Harry Ransom CenterThe University of Texas at Austin

An Invitation

The Ransom Center is considered one of the world's premier cultural institutions. Your participation is critical to its continued success. Your support of the Director's initiatives enables the Ransom Center to continue to collect, preserve, and celebrate our literary and cultural heritage. You provide the resources necessary for the Director to respond quickly to opportunities such as acquiring major archives, presenting special programs, or supporting scholarly research through fellowships. Your gift enhances the cultural legacy of the Harry Ransom Center. You are invited to be a vital part of this institution by joining the Director's Circle today.

Collecting the Imagination

The Gutenberg Bible, the first photograph, the Woodward and Bernstein Watergate papers, manuscripts from literary greats Geoffrey Chaucer to Norman Mailer—these are among the iconic works at the Ransom Center. The Center also houses Frida Kahlo's art, Charlie Parker's music, Robert De Niro's film archive, D.H. Lawrence's manuscripts, Samuel Beckett's doodles, and even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's golf clubs. The holdings in the Ransom Center collections offer a rare view into the personalities, processes, and talent of great writers and artists.

“Because of the support of our donors, and especially our Director's Circle friends, we can act quickly when an archive becomes available. Many collections are offered to us because their owners know they will receive a prompt response. These opportunities help keep us at the top of the field,” says Thomas F. Staley.

Preserving Culture

The Ransom Center is known for the care we give our collections. Combining the latest technologies with the great craftwork of the past, our conservators address all types of issues common to books, archives, artwork, and photographs. Because of the generosity of our Director's Circle members, our book, paper, and photograph conservators have the resources they need to ensure the materials left in our care will be accessible not only now but for years to come.

Inspiring Ideas

With the support of Director's Circle members, the Ransom Center established a vibrant fellowship program in 1990 and has provided stipends for more than 500 scholars to conduct research among our collections. The Center offers scholars the opportunity to study such diverse areas as thirteenth-century Italian verse, seventeenth-century English dramatic poetry, early developments in micro-photography, avant-garde theater design, modern French musical composition, the art of caricature, censorship in Hollywood, and the work of contemporary African novelists. More than 50 visiting fellows and thousands of additional scholars each year delve into the Center's holdings of rare books, manuscripts, art, film, photography, and the performing arts, and broaden our understanding of the humanities through their resulting books, dissertations, and articles.

Experience the Ransom Center

Sharing the Ransom Center is a vital part of our mission. Interpretive exhibitions, imaginative public programs, descriptive publications, and first-class research facilities ensure community engagement with the collections. The Center permanently displays the iconic Gutenberg Bible and first photograph and presents a changing roster of thematic exhibitions that expose more than 60,000 visitors a year to new ideas and ways of thinking about our cultural heritage. The Center also shares its resources globally through web exhibitions and an international lending program to other museums. A dynamic calendar of lectures, readings, and symposia allow the public to engage with prominent cultural figures. Director's Circle members make these unique opportunities possible through their annual gifts. They are also part of a special group invited by the Director to participate in intimate gatherings with authors, artists, and scholars visiting the Center.

Benefits of Membership

The highest level of membership at the Ransom Center, the Director's Circle offers unparalleled access to the workings of the Center. It includes all benefits described below and the opportunity to meet in private settings with visiting authors, speakers, and scholars.

• Private tours of exhibitions led by curators
• Private events with the Director
• Opportunities to consult with curators about your personal collections or a favorite collection item
• 20% discount in the Harry Ransom Center Online Store
• Personalized membership card for two
• Invitations for two to exhibition previews and select member events
• Complimentary valet parking at exclusive member events
• Membership in the North American Reciprocal Museum Program
• Subscription to our biannual print newsletter, Ransom Edition
• Subscription to our monthly eNews

Lifetime Members

You can establish a Director's Circle endowment to provide an annual distribution equivalent to your Director's Circle membership to support the Director's Initiatives. For example, a gift of $25,000, payable over five years, will provide an annual distribution each year of approximately $1,000, the equivalent of a Director's Circle membership. You will enjoy lifetime membership benefits while supporting the Director's initiatives in perpetuity. Donors participating in the five-year pledge period are asked to consider an annual gift to the Director's Circle until the endowment is fully funded. For more information on Director's Circle endowments please contact Lisa Avra at 512-471-5174 or lisaavra@mail.utexas.edu.