UWF Oral History Project
"Argos: In Their Own Words" is the University of West Florida's first oral history project.
Every Argo has a story, and the UWF Alumni Association wants to hear yours! However, with over 95,000 alumni, it would take many years to meet with each of you individually. That’s why we’ve decided to embark on a new project called Argos: In Their Own Words to collect the stories of alumni like you. These stories will be preserved in a book that celebrates the impact University of West Florida has had on your lives and who you are today. Each year we don’t capture and preserve these stories feels like another opportunity lost, so we’re excited to get started!
Even better, you will be given an opportunity to purchase a copy of Argos: In Their Own Words for your home or office.
PCI Partnership
Over the next few months, University of West Florida alumni will be contacted via postcard, phone call and email by our partner vendor Publishing Concepts (PCI). With our limited resources, we’d never be able to tackle a project like this. By partnering with PCI, we’re able to access their trained staff of real, live human beings who are excited to listen to what you have to share. PCI will also help collect and assemble the stories into the Argos: In Their Own Words book that we can share with all Argos. Please note, we have only shared your contact information with PCI in conjunction with this project. We have NOT sold your contact information, or otherwise used it for outside marketing purposes. (Does PCI sound familiar? They also helped us with our Alumni Directory project in 2019.)
Have You Moved?
As part of this project, we are also taking this opportunity to help make it easier for you to stay connected to UWF. PCI will help us collect updated contact information from those of you who may have moved and inadvertently lost touch with your alma mater.
What Will Your Story Be?
- Did a special faculty or staff member have a profound impact on your life?
- Did you find your sweetheart at UWF?
- Were you a student-athlete who won a big game or championship?
- Can you trace your career path back to a defining moment at our alma mater?
- Have connections you made on campus turned into lifelong friendships?
- Were you on campus during a historical moment?
- Are you a UWF legacy?
What's Next?
Soon you will be receiving email and postcard communications from the PCI team with instructions on how to participate. We’d like to invite you to share one of your stories with us and take part in this first of its kind project to honor the experiences and voices of our alumni. The PCI team will collect stories until July 14, 2023. After that, they will enter the post-production phase and will begin publishing the books. We hope to have the book distributed in early spring 2024.
FAQs are addressed below. If you have further questions, please contact UWF Alumni Relations at 850.474.2758 or email alumni@uwf.edu.
Thank you for your participation, we are so excited to read all of your Argo memories. Go Argos!
Frequently Asked Questions
We have partnered with PCI (also known as Publishing Concepts) to produce an Oral History Publication for University of West Florida. PCI is a family owned business based in Dallas, TX that has published directories for educational institutions, fraternities, sororities, and military organizations across the nation for over 100 years. This project allows us to hear about your personal experiences from your time at the University of West Florida and how the school helped to shape your life since then. And, while we have you on the phone, we want to make sure your contact information is up to date.
The phone numbers that are listed on the postcards and emails direct to our trusted partner company, PCI. They are contacting our alumni and collecting information for the Oral History Project on our behalf.
PCI is committed to protecting your information. The names, addresses and information provided to PCI for the publication of the Oral History Project will be held confidential by PCI, except to the extent that they are utilized in, or in the preparation of, the Oral History Project and except as required by court order or law.
If you have received a postcard or an email with a telephone number, you may call the number to speak with a dedicated representative for the Oral History Project. The representative will verify the information we have on file for you, make any updates where needed, and then ask you to share your story about your time at the University of West Florida. Your story will be recorded and the sound clip provided to University of West Florida at the conclusion of the project.
If you have received an email with an embedded link, you may go to the online site to review your information and submit a story.
If you did not receive a postcard or email, you may call the dedicated University of West Florida update line at 1-888-892-3790.
The only information that is included in the publication is your name, class year and degree, along with your story and photo. No contact information is printed. When you call to update your contact information, it will only be used to update your alumni record for the school/alumni association. You may revoke consent for your story and/or photo to appear any time before July 14, 2023, by contacting PCI’s customer service helpdesk at 1-800-982-1590 / customerservice@publishingconcepts.com.
You can call back at any time before July 14, 2023, to share your story.
You will receive an email with a link to upload one photo (black and white or color) plus a caption.
If you have also purchased a book but do not have an email address on file, you will be sent a photo mailer to send a physical photo to PCI to be printed (note: the photo will be returned if you include a self-addressed, stamped envelope).
No. The Argos: In Their Own Words book is available for sale only to UWF alumni.
The total duration of the Oral History Project is about 12 months. Since we will begin the project in January of 2023, the books will be distributed in January of 2024.
Contact PCI’s customer service helpdesk at 1-800-982-1590 or email customerservice@publishingconcepts.com and they will take care of this for you.
