Memorabilia, civics lessons from McConnell's life, career on display in archives

(Nov. 13, 2014) LOUISVILLE, Ky. – U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has been in public service for more than 40 years and was just elected by his peers to serve as Senate Majority Leader in the upcoming congress.

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell at the 2009 opening of the McConnell-Chao Archives

Memorabilia and civics lessons from McConnell’s life and career are on display at the McConnell-Chao Archives, located on the University of Louisville’s Belknap Campus.

The archives, a division of the McConnell Center at UofL, chronicles McConnell’s life – from his childhood battle with polio to his ascension to Senate leadership. The archives’ gallery is free and open to the public. Guided group tours are free and can be requested online.

Local and national interviews with curator and chief archivist Deborah Skaggs Speth are available online:

ABC News: ‘A Behind-the-Scenes Peek Inside the Mitch McConnell Legacy Vault’
WHAS11: ‘Who is Mitch McConnell’
University of Louisville: ‘McConnell-Chao Archives, University of Louisville’

The archives also showcase the legacy of leadership and public service of Elaine L. Chao, former U.S. Sec. of Labor and McConnell’s wife.

The non-partisan McConnell Center, created at UofL in 1991, prepares Kentucky’s top college undergraduate students to become future leaders and offers civic education programs for teachers, students and the public.