Collections : [Wesleyan University -Special Collections and Archives]

Following graduation from New York University Law School in 1967, Roy Lucas published a landmark article, "Federal Constitutional Limitations on the Enforcement and Administration of State Abortion Statutes," in the North Carolina Law Review. Soon his interest in student rights and other civil liberties issues were overwhelmed as abortion litigation came to him in ever-growing volume. In 1969 and 1970 he helped found, with Morris Dees, the James Madison Constitutional Law Institute with offices in New York City and Montgomery, Alabama.

The Agallian Base Ball Club was the first formally organized baseball team at Wesleyan University from 1864 to 1871.

Albert Camus (1913-1960) was an influential intellectual and writer. He was born and raised in Algeria, but spent most of his life during World War II and afterwards in France. Camus received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957.

Alfred S. Roe served with Company A, Ninth New York Heavy Artillery, from January 1864 to June 1865. Roe was captured in the Battle of Monocacy, Maryland, July 9, 1864, and was imprisoned at Danville, Virginia, for nearly eight months. He then attended Wesleyan University, from which he graduated 1870.

After the Wesleyan centennial celebration in 1931, a few alumni began documenting their memories of Wesleyan. In 1939, the Alumni Council set up a Committee on the Collection of Recollections, which canvassed alumni for memories of faculty and anecdotes about Wesleyan history.

Wesleyan University restarted its dormant chapter in the American Association of University Professors with a new constitution on October 9, 1974. Over the following two decades, the chapter took part in negotiations with the administration, including University President Colin Campbell. Beginning in 1977, Nathanael Greene, Vice President for Academic Affairs, would serve as Campbell’s liaison to the AAUP. The activities of the group appear to have dropped off around 1990.

In the 1970s, Wesleyan University students became active against national nuclear arms polices and practices, especially those in New England. The groups of Wesleyan University students involved were the Committee on Environmental Awareness, Connecticut Citizens Conference, Nuclear Resistance Group and Students Opposed to Nuclear Arms Race. These groups organized campus wide informational meetings, showed films and actively participated in walking onto a nuclear arms site in Seabrook, New Hampshire, on April 30, 1977. Around forty Wesleyan Students, along with other activists, were arrested, and some were convicted of criminal trespass due to the April 30 protest.

The Apostles Club was a group of faculty members at Wesleyan University who met once a month from 1894 until 1967 for "literary and social purposes."

In January 1982, Wesleyan University eliminated their aid-blind admissions policy. In response, students from a group called the April 29th Coalition protested the University's decision. The organization collected 1,284 signatures of students demanding Wesleyan return to an aid-blind system. They also demanded several changes to the financial aid and admissions system. Later in the semester, students held a 150 hour sit-in on the second floor of North College, one hour for each year that the University had existed. Although their primary demand for reestablishing the aid-blind system was not met by the end of the semester, President Colin Campbell wrote a statement that the students' demands would be addressed at the next the Board of Trustees meeting and that reinstituting the former policy would be given the highest priority if and when circumstances permitted.

Arthur Benjamin Calef, Wesleyan class of 1851, served in a variety of governmental positions in Middletown and Middlesex County, Connecticut and in the state as a whole, as well as being a delegate to the National Republican Conventions in 1860 and 1864.

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.

The class of 1873 Boat Club was organized on October 4, 1870, by 19 members of the class of 1873. It participated in the first Wesleyan regatta, which was held July 19, 1871, with the clubs of the classes of 1872, 1873, and 1874 competing.

Wesleyan University began holding reunions for its alumni in the late 1860s. Prior to that, alumni stayed in touch with one another through correspondence. The University began compiling news and events related to its graduates beginning in the 1850s, and these collections of updates were frequently gathered into volumes distributed to class members.

COPUS, the Coalition of Private University Students, was a financial aid advocacy group that was formed in the mid 1970s when a coalition of college students across the country joined together to address financial aid issues.

The commencement orations given by 19th century Wesleyan students reflect their studies in classics and their interests in philosophy, literature, and politics.

The Conversational Club was formed in 1862 by the faculty of Wesleyan University to discuss topics of interest along with other Middletown residents.

The Cuvierian Society was organized in April 1836 as the Natural History Society, a primarily undergraduate organization at Wesleyan University for the study of natural science. Along with some faculty members, alumni, and local community members, the organization gathered for monthly meetings, during which members read essays and heard addresses from invited guests. The group changed its name to the Cuvierian Society in 1837. It continued to meet regularly until May 1846.

Dana Plante (1937-1960) graduated in 1959 from Wesleyan University.

Daniel Curtis Rand, a Charleston, New Hampshire native, attended Wesleyan University from 1839 to 1843, when he graduated. He later ran powder mills in Connecticut and New York.

David Park McAllester was professor of Anthropology and Music at Wesleyan University from 1947 to 1986. He studied and wrote about the rites and ceremonies of the Navajo Indians and was a co-founder of the Society for Ethnomusicology.

The Davison Art Center, housed in the 1839 Alsop House, comprises exhibition galleries, classrooms, offices, and the university’s collection of prints and photographs. The Art Center and much of its collection was the gift of George W. (Wesleyan class of 1892) and Harriet Baldwin Davison.

The Davison Art Rooms were created at the opening of Olin Memorial Library in 1928 as a tribute to George W. (Wesleyan class of 1892) and Harriet Baldwin Davison. The Davison Art Rooms were closed and their contents transferred to the newly-constructed Davison Art Center for its opening in 1952.

