Old Dominion University Libraries

Special
Collections:
Archives

The University Archives

The University Archives serve as the corporate memory of Old Dominion University. Its principal function is to provide a secure repository for the university's historically significant records, including the records of the Board of Visitors; the office files of former presidents, vice-presidents, deans and department chairpersons; and collections of personal papers donated by faculty, administrative officers and members of the Board.

Dating from 1930 to the present, the University Archives contains administrative publications, including yearbooks, handbooks, course catalogues, schedules, directories, and annual reports. Departmental papers include newsletters, brochures, some faculty publications and athletic programs.

In addition, the Archives includes student, faculty, staff and alumni publications; a scrapbook collection of newspaper clippings related to the university; a photograph collection that provides a fascinating panorama of the school's history; an oral history collection featuring transcripts and/or audio recordings of interviews with members of the university community; and a copy of every doctoral dissertation and master's thesis written by an Old Dominion University graduate student.

The collections may be used by present officers of the university, faculty, staff, students, alumni and the general public.

The University Archives is located within Special Collections in the Old Dominion University Perry Library.

Researchers are urged to call ahead because permission from the University Counsel may be required to look through some of the material.  Only a portion of University Archives holdings are listed below. For more information call (757) 683-4483 or e-mail special@www.lib.odu.edu.

Donating and Transferring Your Papers to the University Archives
Faculty and staff are encouraged to donate their papers to the University Archives for the benefit of future researchers. The Special Collections Librarian can advise individuals in preparing their personal papers for transfer, completing a deed of gift, and arranging the physical transfer of the papers.  Further information is available in the University Archives Collection Development Policy and by contacting the Special Collections Librarian (syaco@odu.edu 757 683-4483).

University Archives Record Groups

Material in the University Archives is organized into Record Groups that mirror the organizational structure of the University and its administrative and academic departments.

RG 1

Board of Visitors

RG 2

Office of the President

RG 3

University Senate

RG 4

Executive Vice President (defunct)

RG 5

Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

RG 6

Office of the Vice President for Institutional Advancement

RG 7

Executive Director Of Student Affairs And Dean Of Students

RG 8

Office of the Vice President for Administration and Finance

RG 10

University Libraries

RG 15

Honors College

RG 16

Office of Graduate Studies

RG 17

School of Arts & Letters

RG 18

School of Business Administration

RG 19

Darden College of Education

RG 20

College of Engineering and Technology

RG 21

School of General Studies (defunct)

RG 22

College of Sciences

RG 23

School of Continuing Studies (defunct)

RG 24

College of Health Sciences

RG 30

University Poster Collection

RG 32

University Photographs Collection

RG 33

Norfolk Division and Old Dominion College Records

RG 36

Faculty and Staff Organizations

RG 37

Student Organizations

RG 39

Student Collections

RG 40

Virginia Tidewater Consortium for Continuing Higher Ed.

RG 41

Awards, University and College

Collections:

RG 1 Board of Visitors

More information about the history of the board and its functions, current membership, and minutes of past meetings from 1994 to the present is available on Board of Visitors' website .

RG 1-1A Office files of the Board.
Contains office files of the Board, including correspondence, resolutions, minutes of meetings, committee records, proceedings, and agendas. Partial inventory (1947-1994) available in PDF format.

RG 1-1B1 Francis Crenshaw (1922-1975).
Member of Old Dominion University's Board of Visitors (1968-1976). Material relates to his service as member and rector of the Board. Also contains papers of his father, Captain Russell Crenshaw (1886-1975), that chiefly relate to his service in the navy during World War II.

RG 1-1B2 James A. Howard (1918-1996).
Member of the Board of Visitors of Old Dominion University (1962-1971) and the Board of Directors of the Old Dominion University Intercollegiate Foundation. Consists of papers accumulated during his service on these two boards. Noteworthy material includes his service on the Board of Visitors' Building and Grounds Committee, the Child Study Clinic, dormitories, the President's home, the Physical Education Building, speaker regulations, and student disturbances.

RG 1-1B3 A. K. Scribner (1899-1976).
Alison Kenneth Scribner was a member of the first Board of Visitors of Old Dominion College and later Old Dominion University, from 1962-1969. Contains material related to his tenure on the board, his work with civic organizations and his professional career in manufacturing.

RG 1- 1B5 Dr. J. Henry McCoy, Jr.
Material primarily relates to McCoy's service on the Old Dominion University Board of Visitors (1968-1976) and his relationship with Tidewater Community College.

