Renfrew Colloquium Archive
About the Collection
This collection provides information about hundreds of presentations hosted as part of the Malcolm Renfrew Interdisciplinary Colloquium. The records stretch back to 2002, allowing users to explore this unique representation of scholarship, discussion, and interdisciplinary connections across campus.
The Malcolm Renfrew Interdisciplinary Colloquium is a cornerstone lecture series at University of Idaho that brings together distinguished members of the university to present their teaching and research across a wide array of disciplines. Now in its third decade, the colloquium showcases how each academic field approaches inquiry — from the questions it seeks to answer to the methods and vocabularies it uses. This exploration helps foster a deeper appreciation for the intellectual diversity that defines a university community.
Please visit the Renfrew Colloquium page for current events and information.
Professor Malcolm M. Renfrew
The colloquium is named in honor of Professor Malcolm M. Renfrew (1910-2013), esteemed chemist, teacher, artist, trombonist, philanthropist, and Vandal. Professor Renfrew has combined an interest in science with enduring interests in the arts and humanities. An important and influential chemist and teacher, Professor Renfrew is also an accomplished painter. His robust curiosity made Professor Renfrew a fixture in the early years of the University Interdisciplinary Colloquium, providing important and helpful guidance to the series directors. The series was renamed after Professor Renfrew in 2010 on his 100th birthday.
Malcolm Renfrew was not only a distinguished chemist but also a gifted artist, U of I educator and advocate for interdisciplinary collaboration. Renfrew’s influence extended far beyond the laboratory — he championed the integration of science and the humanities, believing that the most pressing challenges required insight from multiple fields. His vision helped shape the university’s collaborative and innovative culture and the colloquium named in his honor continues to embody these values today. His legacy lives on through the generations of students, faculty and researchers who continue to explore the intersections of knowledge he so deeply valued.
Collection Data
The core of this collection was extracted from archived web pages captured in 2015 when the university migrated CMS platforms, deleting thousands of older pages. Event records may include a title, presenter, affiliations, abstract, and occasionally a video. Due to issues with the original web pages, including missing and corrupted content, the data is inconsistent and incomplete. The Library is working to enrich and improve the records and capture information about new events going forward.
Technical Credits - CollectionBuilder
This digital collection is built with CollectionBuilder, an open source framework for creating digital collection and exhibit websites that is developed by faculty librarians at the University of Idaho Library following the Lib-Static methodology.
Using the CollectionBuilder-CSV template and the static website generator Jekyll, this project creates an engaging interface to explore driven by metadata.
