Senator Jack S. Hill: 30 Years of Life in Georgia Politics presented by Kim Liebl: About this Project

Kimberly Liebl is a graduate student in the Master of History with a Public History concentration program at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia. She currently works as a graduate assistant for Peer Programs with the Academic Success Center. Her project focuses on the life and legacy of Georgia State Senator Jack Hill of District 4. The academic committee advising this project consists of Dr. Michelle Haberland (chair), Dr. Patrick Novotny, and Dr. Michael Van Wagenen. Additionally, Dr. Brent Tharp provided significant technical assistance.

This project works closely with the Jack S. Hill Papers, a collection of 30 boxes and 3 oversized folders from former State Senator Jack S. Hill. The collection contains documents and material from Senator Hill's 30 years as the senator of District 4. The purpose of this project was to process the collection and to create a finding aid and containment list. From working with the collection, the creation of two exhibits took place. One is a temporary exhibit, Senator Jack Hill: 30 Years of Life in Georgia Politics, located on the second floor of the Henderson Library from April 10, 2023, to May 31, 2023, and focuses on Senator Hill's Life Before Politics, Political Beginnings (1990-2002), Political Transitions (2002-2020), and Recognition and Legacy. The other is a permanent exhibit installed in the Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center focusing on Senator Hill's Life Before Politics, 30 Years in Office, and Recognition and Legacy. Also conducted were oral history interviews with two men who knew the senator. 

The project's main focus was to see if Senator Hill's political ideologies changed during his time in office. They did not. So, while researching what changed within the Republican and Democratic parties, a timeline was created to explain the political shift that occurred during the 20th century.

This LibGuide contains the timeline and is an extension of the exhibits as it goes into further detail about Senator Jack Hill and his life.

Georgia Southern University’s Public History program was founded in Fall 2012 as a non-thesis track for the Department of History's Master of Arts in History program. The program allows students to pursue studies outside the traditional classroom setting in a variety of hands-on courses. The program concludes with a capstone project in cooperation with historical sites and museums throughout the region. To learn more, visit the Department of History's website.