RG 2 Office of the President

Includes departments reporting to the President and the office and personal files of former Presidents:

RG 2-8 Athletics

RG 2- 8B1 The Papers of Arthur "Bud" Metheny
Coach Metheny was the head baseball coach from 1948-1980 and head basketball coach from 1948-1965. He was also the Athletic Director at Old Dominion from 1963-1970. Materials in the archives consist mainly of baseball and basketball score books, individual and team statistics, team rosters, brochures, newspaper clippings, and photographs. There is also material on the 1965 NATO Games.

RG 3 University Senate

Papers include:

RG 3-1A University/Faculty Senate Office files
Partial inventory (1969-1980) available in PDF format.

RG 4 Executive Vice President (defunct)

RG 4-1A Office files of Harold Eickhoff
Partial inventory (1971-1978) available in PDF format.

RG 5 Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Papers include:

RG 5-1A1 SACS/COC Accreditation
Partial inventory (1971-2004) available in PDF format.

RG 5-3A Office of the Associate Provost for Research and Sponsored Programs
Partial inventory (ca 1958-1975) available in PDF format.

RG 5-11A University College

RG 5-18A Institutional Research and Assessment (previously Institutional Planning)
Partial inventory (1975-1977) available in PDF format.

RG 5-20A University Registrar

RG 6 Office of the Vice President for Institutional Advancement

Papers include:

RG 6-1A Director's files
Partial inventory (1968-1977) available in PDF format.

RG 6-2A Alumni Relations and Government Relations
Partial inventory (1973-1978) available in PDF format.

RG 6-4B The Papers of Dorothy Lippincott
An Old Dominion University administrator, her collection includes the records of Town-N-Gown, a group dedicated to establishing cooperation between the university, the city, and the military.

RG 6-4E ODU Dialogue radio broadcasts
Partial inventory (1979) available in PDF format.

RG 6-7B1 James R. Vaillancourt Dean of Admissions
Partial inventory (1973-1978) available in PDF format.

RG 7 Executive Director Of Student Affairs And Dean Of Students

Includes papers for:

RG 8 Office of the Vice President for Administration and Finance

Contains material generated by the VP for Administration and Finance and subordinate departments:

RG 10 University Library Collection

Contains material related to the University Library, University Archives and its committees and departments. Also contains material related to Friends of the Library and the Virginia Tidewater Consortium. Material dates from 1938 to present.

RG 10-4B1 Dr. James Sweeney
This collection includes material related to Old Dominion University and Hampton Roads history collected by Dr. James R. Sweeney, associate professor of history and former University Archivist. Included are correspondence, photos, news clippings, and oral history materials, as well as Sweeney’s notes and drafts for a book he wrote in 1980 on ODU history. ODU history materials date as far back as the 1920s; local history material dates from 1905.

RG 16 Office of Graduate Studies

Papers include:

RG 17 School of Arts and Letters

Papers include:

RG 17-2B1 The Papers of Alice R. Jaffe
Includes assorted reports, newspaper articles and correspondence, etc. relating to Hampton Roads history and Old Dominion University's early history as Norfolk Division of William and Mary College. Contains material from Jaffe's family including her husband, journalist Louis I. Jaffe, her father, Col. Henry Rice and ancestor, Captain Samuel Davis. See the Guide to local history for more detail.

RG 17-2B2 The Papers of Everett Parker Lesley, Jr.
Served as Art Professor at Old Dominion University, 1959 - 1979, and served as co-chairman of the Art Department, 1968 - 1969. He authored one art-historical handbook for the Norfolk Museum of Art and Science (Chrysler Museum), one book, two magazine articles and other publications. Collection consists of a large number of photo-slides related to his expertise in Byzantine Art and Architecture, also consists of printed material, documentation of travels abroad, correspondence and photographs.

RG 17-3A1 Literary Festival Collection
This collection contains material from the Poetry Jam and first Literary Festival in 1978 and chronicles the annual Literary Festival onwards to the present day. Additional material is added yearly. Materials consist of original and digitized brochures, flyers, and promotional documents; schedules; news clippings; photos; and original and digitized video, as available.

RG 17-3B4 Elizabeth Ann Burton
The collection includes typed and handwritten drafts of poetry written by Elizabeth Ann Burton, mostly from the late 1980s.  Included are the original manuscripts for Burton’s published book of poetry Waiting for the Messiah, as well as the draft of a second book, which was never published.  Letters from Elizabeth Burton to Mildred Guilds Peele, donator of the collection, as well as letters written after Burton’s death by Mildred Peele to L. S. Loomer, a potential publisher of Elizabeth Burton’s poetry, and correspondence between Burton’s mother and Peele. 

RG 17-4A Foreign Languages and Literatures Department
Partial inventory (1971-1974) available in PDF format.

