UR 10.3 Buildings and campus reference collection, 1929-2002, 1 linear foot

This collection consists of vertical subject files on organizations, groups, and topics related to Drexel University. Files may contain clippings, press releases, brochures, or other materials. This is an artificial collection assembled and maintained by the Drexel University Archives.

UR 3.17 Blueprints and architectural drawings, 1930-2000, 28 linear feet

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UR 8.8, DUTV videos, 1980-2004, 14 cubic feet

This collection consists of recordings of Drexel University Television productions.  most items are VHS tapes.  This collection is partially processed.  A preliminary inventory is available in the archives; contact the Archives for more information.

UR 7.25, Director of Men’s Physical Education and Intercollegiate Athletics records, 1969-1991, 1 cubic foot

Director of Men’s Physical Education and Intercollegiate Athletics John Semanik led the men’s athletics program from his appointment as director of athletics and business manager in 1962 until his retirement in 1991.  Born in Philadelphia in 1930, Mr. Semanik graduated from Drexel in 1956 with a B.S. in business administration.  read more >>>

UR 1.12 Assistant to the President patent records, 1966-1982, 2 Cubic feet

This collection consists of administrative files relating to both patents and the Patent Advisory Committee. It also contains a series of files on individual patent applications where ownership was considered by the Patent Advisory Committee. read more >>>

UR 7.3, Men’s Basketball records, 1895-2001,  3.33 cubic feet

The collection contains a large series of newspaper clippings related to men’s basketball dating from 1953 to 1988; game and player statistics dating as early as 1895 through 1990; series containing media guides, game programs, calendars, and other printed ephemera; and a small set of slides from circa 1997.  read more >>>

UR 3.15 Inventory of buildings, furnishings, and items, 1921-1922, 0.5 cubic feet

This collection consists of an inventory of buildings, furnishings and items in the Main building, East Hall (now Randell Hall), North 33rd Hall, and Powelton Hall.  The inventory was conducted between 1921-1922 and consists of 3×5 index cards arranged by floor/room number.  read more >>>

UR 10.8 Drexel historical films, 1937-1991, 8 reels and 6 tapes

This collection consists of eight historical films documenting the students, campus, athletics, and activities of the Drexel Institute of Technology.  The films were transferred to four 3/4″ tapes and two VHS tapes.

UR 5.2 Library records, 1929-2002, 32.33 cubic feet

The library and reading room of the Drexel Institute of Art, Science, and Industry opened in 1892 under the direction of librarian Alice B. Kroeger. The first library was housed in the Main Building and was also responsible for running the library school until 1962. A new library, later called the Korman Center, opened in 1959, but planning for another new library began shortly thereafter. The W. W. Hagerty Library opened in 1983. This two largest components of this collection are drafts of the library building program for the construction of Hagerty Library, 1970-1978, and annual reports from the library and its departments, 1964-1997. Other records include subject files compiled chiefly by library director Richard Snyder, staff meeting minutes, some correspondence, and pamphlets pertaining to library events and exhibits.

This collection is unprocessed.  A preliminary inventory is available in the archives; contact the archivist at archives@drexel.edu for more information.  Because the collection may contain confidential information, portions are currently restricted pending review by the archivist. See the university archives’ policy on access to records for further information.

UR 5.1 Early library records, 1891-1947, 2.66 cubic feet

The library and reading room of the Drexel Institute of Art, Science, and Industry opened in 1892 under the direction of librarian Alice B. Kroeger.  Within its first year of operation, it had built a collection of nearly eight thousand volumes, chiefly through gifts and donations from Anthony J. Drexel and his business partner, George W. Childs.  The Drexel Institute library was also responsible for running the library school, which by 1900 was enrolling twenty students per year.  This collection consists of the minutes of the Trustees’ Committee on the Library from 1892 to 1917; accession and inventory books listing items received and withdrawn from the collection, 1891-1947; library circulation statistics, 1891-1923, and card catalogs.  It also includes a brief series of correspondence by library director Anne Wallace Howland, 1923-1930.

This collection is unprocessed.  A preliminary inventory is available in the archives; contact the archivist at archives@drexel.edu for more information.

