The Richard and Dr. Candace Beutell Gardner Special Collections and Rare Book Room was able to become a reality thanks to a generous gift from alumna Candace Gardner, Ph.D. '06. A retired French, German and Spanish teacher at Dearborn High School, Gardner was intrigued with languages since the fourth grade, when she stumbled upon her sister’s Latin textbook. She went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan — where she learned French, Gothic, Old Saxon and Old Icelandic — and her doctorate degree in modern languages at Wayne State.

While working on her doctorate, Gardner became a fan of library special collections and toured various collections. While conducting her research, she purchased important, rare books and wanted to ensure she found a home where they would be cherished and preserved. She found that place at Wayne State when she made a gift to help realize the previous dean of the School of Information Sciences’ vision to create a dedicated special collections space. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Wayne State accepted Gardner’s rare books and added them to the collections that would live inside the room, opening them up to future researchers to fall in love with, just as Gardner had done many years before.

Above: The Richard and Dr. Candace Beutell Gardner Special Collections and Rare Book Room, located inside the Reuther Library.