One of the most famous documents in American history, the Emancipation Proclamation, is coming back to Penn State tomorrow for a final, one-day appearance before being shipped back to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

"It's a wonderful opportunity for the students and community at large to be able to view this document," said Karen Younger, managing director of the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center.

Tomorrow, the Leland-Boker copy of the document will be on display in the Special Collections Library, 104 Paterno Library. Also on Saturday, the Richards Center will host an all-day "Symposium on the Emancipation Proclamation" at the Nittany Lion Inn.

The events are an effort to raise awareness for the Richards Center, which is in the second year of a five-year fundraising campaign to match a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) challenge grant.

The grant will help Penn State become "the preeminent place to study the Civil War in the world," said Gabriel Welsch, assistant to the dean for advancement and manager of publications and public relations.

Upon hearing about the grant, Penn State alumnus Albert L. Lord convinced William Chaney, the document's previous owner, to loan it to Penn State, Welsch said.

This copy of is one of only 48 rare wartime printings of the Emancipation Proclamation, signed by Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward in 1864. It was printed in June of 1864 to be sold at the Philadelphia Great Central Sanitary Fair to raise money for sick and wounded soldiers.

The document had previously been on display in the Special Collections Library since March 2006.

In February, Chaney sold the document to Steven Galbraith to be displayed in the National Constitution Center.

"These presentations of the symposium are designed to elucidate the circumstances of the creation of the document," said William L. Joyce, the Dorothy Foehr Huck Chair for Special Collections.

The symposium will feature seven guest speakers including two Pulitzer Prize winners: Steven Hahn of the University of Pennsylvania and Mark Neely, Jr, a Penn State history professor.

"We are very pleased with the scholars that have signed on board," Younger said.

Topics that will be covered over the course of the symposium will range from issues of slavery in the expansion states and discussion about the mindset of slaves regarding Lincoln.

Another topic that is expected to be discussed will be post-emancipation issues.

The symposium is open to the public and will feature two speakers in each of the four sessions. Both events are free and open to the public.