured with the NavFac Pacific to conduct various cultural resource management projects on Guam and in the region.   Projects included U.S. Navy construction, Historical Architectural Engineering Record preparation, and archaeological testing excavations at Futenma MCAS Okinawa.  Other archaeological research projects include first comprehensive Traditional Cultural Property report for Guam for U.S. D.O.D. properties; intensive archaeological surveys; and coastal research in Tumon Bay and Pago Bay.

• In 2009, MARC published six manuscripts and co-published yet another with former Congressman Ben Blaz.
  • • The Lepers of the Mariana Islands by Marjorie Driver
    • Baseball in Palau: Passion for the Game by Donald R. Shuster
    • Chamorro Legends on the Island of Guam by Marvis Van Peenen (Bilingual)
    • Bisita Guam: Let Us Remember Nihi Ta Hasso by Ben Blaz
    • Father Felix K. Yaoch, S.J. Island Priest; Compiled and Edited by Donald R. Shuster
    • Tropical Frontier: America’s South Seas Colony by Joseph Kennedy

• In June MARC was given a monetary gift from a benefactor in San Diego, California. Former Merizo resident, Mr. George Charfauros through his daughter, Phyliss Levering, presented a $2,500 check to MARC to “boost” its operations and the mission of MARC.  In previous years, Mr. Charfauros had donated a tinaha (a huge urn used to store fish) and other personal artifacts and books to MARC.  

• MARC conducted second collaborative archaeological field school at Ritidian Unit, Guam Wildlife Refuge in summer 2009, with CLASS Department of Anthropology course listings and with Dr. James Bayman, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawaii at Manoa.

• MARC received a planning grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to create a comprehensive profile of the island’s collecting institutions. The University of Guam is partnering with the Guam Public Library, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Library, and Guam Community College to create this profile to develop programs for professional development and guide collection care from routine maintenance to large-scale preservation projects. Surveys conducted will examine the physical state of the collections and the personnel that are responsible for them. Findings from this project will strengthen institutional ability to prioritize and undertake preservation and conservation activities.

• MARC mourns the loss of Kalisto Renguul Recheungel, custodian for over 20 years at University of Guam. Kalisto was a hardworking man who was always ready to  assist where he could and share a story or two of his life experiences. We truly miss his positive energy and his anecdotes.

• MARC faculty Omaira Brunal-Perry visited Madrid, Spain on an acquisitions trip to meet the needs of collection development for the Spanish Documents Collection at RFT MARC. Several MARC publications were presented to the National Library of Spain (Biblioteca Nacional de España), in exchange, she was given a catalog from Spanish National Museum of Anthropology to add to the Spanish Documents Collection.  In addition to the National Archives, archival research was conducted in the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC, in Madrid. This research yielded about 184 documents (legajos) with reference to the Mariana Islands.

• Dr. John Peterson, MARC Director was appointed Vice President for Indo-Pacific region for International Committee for Archaeological Heritage Management (ICAHM), a  scientific committee of ICOMOS, UNESCO.

• Director Peterson was a key team member in obtaining both NIH U-54 Cancer health disparities grant award and UOG Green Initiative grant.

• MARC is pleased to announce our newest doctor of philosophy, Dr. Monique R.C. Storie. The University of Arizona recently conferred the doctorate degree in language reading and culture on her. Her dissertation was on contemporary children's literature in the Mariana Islands. As the youngest faculty member, Storie has worked as a librarian for Guam and Micronesia Reference Collection since 1995. She earned a B.S. in Spanish from Arizona State University and an M.A. in library science from the University of Arizona.