arbara B. Kennelly, congresswoman from Connecticut's first district from 1982 until 1998, has donated her papers to UConn's archive, adding more than 70 boxes of material to what is already a solid collection of the state's political records.

The material includes photographs, videotapes, newspaper clippings and thousands of pages of material that document her years in Washington, D.C., including papers she collected as the first woman on the Intelligence Committee and as one of the first women on the powerful Ways and Means Committee.

"I was honored to learn that UConn was interested in my papers. Delighted," Kennelly says. "I was very aware of how wonderful the Dodd Research Center is, and I'm honored to have my papers go to UConn because it is very important that we have a strong state university for the people of Connecticut."

Kennelly so far has sent 72 boxes of material to UConn. She says at least that much material is stored at her home in Hartford, and she hopes to donate much of that to UConn as well.

The donation will not include material from Kennelly's unsuccessful run for governor, however.

UConn's archive already holds the papers of U.S. Senators Thomas J. Dodd and Prescott S. Bush Sr., Congressmen Robert Giaimo (D-3rd), Francis T.

Maloney (D-3rd), Bruce Morrison (D-3rd), and William Ratchford (D-5th), and Congresswoman Chase Going Woodhouse (D-2nd). Also among the political and public affairs records held at the archive are organizational records of more than a dozen associations, including the Connecticut Citizens Action Group, the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union, and the Connecticut Women's Educational and Legal Fund.

Thomas Wilsted, director of the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, says he hopes to continue to expand the collection of state political material, focusing on holders of national offices, women and people of color.

He says the University has been asked to serve as the repository for the papers of state legislators as well, but says space considerations limit the amount of material he can accept. He says the area University officials decided to focus on is important to the state.

"This is an area where we have great strength, and we'll continue to collect this history," Wilsted says. "We're a land grant institution, and we have a responsibility to acquire and preserve these records."

Kennelly's donation includes an extensive record of her speeches from 1982 to 1992, her voting records from 1985 to 1998, constituent mail and letters she wrote to her colleagues in Congress and to residents and leaders of her long-time home district.

Wilsted says it will take archive staff about a year to completely sort and file the material, which includes information on the efforts Kennelly made during her career relating to social security, work that helped pave the way for her to become counsel to the administrator of Social Security after the November election.

Richard Veilleux