As part of its mission to document the history and activities of Penn State, the University Archives collects the administrative and academic records from schools, departments, campuses, and offices of the University determined to have long term administrative, fiscal, legal, or informational value as defined by University-adopted records retention schedules. The collections detailed below provide several examples of records that speak to Black experiences at Penn State, or to issues of diversity and equity more broadly. Additional resources may be found in other administrative records by searching the Special Collections Library's finding aid database.
- Pennsylvania State University, Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity records, 1960-2010: This collection documents diversity programs at Penn State including issues relating to research, admissions, curriculum, and climate as reported to the Educational Opportunity Planning Commission (EOPC). Materials include diversity plans, evaluation of research initiatives, undergraduate and graduate admissions, and faculty hiring and retention. Funding proposals are organized chronologically, then by college and commonwealth campus. The collection also includes records of two of the three university president’s advisory commissions, Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity (CORED) and Commission for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Equality (CLGBE), as well as some records of the grass roots organization, the Women's Alliance.
- Pennsylvania State University, Black Studies Program records, 1971-1986: This one box collection documents the early years of Penn State's Black Studies Program, which was started in 1973. Materials include orientation and conference materials, meeting minutes, exhibit records, and committee reports.
- Pennsylvania State University, Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs records (1878-2015): This collection provides insight into the historical administration of student affairs at Penn State. It includes constitutions and activity files for hundreds of current and defunct student organizations beginning as early as 1878. It also includes the Associated Student Activities annual financial reports beginning in 1939, and files from the Student Organizations Budget Committee (SOBC) (1986-1997), renamed University Park Allocation Committee in 1997. It includes student council minutes. After the 1960s, it includes plans, policies, assessments, and publications concerning recruitment and retention of minorities and women, and the reduction of incidents of hate and intolerance, sexual violence, and alcohol abuse by students.
- Pennsylvania State University, Office of Student Activities records (1897-2019): This collection primarily documents the allocation of student activity fees to various student organizations and events at The Pennsylvania State University. Materials include annual financial reports from student organizations, files for active and defunct student organizations, and correspondence and publications about student government, housing issues, and events, with a few photographs and t-shirts. The "Clubs, Organizations, and Societies" series includes application materials submitted by student organizations to the University.
- Penn State Alumni Association, Black Experience at Penn State records (1978-1991, bulk 1988-1989): In 1988, the Penn State Alumni Association conducted 23 interviews with former African-American students and faculty about their experiences at Penn State. It published its findings in a three-part series in Penn State Alumni News. This collection includes interview transcripts, recordings, and project files such as notes and clippings.
- Pennsylvania State University, Board of Trustees records (1855-2021): The Board of Trustees records document the operation of the Board including the Executive Committee meetings, as well as meetings of several committees that handle specific aspects of the Board’s responsibilities. The collection includes board members’ correspondence and meeting records such as agendas, minutes and handouts consisting of Penn State publications, reports and other material which may be relevant to the meeting. This collection also includes correspondence and meeting records for various committees, subcommittees, organizations and commissions. The Board's responses to sSocial and political issues impacting the University can be found throughout these records. To provide just one example, many records from the mid-to-late 1980s reflect the Board's deliberations related to divesting University finances from South African companies that supported the institutionalized racism of the apartheid regime. The Penn State African American Chronicles website identifies several prominent Black members of the Board, including Jesse Arnelle (1969), Hardy Williams (1972), Cecile M. Springer (1981), Barry Robinson (1989), Cynthia Baldwin (1995), and Kenneth C. Frazier (2009). Arnelle and Baldwin would each later be elected Chair (1996 and 2004, respectively).
Please note: University records are restricted for a period of 20 years from the date of their creation, in accordance with University Policies AD35 and AD95. Student records are subject to the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). In accordance with FERPA, all student records are restricted for a period of 75 years from the date of their creation. Personnel files are restricted for 72 years or until the death of the individual.