LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth will donate his congressional papers to the University of Louisville upon his retirement on Jan. 2.
Yarmuth, a Louisville Democrat who represents Kentucky's Third Congressional District, announced in October 2021 that he would be retiring after serving eight terms, which began in 2007.
"At its core, everything I've done in Congress has been about serving the Louisville community, so I can think of no final act more fitting than turning over this historical record to our flagship university," Yarmuth said in a news release Thursday. "In the hands of University of Louisville's students, faculty and staff, I'm hopeful that my work will continue to serve the community for generations to come."
University officials said the collection is made up of digital and physical paper material, including "documentation that traces Yarmuth's time in the House of Representatives," including "working drafts of legislation he sponsored, correspondence, recorded interviews" and more.
Yarmuth served as a visiting professor at UofL for several semesters, officials said. His family also created the Yarmuth Book Award Endowment in 1987, honoring his father, Stanley Yarmuth. Officials said the endowment "awards a book, chosen by a UofL committee, to qualifying high school juniors throughout Kentucky and southern Indiana."
Other contributions at the university include the creation of the Susan and William Yarmuth Jewish Studies Reading Room in the Ekstrom Library in 2022, along with his brother and sister-in-law. The space houses the university's Jewish Studies collection and the Deborah and Rabbi Robert Slosberg Collection.
The congressional papers will go to the University Archives and Special Collections at UofL.
Yarmuth ran the LEO Weekly newspaper before he entered politics. He defeated the incumbent Republican, Anne Northup, in 2006 to win the 3rd District seat. He's been reelected seven times.
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