Monmouth University has created a partnership with Bruce Springsteen to establish the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at the university’s campus in West Long Branch.
Through the collaboration, Monmouth University will become the official archival repository for Springsteen’s written works, photographs, periodicals and artifacts, according to a press release from the school.
The new collaboration broadens an existing relationship between Springsteen and Monmouth University, which has served as the home of the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection since 2011.
The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music will preserve and promote the legacy of Springsteen and his role in American music, while honoring and celebrating icons of American music like Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, Hank Williams, Frank Sinatra and others, according to the press release.
The expanded partnership will help to more deeply integrate the history and inspiration of American music into the curriculum and research experience at the university. It will also serve to bolster a music industry program at the university, one of only nine university affiliates of the Grammy Museum.
“Monmouth University is excited by the opportunity to grow our relationship with Bruce Springsteen,” President Paul R. Brown said. “Our partnership has been a natural one, just steps from Springsteen’s birthplace (at Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch) and the (house in Long Branch) where the ‘Born to Run’ album was written, Monmouth University’s location brilliantly captures the essence of Springsteen’s music while providing the academic heft of one of only nine university affiliates of the Grammy Museum.
“The establishment of the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music celebrates and reinforces the Jersey Shore’s legacy in the history of American music, while providing a truly transformative experience for our students,” Brown said.