UR 4.25 Dance Ensemble performance recordings and programs, 2004-2008, 0.33 cubic feet

The Drexel University Dance Ensemble, established in 1978, is a program of the Dance Department in the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design. Open to all Drexel students on the basis of a competitive audition, the ensemble presents biannual performances featuring choreography by students, faculty, and outside professionals and a variety of dance styles. This collection consists of DVD recordings and printed programs and postcards for the Drexel University Dance Ensemble’s biannual performances. Performances include student and professional dancers, musicians, and choreographers.

Finding Aid

UR 4.24 Pennoni Honors College records, 1988-2008, 2.5 cubic feet

This collection consists primarily of photographs, publications and promotional materials, and news articles relating to the Pennoni Honors College. The largest series consists of the dean’s files (1993-2007), including newspapers, newsletters, invitations, and memos. Photos (1996-2004) are organized in one binder and one envelope; arrangement is unclear, possibly chronological. Other series include Honors Program/College committee meetings (1991-2005), Mentor’s Group (1988-1991), and Phi Kappa Phi. Finally, there are computer disks with contents to be determined.

This collection is partially processed.  A preliminary inventory is available in the archives; contact the archivist at archives@drexel.edu for more information.  Portions of the collection are restricted because they contain confidential student and personnel records.  See the university archives’ policy on access to records for further information.

UR 4.1 Programs and invitations collection, 1892-1965 (bulk 1892-1915), 6.66 cubic feet

The collection consists of bound volumes and loose programs containing announcements, programs, and invitations to Drexel events.  The bulk of the events represented in the collection were sponsored by the Department of Free Public Lectures and Concerts, which served the school founder A.J. Drexel’s desire to “provide a liberal means of culture for the masses.”  Free lectures and concerts at the Drexel Institute began during the school’s first year of operation in 1892.  They were offered during the winter months and open to the general public until the abolishment of the department in 1915.  Other events were held by the Department of Fine and Applied Art, which was established in 1892; reached its zenith under the tenure of Howard Pyle, who headed its School of Illustration from 1894 through 1900; and was discontinued, with the exception of the course in architecture, in 1905.  The collection also contains programs of commencement ceremonies, the first of which was held in 1894; a program from the dedication of the institute in 1892; and invitations to an 1894 memorial service for institute founder Anthony J. Drexel.  Most of the programs date from the first twenty years of the operation of the institute, but the collection also contains a few programs and announcements from as late as the 1960s.

This collection is unprocessed.  A preliminary inventory is available in the archives; contact the archivist at archives@drexel.edu for more information.

UR 4.12 War courses for women collection, circa 1918, 1 folder

During World War I, the Drexel Institute undertook a number of efforts to prepare its graduates to serve the nation in wartime, including initiating programs to prepare women for government jobs.  A new major in dietetics, begun in 1918, was the first in the nation to be recognized by the Army Medical Corps as preparation for government service.  Likewise, the Secretarial School’s course for women was the first to be considered an official preparatory course for employment as a statistical secretary by the Federal Civil Service Commission.  This collection consists of promotional brochures advertising wartime courses for women in dietetics and commerce, as well as posters outlining the courses of study, requirements, and curricula.

This collection is partially processed.  A preliminary inventory is available in the archives; contact the archivist at archives@drexel.edu for more information.

UR 4.4 Social Sciences Department Chairman records, 1964-1975, 2 cubic feet

The Department of Social Sciences became part of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences when the college was established in 1970.  Prior to 1970, the department had been a sponsor of the Humanities and Technology Program, an undergraduate honors program with a flexible, interdisciplinary curriculum.  Stanley Wasson joined the faculty as an associate professor of history in 1960, became the chair of the department of social sciences in 1968, and served as chairman until 1975.  The collection consists of correspondence between the department chairman and faculty; minutes of department meetings; financial records; files on scheduling and testing; and a set of records of the Humanities and Technology Program.

This collection is partially processed.  A preliminary inventory is available in the archives; contact the archivist at archives@drexel.edu for more information.  Because the collection may contain confidential information, portions are currently restricted pending review by the archivist.  See the university archives’ policy on access to records for further information.

