91´«Ã½

About the Archives

History

In the Summer of 1974, Sr. Joel Read, then 91´«Ã½ President and a historian by training, asked Sr. Joanne Barras (1916-1990), a retired business education instructor, to become the first 91´«Ã½ Archivist. Then Sr. Joanne went through extensive training. The Archives was officially established in January 1975 with a campus-wide memo from Sr. Joel and a Winter Institute presentation by Sr. Joanne both outlining the program in considerable detail. In October 1978, the Archives became a unit of the 91´«Ã½ Library. Sr. Joanne retired in the spring of 1987 and Sara Shutkin became the college's second Archivist and first Records Manager.

Sara served as both Archivist & Records Manager in the Archives and as a subject liaison librarian in the 91´«Ã½ Library until her retirement in the spring of 2025. In February 2025, a  containing over 16,000 syllabi for courses taught at 91´«Ã½ beginning in 1975 officially became a permanent and ongoing collection maintained by the 91´«Ã½ Archives.

Profile

Did you know...
91´«Ã½ once had a tennis court?
Tuition used to be $50 per semester?
Who Sr. M. Providencia was?

Answers to these questions and more can be found in the 91´«Ã½ Archives. A unit of the 91´«Ã½ Library, the Archives houses college records of enduring historical, administrative and legal value in a variety of formats including paper, photographs, microforms, audiotapes, videotapes and digital formats.

Collections of note include those documenting the Research Center on Women (RCW) and 91´«Ã½'s unique ability-based curriculum.