University Archives Collections

University Publications

Archives has preserved over 15,000 volumes of official university publications, including general and graduate catalogs, yearbooks, campus newspapers and newsletters, magazines, sports media guides and programs, and research monographs.

Archival Collections

The ASU Presidential Papers include materials of each principal and president that document virtually every element of the educational and social experience at the university from 1885 to the present. Correspondence and research files from other administrative offices provide detail and perspective on many of the same issues represented in the Presidential Papers.

Manuscript Collections

Collections of papers from individual faculty members, administrators and alumni are an important source of information on the educational experience and the research mission of this institution. The Agnes Smedley Collection contains significant letters and publications produced by this socialist human rights activist in America and China. The collection is accompanied by the research materials of Dr. Stephen MacKinnon, her biographer. The papers of Kathryn Gammage, wife of President Grady Gammage, offer important information on the experience of one of ASU's first families and Mrs. Gammage's distinguished career at the ASU Development Office. A number of smaller collections of letters, scrapbooks, and diaries describe campus life from the days before air conditioning and the development of Phoenix as a commercial, industrial, and recreational center.

Photographic Collections

The University Archives Photograph Collection consists of approximately 30,000 prints, 80,000 negatives, and 6,500 slides that document many aspects of university history and campus life. Images of most university buildings and portraits of a number of ASU faculty, staff, and alumni are available. Many images depict changes in campus life and document educational, social, cultural, and athletic events.

Oral History Collections

University Archives established a continuing oral history program with the completion of the ASU Founding Deans Oral History Project. Interviews with the first dean of each ASU college and with the first Dean of the ASU Library are now available. Oral histories of many other members of the ASU community are planned for the future.

Audio-Visual Materials

Audio recordings and videotapes in various formats have also been preserved at University Archives. Audio recordings include renditions of the ASU Alma Mater by the Sun Devil Marching Band and performances by faculty and students from the School of Music. The inaugurations of presidents J. Russell Nelson and Lattie F. Coor have been captured on videotapes maintained with the Archives collections.