UR 4.6 Department of Performing Arts records, 1940-1990, 1 cubic foot

The performing arts at Drexel date back to 1892, when Drexel offered its auditorium as a rehearsal space for the Philadelphia Chorus.  The chorus was dissolved in the next year, and the Drexel Chorus was formed to replace it.  In 1897 Drexel formalized its choral music program by establishing a department that would later be called the Department of Evening Classes in Choral Music.  The department was abolished in 1909, but students continued to organize their own performing ensembles.  In 1942, Wallace D. Heaton, Jr., was appointed music director at Drexel, and over the next thirty-seven years he established the Department of Music and revitalized choral music at Drexel.  Clyde Shive joined the faculty as a professor for instrumental music and as the university organist in 1955.  A student dance ensemble was established in 1978.  The music department became the Department of Performing Arts when the College of Humanities and Social Sciences was founded in 1984.  More recently, the department has begun to offer a major in music industry and minors in dance, music, and theater, as well as sponsoring the dance ensemble and a number of vocal and instrumental music groups.  This collection consists of concert and recital programs, photographs, promotional materials, newspaper clippings, and correspondence related to concerts, tours, and festivals organized by the Department of Performing Arts and its predecessor, the Department of Music.

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UR 4.15 Nesbitt College of Design Arts Honors Day programs, 1968-1997, 0.33 cubic feet

Honors Day is an annual event sponsored by several of Drexel’s colleges and schools to recognize students for high academic performance.  This collection consists chiefly of programs from Nesbitt College’s Honors Day ceremonies from 1970 to 1997.  The programs list academic award recipients, members of honor societies such as Omicron Nu and Phi Kappa Phi, and Dean’s List members.  The collection also includes a list of Dean’s List members from the College of Home Economics from 1968.

This collection is partially processed.  A preliminary inventory is available in the archives; contact the archivist at archives@drexel.edu for more information.

UR 4.9 Nesbitt College of Design Arts records, 1894-1993, 7 cubic feet

Includes records of:

• Nesbitt College of Design, Nutrition, Human Behavior, and Home Economics
• College of Home Economics
• School of Home Economics
• School of Domestic Science and Arts
• Department of Domestic Science
• Department of Domestic Arts
• Department of Domestic Economy

The school that would eventually become Nesbitt College was present at Drexel when it opened in 1892, in the courses of study specifically intended for the education of women, such as cookery, millinery, dressmaking, and normal courses (teacher training) in each of these subjects.  The curriculum expanded over the years to include domestic science, home economics, dietetics, applied arts, textile merchandising, and hotel management.  The school went through many curriculum and name changes before becoming Nesbitt College of Design Arts in 1985.  The collection, which contains records dating as early as 1895, consists of reports, photographs, newspaper clippings, speeches, materials compiled about the history of the college, publications, and notebooks and recipe cards used during the early years of the college.

Finding Aid

UR 4.8 Graduate School of Library Science Placement Office alumni cards, 1895-1973, 3 cubic feet

Drexel’s Graduate School of Library Science (later the College of Information Science and Technology) was founded as the Library and Reading Room during the Drexel Institute’s first year of operation in 1892.  It was closed by President Hollis Godfrey in 1914 and reopened as the School of Library Science in 1922.  This collection consists of two alphabetical sets of index cards containing information about graduates of the library school from the 1890s to the early 1970s.  Each card contains an alumnus’s address, initial job placement, and subsequent jobs held.  The cards are arranged in two alphabetical sets: one from 1895 to 1914, and the other from 1924 to 1973.

This collection is unprocessed.  A preliminary inventory is available in the archives; contact the archivist at archives@drexel.edu for more information.  Because the collection may contain confidential information, portions are currently restricted pending review by the archivist.  See the university archives’ policy on access to records for further information.

UR 4.10 College of Information Science and Technology records, 1892-2002, 16.33 cubic feet

Includes records of:

• College of Information Studies
• School of Library and Information Science
• Graduate School of Library Science
• School of Library Science
• Library School
• Library Department

What is now the College of Information Science and Technology (previously the Library and Reading Room, 1892-1914; School of Library Science, 1922-1954, Graduate School of Library Science, 1954-1978; School of Library and Information Science, 1978-1984; College of Information Studies, 1984-1995) was founded in 1892 when the Drexel Institute opened its doors.  This collection spans the entire history of the college, but the bulk of the material is administrative records (reports, faculty and staff meeting minutes, personnel files, grants, curriculum, etc.) dating mostly from the 1950s through the 1990s.  The collection also includes some student records; materials about specific deans, directors, and alumni; a series relating to the Rush Building; publications; publicity materials; photographs; and programs and memorabilia.  Some of the files contain letters by Guy Garrison, retired dean of the college, who was responsible for transferring the collection to the archives.

Finding Aid