The Dean of the College is responsible for addressing campus issues related to students, including academics, activities, diversity, health, and on-campus residences.

The Phi Rho Literary Society was founded in 1891 as a non-fraternity society with the aim of constituting a brotherhood and cultivating the art of public speaking. In 1903, the group became the Gamma Zeta chapter of the national fraternity of Delta Tau Delta. This fraternity existed until 1989.

Der Deutsche Verein, or The German Club, was a student organization at Wesleyan whose purpose was to promote the learning and application of the German language.

Do Gieng Ciu, a member of the Wesleyan class of 1916, was a native of China. In 1921, Ciu returned to Kutien, China, to become a missionary.

Bennet graduated from Wesleyan University, class of 1959, and was president of that institution from 1995 to 2007. These professional papers contain materials from his undergraduate studies, including materials from Bennet's position as co-president of fraternity Alpha Chi Rho. There are also materials from his graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and at Harvard University. The bulk of the materials cover his professional career, beginning as administrative assistant to Ambassador Chester Bowles in India in the mid 1960s, and continuting through his many years in Washington D.C. He was a speech writer for Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey from 1967 to 1968 and the collection contains realia from the 1968 Humphrey/Muskie presidential election. In the early 1970s, Bennet was an administrator, first for senator Thomas F. Eagleton and then for Abraham Ribicoff. As administrator for Senator Eagleton, he helped craft the Democratic Platform in the 1972 election and was active in Eagleton's political campaign. Bennet ran for the House of Representatives in 1974 and went on to be the staff director for the newly-formed Senate Budget Committee from 1974 to 1977. Bennet served twice as Assistant Secretary of State, as Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations from 1977 to 1979, and as Assistant Secretary of State for International Affairs from 1993 to 1995. He also served as administrator for the Agency for International Development (AID), 1979 to 1981. The AID series contains many photographs. This collection also contains material on Bennet's two years as president of the Roosevelt Center for American Policy Studies and some material from his ten years as president of National Public Radio. The personal series includes a family scrapbook containing a 19th century sampler.

Schattschneider was the author of numerous books and articles about American government and American political parties. Schattschneider was president of the American Political Science Association (1956-57), and spent the majority of his career (1930-71) teaching at Wesleyan University.

Emilio Q. Daddario was a Connecticut congressman in the United States House of Representatives from 1959 to 1970 who was active in committees on scientific research and aerospace. He was a 1939 graduate of Wesleyan University and practiced law in Connecticut prior to running for office. He served as mayor of Middletown, Conn. from 1946 to 1948.

The fraternity Esse Quam Videri (EQV) was formed at Wesleyan in 1959 from the Phi Gamma chapter of Alpha Chi Rho (AXP). It was created in response to perceived discriminatory practices by the national AXP organization. EQV existed until 1967, when a house fire appeared to be a major factor in the demise of the group.

Wesleyan University exams reflect the changing curriculum between 1868 and 1970. The nineteenth century Wesleyan curriculum allowed students to major in general areas of knowledge, while the twentieth century curriculum saw the rise of numerous departments. The use of entrance examinations, a standard in the 1800s, were eliminated.

The Financial Planning Committee (FPC), a faculty-student body created under faculty by-laws, was formed in about 1968. It was composed of 6 faculty members, 4 undergraduate students, and 4 ex-officio administrators. The role of the group was to evaluate administrative proposals related to budgets and allocations, and provide suggestions and recommendations.

This collection of printed ephemera and subject files about fine presses has been accumulated by Olin Library throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

The Wesleyan football team has been in existence since 1883.

Fred B. Millett (1890-1976) was a professor of English and director of the Honors College at Wesleyan University.

The Wesleyan Glee Club formed in 1846 and frequently traveled and performed from the mid-19th century through the mid-20th century. The Glee Club, along with the Chapel Choir and Concert Choir, performed at the annual Christmas Candlelight Concerts beginning in 1930.

Social Credit has been an economic theory, a social philosophy, an ideology, and a political party in England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States since it was first advanced in 1920 by Major C. H. Douglas. He believed finance capitalism deprived individuals of sufficient purchasing power to buy otherwise available products. To overcome this Douglas proposed offering to every citizen dividend payments based on the community's real wealth. As monetary reform and as social theory Social Credit attracted intellectual support in England and the United States especially during the 1930s. Gorham Munson (Wesleyan class of 1917) was the most eloquent and durable Social Credit leader in the United States. In 1932, he became American correspondent for The New English Weekly, defended Social Credit in The Nation and helped form a key Social Credit organization, the New Economics Group of New York. In 1933 he initiated a vital Social Credit journal of the arts and public affairs, New Democracy, and was its chief editor during its three-year life.

In 1969, Peter Budryk opened the Great Hollow Wilderness School (GHWS) to provide disadvantaged children and teenagers with a wilderness experience. In 1985, the GHWS offered a Wesleyan Orientation in the Wilderness (WOW) program for incoming freshmen at Wesleyan University.

Harriet Stewart Judd, teacher at Albion Seminary and Rockford Female College, was born in 1822 in Lockport, New York. She married Orange Judd, a Wesleyan University graduate and publisher, and they had four sons with whom she traveled across much of the United States and Europe.

Includes programs from the Head of the Connecticut Regatta, 1981-1986, and approximately forty 3 x 5 inch photographs and two 8 x 10 inch photographs.

Henry Curtis Herge (1907-2003) was the Commanding Officer of the Navy College Training Program at Wesleyan University, known as the V-12.