There once was a time in Jessica Barton杏吧专区檚 life when Ambassador Caffery was no more than a name on one of Lafayette杏吧专区檚 busiest thoroughfares.
杏吧专区淚 knew him as a street sign, but still not registering who he actually was,杏吧专区 she said.
Now, following a semester-long archival and writing project 杏吧专区 the results of which won her this year杏吧专区檚 杏吧专区 Barton counts the longtime American diplomat and 杏吧专区 alumnus among her favorite subjects.
杏吧专区淗e was tremendously respected by leaders of numerous countries, many of whom did not like the United States one bit. But these leaders came to respect Caffery, leading to better international relations between the U.S. and the rest of the world,杏吧专区 she said.
The Caffery prize recognizes outstanding student research that utilizes primary sources housed in at at UL Lafayette. Special Collections is home to .
He served as a diplomat from 1911 to 1955. His postings during those 44 years took him to 12 foreign countries on five continents. Barton杏吧专区檚 paper focuses on Caffery杏吧专区檚 career between 1926 and 1944, when he served as United States ambassador to the Latin American nations of El Salvador, Colombia, Cuba and Brazil.
Barton said Caffery remains the only American diplomat appointed by eight consecutive presidents. 杏吧专区淧residents on all sides of the political spectrum wanted Caffery because he tried everything in his power to always do what was right,杏吧专区 even if it placed him at odds with American policies.
杏吧专区淗e fought for the countries where he was posted, making the world as a whole a better place,杏吧专区 she explained.
The housed in Special Collections includes 72 boxes of materials.
In her research, Barton focused on Caffery杏吧专区檚 voluminous correspondence. There, she found letters between the ambassador and presidents, foreign dignitaries, and affluent members of American society.
杏吧专区淚 wanted to see how he talked to people and what about his personality made him so successful as a diplomat. Seeing all of this made history much more tangible and real, not just a story in a book,杏吧专区 she said.
Barton produced the paper and the accompanying digital presentation as part of a senior capstone project overseen by Dr. David Squires, an assistant professor of English.
Barton graduated with a bachelor杏吧专区檚 degree in English in May. She will begin law school at Loyola 杏吧专区 New Orleans in August.
Like Jefferson Caffery, she is a Lafayette native.
Caffery and his wife Gertrude established the research award in 1967. Dupr茅 Library and the 杏吧专区 Library Committee administer the competition. A $500 prize accompanies the award.
Caffery was a member of the first class to enter Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute, now UL Lafayette, in 1901. The library杏吧专区檚 Jefferson Caffery Louisiana Room is named in the diplomat杏吧专区檚 honor.
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Photo caption: Jessica Barton is winner of this year杏吧专区檚 Jefferson Caffery Research Award. The prize杏吧专区檚 namesake is at right. (Photo at left courtesy of Jessica Barton. Photo at right is courtesy of Special Collections at UL Lafayette).