Collections : [Wesleyan University -Special Collections and Archives]

Arthur T. Vanderbilt was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1888. He was educated at Newark Public High School and graduated from Wesleyan University in 1910. While at Wesleyan he was a student leader and a member Delta Kappa Epsilon. He then attended Columbia Law School, earning an LL.B. in 1913. Vanderbilt practiced law privately from 1913 to 1947, largely representing fire insurance companies, corporations, and banks. During this period, Vanderbilt also taught law at New York University as full-time faculty, later becoming Dean of the Law School from 1943 to 1948. He also served on the Wesleyan University Board of Trustees from 1934 to 1957, and acted as President of the Board from 1946 to 1947. A leader throughout his life, he also served with the American Bar Association, and was preeminent in the movement to reform the administration of justice and chaired an advisory committee to create a uniform code of military justice. Vanderbilt became a New Jersey Circuit Court judge in November 1947, and was confirmed as Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court in December 1947. He served in this capacity until his death in 1957.

The Wesleyan University Athletic Council began in 1903 and was comprised of faculty, alumni, and students. The Council regulated most aspects of athletics including the administering of budgets, negotiations with other schools for intercollegiate matches and scheduling, player eligibility rules, hiring and supervising coaches, establishing records, and the awarding of varsity letters.

The Athletic Teams' Records contain a number of volumes that document personal and team records for Wesleyan teams including both Wesleyan records and intercollegiate athletic records set during athletic contests. Some volumes contain detailed scoring information and statistics from teams including baseball and football. Other sports represented in the collection include golf, hockey, lacrosse, basketball, swimming, boating, softball, and tennis.

The Atwater family included Wilbur O. Atwater, Wesleyan alumnus and professor, and his wife, Marcia Woodard Atwater. They had two children: Helen Woodard Atwater, a home economist and Charles Woodard Atwater, a lawyer.

Beatrice Witkin (1917-1990) was an accomplished composer and one of the first women to produce electronic music compositions.

The Broadside Case Collection contains many oversized documents from a variety of sources. Included are photographs, architectural drawings, posters, maps, and other material related to Wesleyan University.

Carl Carlson was a Wesleyan University student between 1937 and 1941 but did not graduate. He was killed in World War II.

The Center for Advanced Studies (CAS) was founded at Wesleyan University in 1959 and existed until 1969. The CAS invited fellows to reside at Wesleyan and participate in the intellectual life of the campus. Each year, the fellows were a diverse group of academics, scientists, social scientists, writers, artists, and other intellectuals. Sigmund Neumann served as director of CAS from 1959-1962, Paul Horgan from 1962 until 1967, and Phillip Hallie as acting director from 1967-1969. Victor Butterfield, president of Wesleyan University until 1967, was actively involved in the Center.

Wesleyan University's Memorial Chapel was built and dedicated in 1871. It was intended to commemorate those Wesleyan students and alumni who fought in the Civil War, and later additions of stained glass windows acknowledge student service in other wars. The Memorial Chapel has been the main site of religious ceremonies at Wesleyan since 1871. The services were primarily Methodist.

Class Day was an annual celebration related to the commmencement exercises at Wesleyan University, and usually occurred in June. Programs often included speeches, musical performances, poetry, and the awarding of prizes. The programs were arranged by members of the graduating class and featured their fellow senior students.