RG 17-5B1 The Papers of Dr. Thomas Blossom
Longtime career as a teacher. Professor of History at Old Dominion University. Collection relates to his publications, faculty position, classes and students. Of note is material relating to his research of Central and South American history.

RG 17-6B1 S. Eliot Breneiser
Professor of Music at Old Dominion University. Collection relates to his position on the Faculty Senate, Faculty Caucus and University Senate where he served as the Chairman. Documents date from 1965 to 1974.

RG 17-10B1 Ruben Cooper
Partial inventory (1959-1965) available in PDF format.

RG 17-13B1 The Papers of Dr. Susan Kent
Dr. Kent served as a professor of anthropology from 1986 until 2003. She was an expert on hunters and gatherers. Her most extensive field work was her study of the Bushmen and Bakgalagadi of Africa. Collection includes material from her time at ODU, her field notes, and other research material.

RG 17-28A The Papers of the Women's Studies Department
The papers of Women’s Studies date from 1978-2005. The collection contains administrative and financial documents, course descriptions, and department sponsored event flyers and brochures.  The bulk of the collection features Women’s Studies News, events, and courses offered throughout its duration.

RG 17-28A1 The Papers of the Friends of Women's Studies
Friends of Women's Studies was established in 1986 to support and ensure the development of the Women's Studies Department.

RG 17-28B1 The Papers of Dr. Carolyn Rhodes
 Dr. Rhodes was an English and Women's Studies professor at Old Dominion University. The documents include course descriptions, grant reports, meeting minutes from various women's groups, information pertaining to the Title IX hearings, books, journal articles, newspaper clippings, newsletters and pictures. Other items include award plaques and posters.

RG 18 School of Business Administration

Papers include:

RG 18-4A1 The Papers of Dorothy M. Jones
Ms. Jones was a professor at Old Dominion University from 1954-1976. Jones joined the Norfolk Division of the College of William and Mary as the Head of the Merchandising Department in 1954. She left that position to become the Associate Professor of Business Management in the School of Business, until her retirement in 1976. This collection deals primarily with Dr. Jones' career as a professor at the Norfolk Division of the College of William and Mary. The papers document her studies conducted through classes for the benefit of local businessmen, business correspondence, papers and published materials.

RG 19 Darden College of Education

Papers include:

RG 19-1B1 The Papers of Dr. A. Rufus Tonelson
Dr. Tonelson was the principal of Maury High School during Massive Resistance crisis. Papers primarily relate to his teaching experience at Old Dominion College and University.

RG 20 College of Engineering and Technology

Includes papers for:

RG 21 School of General Studies (defunct)

Includes papers for:

RG 22 College of Sciences

Includes papers for:

RG 23 School of Continuing Studies (defunct)

Includes papers for:

RG 30 Poster Collection

Contains posters of musical performances, plays, athletic events, academic programs, student activities, lectures, discussions, seminars, readings, and festivals.

RG 32 Photograph Collection

The ODU Photographic Collection contains a wide range of photos relating to the university’s history from the 1930s to the present. They are arranged chronologically by decades and alphabetically by category (i.e. Academics: Art, Student Life: Dorm Living). The collection itself is ever growing and is subject to more additions of photos in the upcoming years.

RG 33 Records of the Norfolk Division (1930-1962) and Old Dominion College (1962-1969)

Includes the following series:

RG 36 Faculty and Staff Organizations

Contains records of organizations such as the Faculty Wives Club (Furbelows), Hourly And Classified Employees (HACE), and the Faculty/Staff Alumni Chapter.

RG 37 Student Organizations

Contains records of Old Dominion University student organizations including fraternities and sororities.

Additional Special Collections Holdings Related to Old Dominion University:

Oral History Collection

A collection of interviews with former and present administrators, faculty, and staff of Old Dominion University, and community leaders. Primarily documents the development of Old Dominion University from an extension of the College of William & Mary to a world renowned university.

University Publications

Scrapbook Collection

A collection of scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings from the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot and the Norfolk Ledger-Star that document the history of the school from its founding in 1930 to the present day. Listed in the online catalog as LD4331.A4.N49.

ODU Theses and Dissertations

Special Collections houses the original, signed copy of each ODU thesis or dissertation. All theses and dissertations written after 1979, and some earlier, have circulating copies in the general collection under call number LD4331. All are entered into the library online catalog by author, title, and subject. To find theses/dissertations for a particular department, do a title search in the online catalog under: Old Dominion University theses (name of degree)".

Note: Electronic full text versions of all ODU theses published after 1980 (and some earlier as early as 1976) are available through Dissertations & Theses: Full Text. Abstracts and indices of some earlier theses are available through Dissertation Abstracts.

Revised: 7/18/2008